<p>I've looked forward to writing the UChicago essay ever since they sent me a postcard last year with "Mind that does not stick". However, now that I'm writing it, I'm having some qualms about if my essay is too weird....</p>
<p>I am currently writing on prompt #3 about describing a road and am doing a completely fictional/metaphysical road. I've been writing it in past tense but sometimes the sentences feel really convoluted. My question is, would it be okay for me to write this essay in present tense instead? Also, does Chicago mind essays that are more of a creative writing than a personal recollection? thanks!</p>
<p>They love creative writing! Dont worry, just do what feels right. Just make sure it has some answer or elaboration to the prompt.</p>
<p>Hatoyama had beautiful advice, which I'm going to steal:</p>
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[quote]
Anything you write will be, in essence, a reflection of you. So if you write fiction for your essay, that says something about you — the question is, will their perception of you be what you want it to? Figure out how you want the adcom to see you, and then figure out how to best achieve that through your essays.
[/quote]
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<p>And this, from former U(C) admissions counselor Libby Pearson:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Your essay is not "supposed to be" anything... funny, a particular number of pages, about you, about the cure for cancer, etc. That is what is so great about having new questions every year -- we have no expectations when we begin reading in November. Any preconceived notions we have when we read the questions in the summer usually fly out the door when we read the first ten essays of the year
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<p>Anecdotally, I can tell you that students here took all sorts of approaches to writing their essays. I think Chicago purposely tries to balance out the questions each year and the ways they imagine they can be answered... so, for example, some are more quantitative, some lend themselves to stories, some are great for common-app style personal reflection.</p>
<p>The other thing I'd point out-- again-- is that it doesn't have to be the slightest bit weird. You can write about yourself and real things that happened to you, and you don't need to talk about chocolate elephants or golden toasters.</p>
<p>k thanks all!</p>
<p>I guess what I'm writing doesn't really reflect me other than my creativity/ way of thinking but I feel very comfortable writing this narrative so I'm going to stick with it.</p>
<p>Plenty of great works have been written in the present tense (The Namesake for example) and essays about books tend to be written in the present tense--this adds an additional fairly interesting element to your story. Is your metaphysical road a work of literature?</p>
<p>You meant metaphorical right? I think that's what the Chicago prompt said.
UNLESS! you're doing something metaphysical.
I wonder what that would make of a road.
Tight tight</p>
<p>1 more question, does anyone know what chicago means by "1-2 pages", mines ending up around 700 words that should be fine right?</p>
<p>some guy on another post talked about writing a 2,000 word + essay and getting in
Mine's around the 1000's</p>
<p>One-two pages single spaced. 700 is fine in TNR.</p>