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I'll assume that the entire post is directed at me.
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I think that it would be patently obvious to anyone who has read the full thread that it wasn't. You are correct that you are not the poster who has been carrying on the strident debate.</p>
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Im assuming they require several essays?
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There is only one main (long) essay required, but the application does also include several short-answer type questions.</p>
<p>Hey! I have an idea for Chicago for next year's essay! Here goes: Take any group of strangers. Pretend they met on the Internet. In a discussion forum. Say the College Confidential discussion forum. Why do great minds not all think alike all of the time, most of the time, or even some of the time and why does not agreeing so rankle the same said minds? Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, twist and shout and raise your hand if you can explain why, aside from filling the cyberspace landfill, any of the ensuing argument really matters to even one small corner of the universe. ;)</p>
<p>Who says the universe has corners? :D</p>
<p>Hey: what could be LESS pretentious than "submit an essay on any topic you want?"</p>
<p>These prompts seem whimsical and fun to me...</p>
<p>Maybe the oddness IS stategic in this way: by having 4 way-out prompts & one "do anything" prompt, Chicago is showing that the topic of the essay is totally unimportant. It can be about mustard! The 5 topics taken together say, "Go Anywhere." </p>
<p>What you DO with the prompt-- the fruit of your imagination-- is very important... how you attack a goofy prompt, where you go with it. How you manage to get who you are and how you think to somehow permeate the essay even though it is about string, or the X/Y axes, or whatever.</p>
<p>I agree with calmom, and others, that these prompts are probably very appealing to writers, oddball ponderers, and creative thinkers. They seem like prompts designed specifically to get you OFF of the topic of your wonderful self and all your great accomplishments, so I say bravo Chicago.</p>
<p>My D and I attended a U Chicago information session at the time of the 2004-05 essay prompts. The admissions rep asked the 30 or so students in the room for a show of hands as to who was looking forward to writing the Chicago essay and who was dreading the process. Given that the rep had previously gone around the room asking each student his/her name, high school, and area(s) of academic interest, I expected most - if not all - students to say they were looking forward to writing the essay. Not so. Only 2 students at that particular information session seemed excited about Chicago's somewhat unique application; the rest appeared to fall into the category described in an earlier thread, that is, they were applying to Chicago despite, not because of, the essay. Personally, I love the prompts; then again, I'm glad I'm not the one having to do the writing. :)</p>
<p>Carolyn, great essay topic.</p>
<p>I also like the one based on Miles Davis' quote. The person who came up with an essay topic based on that quote gets a big thumbs up from me. (Which means nothing) :).</p>
<p>Just want to share a personal, completely subjective experience. </p>
<p>I applied to Chicago early, was accepted, but eventually chose Columbia instead. I don't consider myself too quirky or pretentious, and still I was not at all put off by Chicago's essays. On the contrary, the vague, all-purpose common app qs, or the qs used by most other universities left me unsure where to begin, or what to write about at all. I had no idea what they colleges wanted, or how personal or thoughtful I should make the essays. Chicago, on the other hand, gives its applicants a starting point, however bizarre, and from there, the student can go wherever he or she wants to with the topic. </p>
<p>The essays don't seem unfair or tedious, because I believe Chicago when they say that they evaluate a straightforward, "serious" essay no less fairly than they would a whimsical or humerous one. I, like most Chicago applicants I spoke with, was very proud of my essay, and didn't consider it tedious or bs like I did most of the other essays. In fact, I submitted basically the same essay to Columbia (very open prompt that year) and I really believe that it helped me get again.</p>
<p>That sad, Chicago is definitely not a school for everyone. People who find the essays intimidating or pretentious probably would not be happy with Chicago's climate, and have no reason to apply. I agree with previous posters that Chicago has no incentive to artificially decrease their selectivity rate by increasing the number of applicants who do not truly understand or desire Chicago's "unique" atmosphere.</p>
<p>Egad,</p>
<p>I agree with Carolyn....</p>
<p>Xiggi, I think your reference to corners is a bit pretentious...... :)</p>
