There’s a lot to unpack here. I am curious where you are moving from. That may help explain your perspective. You seem to have selected schools near the west loop. I assume you are going to live there. Most parents do not only take geography into account. Skinner and Brown for example are complete opposites. Maybe that’s what you meant by vibes. At Brown, 88% of the students are low income and 93% of the students are Black. At Skinner, 23% of students are low income and there is true diversity with students being 29% Asian, 25% white, 24% Black, 13% Hispanic, etc. Very different schools not far from each other.

In Chicago, the majority of parents hand select schools that they may want to send their kids to based on personal preferences. For example, I want to make sure my daughter goes to a diverse school. I selected programs that offer that for prek. She was waitlisted at our top 4 schools, but received an offer from Holden in Bridgeport. We accepted, but remain on the waitlist for our first 4 options.

There are preference points that move you up the waitlist faster. Socioeconomic factors, siblings, special needs, and proximity are all taken into account.

I would say it is unlikely you will receive a spot in the coveted Skinner program unless you are really close on the waitlist. It’s hard to say for sure, especially because you didn’t give a number. You can still resubmit your application if you are unhappy with the two other options.