Chicago's Uncommon Application: It's January 3!

Before we get into the great time zone emails I received last night, here are a few notes.

If your application says it was submitted on January 3

Even though the due date was on Baker Island time, obviously our application servers are not on Baker Island. So, your application might say that you submitted it on January 3. This is true -- you technically did. But we don't mind.

Why not? Well, let's have a test. If you were an admissions counselor, which of the following would be your line of thinking?

a. I want to read thousands of awesome applications, so I'm going to be lenient about when people can send things in.
b. I detest students and I want to make their lives hard, so I'm going to insist they send things in at a specific date and time, with no do-overs.

I wonder which one it is.

Or:

a. I love answering hundreds of emails and calls asking me if we will take a student's entire application to the Social Sciences quad and burn it in a huge fire, just because one piece of it is two seconds late, with a resounding "Yes!"
b. I love answering hundreds of emails and calls asking me if we will take a student's entire application to the Social Sciences quad and burn it in a huge fire, just because one piece of it is two seconds late, with a resounding "No!"
c. I just don't want to get hundreds of emails or calls, so I am doing a blog post about how lenient we are.

The one thing we are not lenient about is actually getting the application, the part with your personal information and essays. That should have been submitted last night. Or, you should have made your best effort to submit it (see below.)

Sending credentials via email

I've been receiving tons of things at questions@phoenix.uchicago.edu -- resumes, supplemental materials, essays, even recommendations from your teachers. Keep 'em coming. You are welcome to send anything you want to add to your application.

If you log in and, gasp, you forgot to actually submit your application after paying your fee

So far, I can see 406 people who accidentally did this. Later, we will send these 406 people, and anyone else we identify, an email. But I'd recommend that, if you think you recently submitted your application, but did not get a confirmation email about it, you log back into your application. If you still see the link that says "Submit application," that means you did not successfully submit it. Click that link and submit it! Quick, before someone notices! (Someone who is not all-knowing and all-seeing like me.)

If you're wondering if we've received your credentials

Online credential checking will be available in late January, and I mean late. We opened mail for four hours yesterday, and will probably be opening more today. There is a lot of mail. We suspect that we will be done opening it and sorting everything in late January. Until then, no need to ask if we've received your documents. Because we will not know. We'll just look at the pile of mail and roll our eyes.

And now, here is a sampling of the emails I got last night.

I just finished scuba diving off the coast of Baker Island and submitted my application to the U of C at 12:14 PM January 2nd. I swear the volcanic eruption that just took place a mile away from Baker Island had increased the total radius of Earth just enough to extend the length of this glorious day, January 2nd by an additional 14 minutes and 22 milliseconds. It's true!

Kevin from Taipei, Taiwan

Please consider my application under Baker Island time, GMC/UTC -12. I started submitting my application at 11:59 p.m. on January 2nd, and finished submitting it at 12:01 a.m. on January 3rd, but I'm sure you can imagine how slow the internet connection is all the way out here in the middle of the Pacific. :( Please give me a break; I will mail you a cool Baker Island turtle.

Cheers,
Joanna

Well, it's been a pretty frightening journey.
After having finished my application three weeks before it was available to even send in, I took a break. Much to my dismay, my computer crashed, the economy of my small home nation-state collapsed, a right-wing militant group took control, and I fled as a refugee to Baker Island, from which I am applying now. It's a chilly night, 11:45 PM, here. Unfortunately, the airstrip has not been maintained very well -- I believe it was last used in the forties -- and my small aircraft has been seriously damaged. My satellite up link is providing me with this internet connection. Don't fret, though; I'll be rescued in time to attend Chicago, should I be admitted.

Andrew from Modesto, CA (which, last I checked, was not its own nation-state)

Please note that my application was sent under the time zone UTC-12 (home of Baker Island and Bikini Atoll), where it was still around 11:30PM on January 2, 2008 when I submitted it. I hope you are understanding in my tardiness as here in Florida we are currently in a state of emergency due to our sub-freezing temperatures of 31F (okay, despite my attempted humor it is really cold here, I swear it was like 80F yesterday).

Jacklyn

My name is Sophia. I have just submitted my application and it is after midnight in my local time. I am applying under the Pacific Standard Time. However, if by doing that, my application will be late, then I choose to be applying on Pago Pago's time, which is one of the last places on earth to be January 2nd.

I know my mailing address says Noida, India but I happen to be submitting my application while vacationing and am currently in Baker Island (GMT - 11 hours) so I will be submitting under that time.

Disha

Unfortunately, it seems that villagers in Apia, Samoa kidnapped me. But, remembering my James Bond tricks, I was able to free myself from them and submit it by 11:23 P.M. Samoan time. Hooray for Samoa!

Christopher from San Francisco, CA

I turned my application on Honolulu time

My computer just seems to be in California for some odd reason, so its on-time right....?

Marcos

Just wanted to let you know that I am submitting my application around Wednesday, January 2nd, 11:06 PM (local time in Gambier Islands of France). I was also wondering what time zone Baker Island is. On Wikipedia it said it was currently not decided on, and so they left it at 12 hours behind GMT? Its funny because UChicago is mentioned in the article...

"The University of Chicago requires that freshman applications be submitted before 12:00 AM January 3rd Baker Island Time."

Its okay if you don't end up responding to my question, I'm sure you guys are receiving tons of e-mails about these applications!

Take Care,

Mohit

I THINK I MIGHT HAVE A HEART ATTACK. I AM APPLYING UNDER BAKER ISLAND TIME ZONE.
I SUBMITTED MY APP ON JANUARY 2, 2008 6:07 PM BAKER WILL IT BE ACCEPTED!!!!!!???

APPLICANT NAME: TEDMAN

OMG!!! (That was my favorite one, as I think it accurately depicts what we all are feeling.)

Having been told I'd submitted my application at 11:16 PM, I set out to find a fitting location under which to apply. I considered Acapulco, Aguascalientes, and Chihuahua, but no cool Mexican name could outweigh the appropriateness of my eventual choice.

However shameful, I don't hesitate to admit that I'm a bit of a government geek and news junkie. I confess I took more than a few breaks this evening as I was putting the finishing touches on my application to check out new posts on the NY Times' "The Caucus" blog.
I read about the candidates' gaffes caused by sleep deprivation as I was wasting time at the expense of my own rest. And, yes, I will probably be up even later tomorrow night watching returns.

I am submitting my application [in spirit] from Des Moines, Iowa.

Zina

Despite living in Niskayuna, New York, I am choosing to submit my application under Itascatown, Howland Island time, since Howland Island is actually even farther to the west than Baker Island (but within the same time zone), and I love the U.S. Minor Outlying islands.

Thank you for your understanding,
Jonathan