<p>Hey guys, I am considering transferring UChicago (if the admission gods are nice to me). I am really nervous about the essay and know how important it is for Uchicago. Can anyone post or send me their accepted or rejected essay to get a feel for what they would like to see?</p>
<p>THanks!</p>
<p>Hi,
I could post or send you one (or all four) of my essays. Which do you want?</p>
<p>By the way, I was accepted.</p>
<p>eserrur,</p>
<p>I wouldn't read other people's essays. Your essay should be the best, most pure expression of how you see yourself. It's up for Chicago to decide if that person is meant for Chicago or not. If you try too hard to have a certain voice or write in a certain style it might just backfire: your prose could come off as hollow and insincere, which is a sure-fire way to get rejected.</p>
<p>Chicago wants two things. One, they want you to know why you want to go to Chicago and be able to articulate it. Two, they want to know who you are, as a person, so they can craft a (hopefully compelling) story about you. Just keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I am also not sure that reading other college essays is the best plan - but everyone is different.</p>
<p>I have read a small sample of Chicago essays - both admitted and rejected. The admitted essays differed greatly in voice and structure. What they seemed to have in common was a certain joy in dealing with the realm of ideas. Diocletian mentions that the story should be about you. This is very true. Remember, though, that 'about you' can be taken very broadly. It can be literally about you and your life's experiences; it can also be a window into how you think. Some of the more intriguing essay topics show this quite clearly.</p>
<p>My best suggestions for Chicago essays are to start early (so you have time to think) and to do a couple of other apps first. Your first app probably won't be your best (you will likely think of something you should have done better just as your finger hits the submit button). Complete and submit a couple to uni's where the essays are less critical. </p>
<p>And ... a compelling essay is not a 5 paragraph AP essay. Get those out of your head. You're proto U of C kids ... read something hard that makes you think.</p>
<p>I read a few essays of accepted students at other colleges before I started work on mine. I think it helped quite a bit, as I realized that one can and should take risks when writing. You really need to be yourself, though. Sample essays are good when one wants to see what others who came before you have done, but one needs to be true to oneself and just write. Don't restrain yourself from saying what you want to say; just write what comes to mind, and don't be afraid.</p>
<p>I was on the other end of the spectrum (im an admit, btw). I just sat down one day and wrote my essay in about 1 hr. I did the first prompt... it essentially called for a very personal, semi-autobiographic piece. I really liked mine mainly because it was completely sincere; I didn't model it after anyone, there was never a thought about what they wanted to hear, and, having been written in that amount of time, my voice was evident (granted I later looked at grammar and whatnot). My point is that, as you have seen, there are completely different approaches on this. What we all agree on, I think, is that it should be YOUR essay... your ideas, your way of thinking, your reasoning about why you'd like to attend Chicago... not Katharos', your mom's, your counselor's....</p>
<p>Same here. I wrote my essays in one sitting, revising them later only for coherence, spelling, and grammar. Nobody else, not even my parents, read them before I sent them off to Chicago.</p>
<p>And lo! Four years later Chicago issued me a degree.</p>
<p>Your essay should reflect you through-and-through.</p>
<p>I wrote an essay revealing myself through actions that took place at the ER where I volunteer.
I liked the essay, I just don't think it was what they were looking for.</p>
<p>Till the day I die, I will hold that my essays are what didn't get me into Chicago, and the way that the University is, that's very common.</p>
<p>I guess I wasn't Uncommon enough <em>tear</em>.
Hahahha.</p>