A high school senior from Bourbon County will have a tough decision to make about where to attend college. Sadie Darbro has been accepted to eight schools, including The University of Chicago, American University, and Sarah Lawrence College. She’ll have to choose one of the schools by National College Decision Day on May 1. 

She was also accepted to the University of Louisville, Loyola University Chicago, Seton Hall University, University of Colorado Boulder, and Centre College. The senior is still awaiting decisions from Dartmouth College and Georgetown University.

Sadie has dreamt of attending The University of Chicago since freshman year. When Sadie first opened her acceptance letter, she “thought it was a mistake.” She felt a combination of joy and shock and didn’t bother to video it because she “didn’t think she was going to get in.” 

She said, “I initially applied to UChicago because it’s academically rigorous, the campus is beautiful, it’s competitive, and it has an Institute of Politics, which is a really great way for prospective law students to get involved.” 

Sadie earned those impressive acceptance letters by being at the top of her graduating class and assuming several leadership roles in her school and community. She’s heavily involved in the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association and will be presiding over the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA) as the International Court of Justice President this spring. The senior also competes for the BCHS swim team and serves as the President of Student Council, Y-Club, and National Honor Society. 

This past summer, Sadie virtually attended The University of Chicago’s Emerging Rural Leaders Program. She studied a course called Freedom of Expression and the Politics of Social Media. Despite attending the course from home, Sadie met passionate students from across the globe and earned college credit from the university. 

As of mid-March, Sadie said she’ll most likely attend The University of Chicago (UChicago) in the fall. She plans to major in global studies and minor in human rights. 

“Eventually, I will go to law school, and I want to pursue international humanitarian law. It’s something I’m really interested in, especially from doing International Court of Justice at KUNA,” Sadie said. 

The University of Chicago is one of the most prestigious schools in the country. The university is known for attracting students from diverse backgrounds who are intellectually curious, engaged, and a bit quirky. UChicago is consistently ranked in the top 10 universities and has an acceptance rate of 7%. 

“UChicago’s community is known for being very eccentric, and I really liked that, especially with the component of it being academically rigorous,” Sadie said. 

Sadie recommends that any student who is remotely interested in The University of Chicago apply. The UChicago supplemental essays demand highly original and engaging responses. Their essay prompts are known for being quite outlandish and unconventional. 

“UChicago has something kind of unique to it called the uncommon essay. With the uncommon essay, they’re trying to see how you think and how you approach information. They’re very open-ended and there isn’t a right answer to them. I would say when you’re writing those, focus on your strengths and write naturally. Don’t try to write what you think the admissions counselors want to hear. Write how you think. Be authentic,” she said.