<p>You can do what you want, Locoscopcous, but a plain list with no description/explanation would probably be pretty boring.</p>
<p>thank you corranged. are you a student at u chicago?</p>
<p>If I can answer for corranged, the answer is yes.</p>
<p>Corranged, jack4640, and I are all current students, and all rising second-years too, I've gathered.</p>
<p>I would also agree that a laundry list would be boring. If you can find a way to make it interesting, though, or if you have something that you think works for you, go ahead.</p>
<p>Fantastic advice unalove! I fell under the Chicago spell last year (rising senior). Their essays are just plain fun to write (I've done three, thrown one out, and can't decide between the last two- one is for option 4, the other option 5). I don't know if you're taking classes now, but would you mind reading one of my essays and letting me know what you think? And if yes, which one would you like to devour?</p>
<p>send me both.</p>
<p>Thank you! This is a big help. I've been dying for feedback. I PMed them.</p>
<p>Question: my son is writing about the experience that changed his life the most, 9/11. His dad was a fireman in NYC and was working that day, and my son thought his dad was dead all day. He wrote how it changed his life, made him realize the frailty of life and to be positive and give people a chance and not hold grudges.</p>
<p>Is this cliched?? Too uninteresting?? Should he write about losing every ski race he participated in instead, or something more lively? He doesn't want to write about this and have people think that he is lying, that it was not too important to him, but his dad got sick and had to retire because of the WTC clean-up, so it really did change his life, as we had to move, etc., for my husband's health.</p>
<p>Any advice?? Thanks,</p>
<p>I think tht 9/11 essay would be perfect. Although I'm not one to usually like, or promote sob stories, I would hardly say your son's experience qualifies as one. Instead, I think the essay shows personality and character, something extremely hard express well by with college admissions essays. So go ahead, don't ever disregard a personal topic just because it seems "too normal".</p>
<p>Adigal. It sounds like 9/11 really did touch your son in a profound way, and it should make for a very sincere essay. But be aware that this is indeed one of the most tired and cliched topics that admissions will see / have seen. Your son should make sure that his emotional/intellectual journey is the highlight of the essay, though the temptation will obviously be there to commemorate the sacrifices his father made, too.</p>
<p>Yes, good suggestion. I don't think he highlighted his father's illness at all, but he did sound kind of like "peace and love" since 9/11. But it really is true.</p>
<p>When you say it is cliched and tired as a topic, do you mean that many kids have written about it as distant observors, or that many kids who were actually involved have written about it? Thanks,
Adigal</p>
<p>Thank you for the input - I does seem cliched, but he really was affected by this.</p>
<p>I'm sure 9/11 has come up over and over as a theme in college essays, both in a removed and idealistic way and also in a more personal and searing way.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean it can't make a great essay, and if your son wants to write about it, he should write about it.</p>
<p>I would recommend, though, that he also takes a stab at the Uncommon Application and its questions and that he sends in the 9/11 piece as a supplemental. If your son writes a great uncommon piece and shows that he's ready for the mindfudge that Chicago can be at times, his 9/11 piece will only add emotion and dimension to his application. If he only submits his 9/11 piece only, he runs the risk of being overlooked as an applicant both at Chicago and at other schools. Is this fair? No. But just the way an admissions officer at Sarah Lawrence talks about the way she reads HTCML essays (How Theater Changed My Life), I think that admissions officers tend to say, "Oh, not 9/11 again!"</p>
<p>I would also suggest to your son that he spends a lot of time on each school's supplemental essay.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion - he will have to look over Chicago's essays to see if/where it would work. He was looking forward to answering the table essay!</p>
<p>I found this:</p>
<p>
[quote]
O’Neill said he gets angry when an applicant tries to tweak an answer from the Common Application for use at Chicago.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/11/02/online%5B/url%5D">http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/11/02/online</a></p>
<p>I don't take this paraphrase of O'Neill at full value, as your common essay can be uncommonly good, but I do think it's another warning for students-- don't try to cut corners with the uncommon application.</p>
<p>I was reading the Borges y yo essay and got so excited. I called up a friend and she was like *** IS WRONG WITH YOU? GETTING EXCITED ABOUT A COLLEGE ESSAY? seriously, I love it. /geekiness</p>
<p>I love UChicago and I honestly am excited to write my essay. Most people are like..your essay has to show that you're not your run-of-the-mill Jewish girl from NY. The fact that the Uchicago prompts are so ...off-the-wall make it so easy to show how creative you are. </p>
<p>When I figure out what I'm going to say for the Borges y yo one, I'll ask for help here on CC. =]</p>
<p>You can write about your run-of-the-mill-Jewish-girl-from-New-Yorkness in your essay!</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I think Chicago is lacking in run-of-the-mill-Jewish-girl-from-New-Yorks.</p>
<p>unalove mentioned sending in supplemental essays in addition to the required uncommon one. Are we allowed to do that? If so, how? I feel like yes, the uncommon essay does allow you to show your intellectual side, but by doing that, it restricts the emotional expression (in my case anyway).</p>
<p>Here's admissions officer Libby Pearson's comment from the "Watch out!" thread about supplementals:</p>
<p>
[quote]
We have guidelines for submitting supplementary material on the application this year. We also have forms (new this year) that we want to accompany your supplementary things.</p>
<p>We never feel that supplementary material is a necessary component to your application, unless you have achieved a huge level of distinction in your chosen field (for example, writing, composing, chess-playing.) We would like to see it, but it most likely will not make a difference in our decision.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The reason I suggest supplementals is because a) it will put you more at ease, and b)a friend of mine did it two or three years ago and it seemed like a wise decision for him. While you might be admitted without any supplemental materials, you might feel better after having sent them in, knowing that you've done all you could do for your admissions file.</p>
<p>Locuspocus, your uncommon essay need not be emotional. If the admissions office wanted to read an emotional piece, they would create prompts directed towards emotional responses.</p>
<p>My Chicago essay was also the essay I sent to most schools. I changed the title, last sentence or two, and a couple of individual words for the Chicago application (with different adjustments for other schools). I did not submit it under option #5. It fit one of the provided prompts by focusing on a very specific part of the prompt question. It was not funny, strange, "out there," or anything else. By making the small changes I made, the essay ended up being both something close to a personal story--which made up the bulk of the essay--but also a proposal/question on the importance of truth (or lack thereof). </p>
<p>You don't need to write an essay that's stereotypical U of C to make it interesting, and you don't need to write a separate essay for a successful Chicago application if you handle your essay well.</p>
<p>I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this thread. I've always found UC's essay prompts to be very interesting, and I appreciate the tips that everyone has been so willing to share about this year's prompts. I'm coming to you guys with my UChicago-related needs! :)</p>