<p>NMD! Just for you:</p>
<p>I attempted to describe the universe as a point or series of points on this axial arrangement. I could not define the quadrant in which it could lie? The x and y were simply not for the great U, and no amount of love from the z-axis could bring solace? The impossiblity of defining the domain, range, derivative, and asymptotes did, in fact, preclude the Great U to apply to Unpretentious U. Despite the possibilities being positively and negatively unbounded, I simply could not find any corners in the Great U nor any worth cutting. </p>
<p>X (and no Z)</p>
<p>This thread is clearly lacking the pretentious perspective, so I feel compelled to chime in:</p>
<p>I am a U of C essay prompt author. I submitted Option 2 of this years Uncommon App. I was never going for pretension when I constructed the prompt it was intended to be Chicagoan, for sure, but I always thought there was a difference. </p>
<p>You must understand that the prompts are submitted as a part of a contest, one that I set out to win. I started with a theme that I would want to see on the Chicago application, and submitted a prompt that felt like it belonged on the application. </p>
<p>The purpose of the prompt isnt to make you read an obscure collection of Pacific Northwest inspired naturalistic essays, or to prove to you that I have: its only to provide the background necessary to introduce the concept of helade, and to let you as the writer go from there. </p>
<p>I shouldnt be defending myself. I shouldnt have my character attacked solely because of the exceedingly pretentious nature of the prompt that I wrote. I feel that all of the prompts deserve to be on the application, and so does the University of Chicago. If you dont like the prompts, dont use them.</p>
<p>Igav, your post says it all! Especially the ever so eloquent last line. </p>
<p>Thanks for enlightening the common mortals!</p>
<p>igav, you did a good job. Chicago has the best essays. I'd ask you what you won, but then some people would complain about your prize or that there was even a contest in the first place.</p>
<p>I hope you are liking Chicago. It's a great school. Hey. Mike Nichols went there. :)</p>
<p>Actually, I'm surprised we haven't heard rumors that Igav's prompt was really written by a famous professional application designer (or one of the many post-docs in his lab), who is swapping favors with Igav's parents (they have agreed to mentor said AD's child for the Intel competition).</p>
<p>One thing I am pretty certain of: I'll bet Igav does not have encyclopedic knowledge of Northwest Native American language and culture. He got that he'lade thing out of a book. And someone probably TOLD him to go read the book. Someone who had READ IT ALREADY! This is a far cry from the days when kids used to draft college application essay prompts in their basements, without parents and teachers getting involved!</p>
<p>JHS -
"He got that he'lade thing out of a book."
Quite likely. And may I ask where your information is coming from?</p>
<p>What information? The prompt cites the book, and Igav's post refers to it. The rest is parody of some of the discussion in the adjacent thread about the Intel competition.</p>
<p>Oops, sorry, JHS, I'm being denser than usual. Didn't read the Intel thread as it looked too scary!</p>
<p>"On the contrary, the vague, all-purpose common app qs, or the qs used by most other universities left me unsure where to begin, or what to write about at all. I had no idea what they colleges wanted, or how personal or thoughtful I should make the essays. Chicago, on the other hand, gives its applicants a starting point, however bizarre, and from there, the student can go wherever he or she wants to with the topic."</p>
<p>Humbert sums up why I think the Chicago prompts are so much easier than a standard "Tell us why you want to attend our U," or "What is special about you." A truly creative and inspired wrtiter doesn't need a pretentious prompt (most were incredibly so, IMHO) I think they'd get a more creative admit by finding an inspired essayist who didn't need his hand held or didn't need to be told "BE UNCONVENTIONAL! BE A SAGE!" It should come naturally. A good writer could create a masterpiece out of even the blandest of prompts. (I also agree with Marite that those Chinese prompts were not pretentious.)</p>
<p>I do agree with everyone that it is surely a self-selecting component of the application. But a real turn-off to some extremely creative, outside-the-box thinkers who don't like the artificial, forced kookiness of it all.</p>
<p>igav,</p>
<p>Your he'lade IS a great prompt, IMH(&NeverPretentious)O. </p>
<p>But what does it say about me that my personal he'lade is a big soft downy bed at 4pm, in a room with the curtains drawn, in any Four Seasons hotel?</p>
<p>I haven't received a prize yet, and I have no idea what it will be. Also, I'm not attending U of C... you just have to be accepted to submit a prompt.</p>