<p>I agree with mrchipmunk. Collectively, the Ivies are about as varied as any group of schools can be, and applying to all of them indicates that you haven't done enough editing to your list on your own part.</p>
<p>Once you think a little bit more about what you want in a school, you'll be able to pick a few Ivies over others, and then you'll be able to look other schools that, even though they are not in the Crazy 8, will offer you similar academic and career opportunities. Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and UMichigan come to mind as schools that look like they will fit what you're looking for well. (Though the point is extremely contentious, I think that NU does better with recruiters overall than Chicago does, as the school is more professionally oriented).</p>
<p>In terms of the Chicago application, it will take a long time. Most of that time will be spent thinking rather than writing, so get ahold of the application when it comes out in late July, take a few weeks to brainstorm ideas, and then, whenever you're ready to write, let it come out. Give yourself enough time to write multiple versions of your essay, though-- a lot of us rewrote our college essays four or five times before we were satisfied with them.</p>