# University of Chicago's Essay Prompts



## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

...of any that fall into the "just plain weird" category. 

UPennsylvania:


> You have just completed your 300-page autobiography. Please submit page 217.


UChicago:


> Find x.














> Elvis is alive!
> 
> OK, maybe not, but here in the Office of College Admissions we are persuaded that current Elvis sightings in highway rest areas, grocery stores and laundromats are part of a wider conspiracy involving five of the following:
> 
> ...


LMFAO. I was fine with it until the last part!

Tufts has some awesome ones, too. I'll post them later. In the meantime:


What have been your favorite questions?
Any idea how you would answer them (just a thesis or summary, please :S)?
What prompt would you give if you were in admissions?
Here is one of many lists: http://www.aceonlineschools.com/20-strange-college-application-essay-questions/


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## ByzantineBird (Sep 4, 2010)

yo dawgg I was interested in that school for its environment, i thought it would be the place I would fit in. I would answer what comes to mind first, and keep going with it. then reflect and ask if the answer represents you, your thinking, and what you want them to know/feel out of your essay, then edit it. that way it is honest, if you believe in honesty and all that, so they can find a good match for the school. though dogg if u lookin at graduate school you may want a cheaper option unless you think you can get the scholarship money.


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## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

OH, no, no! I wasn't asking for tips on how to write my essay-- if anything, that's at the top factor in my favor. And no, I wouldn't write an essay without putting my heart in it if it were meant to be a cross-section of my essence.

My question was out of curiosity at what other posters would express of themselves in the context of these questions, what prompts especially pique their interest, etc.

I know I'll have at least some scholarship money and I'll probably get part of my tuition paid off for joining the Peace Corps.


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## slime (May 21, 2011)

Nomenclature said:


> Find x.


 it's weird because immediately as i read this thread title i thought of how my friend that lives in chicago was talking about receiving that as a prompt and copied and pasted me the first paragraph of his essay which was amazingly written and responded to. i'm not sure whether or not he was in college at the time though, or what college he's even currently going to. although i know he was accepted to one of the top ten pharmacy colleges in the country recently.

i personally would have a lot of fun with it, it really requires creativity rather than just bullshitting some opinion.


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## friction (Apr 29, 2011)

UPenn said:


> You have just completed your 300-page autobiography. Please submit page 217.


I like this one. It's not entirely random, I can approach it in an organized way, think about what chapter of myself I'd be talking about by the time pg. 217 came around, it's personal, and I might learn something about myself in the process. It appeals to my Sensory preferences.

The others require far too much random creativity. I think completely random prompts requiring creativity and imagination with some kind of humour thrown in, and asking you to elaborate on some crazy/wacky ideas seem geared towards Intuitive types, particularly Ne.


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## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

highlandstorm said:


> I like this one. It's not entirely random, I can approach it in an organized way, think about what chapter of myself I'd be talking about by the time pg. 217 came around, it's personal, and I might learn something about myself in the process. It appeals to my Sensory preferences.


Yeah, I totally understand that and how to approach it, but the twist is how to make each page count, especially when you're turning in page 217 as an expression of what you're made of. That's also REALLY hard for me as a rambler.



> The others require far too much random creativity. I think completely random prompts requiring creativity and imagination with some kind of humour thrown in, and asking you to elaborate on some crazy/wacky ideas seem geared towards Intuitive types, particularly Ne.


What do you think that implies about the school? 

This one's amazing though. There's something in it for everyone: 


> Albert Einstein once said,”The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” Propose your own original theory to explain one of the 16 mysteries below. Your theory does not need to be testable or even probable; however, it should provide some laws, principles, and/or causes to explain the facts, phenomena, or existence of one of these mysteries. You can make your theory artistic, scientific, conspiracy-driven, quantum, fanciful, or otherwise ingenious — but be sure it is your own and gives us an impression of how you think about the world.
> 
> Love
> Non-dairy creamer
> ...


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## friction (Apr 29, 2011)

Nomenclature said:


> Yeah, I totally understand that and how to approach it, but the twist is how to make each page count, especially when you're turning in page 217 as an expression of what you're made of. That's also REALLY hard for me as a rambler.


Mmm, I suspect I would talk about one aspect of myself. Might not be the best strategy, but rather than serve them the entire menu of me on a plate, I'd rather just give them one dish as a sampler. I'd much rather go into the whys and wherefores of one thing, and make it informative/educational (in an objective sense) in the process so the reader learns something new too. The reasoning for this might be rooted in how if I got rejected, I wouldn't feel like they rejected all of me, but just one part of me, too. A little self-preservation thrown in. 



> What do you think that implies about the school?


Hah. Good point.



> This one's amazing though. There's something in it for everyone:


I do quite like that list. /approves


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## RyanJF (Jun 4, 2011)

I think I logged off the Common App website once I got to the University of Chicago's essay section.


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## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

Aaaallright, the new essay questions are out, and I could hardly be more excited!
*Essay Option 1.*

*“What does Play-Doh™ have to do with Plato?” – The 2011 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt List*

Every May, the University of Chicago hosts the world’s largest scavenger hunt. As part of this year’s hunt, students raced to find the shortest path between two seemingly unrelated things by traveling through Wikipedia articles.


Wikipedia is so passé. Without the help of everyone’s favorite collaborative internet encyclopedia, show us your own unique path from Play-Doh™ to Plato.​*Essay Option 2.	*

Observation, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, Conclusion; since the 17th century, the scientific method has been the generally accepted way to investigate, explore, and acquire new knowledge.


The actual process of intellectual discovery, however, is rarely so simple or objective. The human mind often leaps from observation to conclusion with ease, rushes headlong into hypothesis-less experiments, or dwells on the analysis, refusing to conclude.


*Tell us about your non-scientific method. (Diagrams, graphs, and/or visual aids allowed within your essay.)*​ *Essay Option 3.	*

Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, *“Between living and dreaming there is a third thing. Guess it.” Give us your guess.*​ *Essay Option 4.	*

While working at the Raytheon Company, Percy Spencer noticed that standing in front of a magnetron (used to generate microwave radio signals) caused a chocolate bar in his pocket to melt. He then placed a bowl of corn in front of the device, and soon it was popping all over the room. A couple years later, Raytheon was selling the first commercial microwave oven.

*Write about a time you found something you weren’t looking for.*​ *Essay Option 5. *

In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, *pose a question of your own.* If your prompt is original and thoughtful, then you should have little trouble writing a great essay. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun.​ *Essay Option 6.	*

Don’t write about reverse psychology.​


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## blit (Dec 17, 2010)

Troll University.


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