<p>I chose the "create your own" prompt for the last supplemental essay, and I was just wondering if it was too risky or edgy. It is about my view on what happens when we die, and stuff about how you are born into another living thing. I don't know if it's too religious (or lack thereof) for a college essay. Anyone have any opinions?</p>
<p>Honestly I’d recommend against it. They’re looking for good writing and creative insight. Religion is faith, not creative insight per se, so just stating your view of the after-life isn’t an effective use of essay space unless you somehow tie it to your cultural background or have some philosophical justification for why you believe it. Only go for it if it’s the one topic you can use to show off fantastic writing (ex. you have a layered metaphorical structure explored throughout).</p>
<p>I agree with LearningLover. It sounds creative, but it doesn’t sound like something that would go over well with an AdCom.</p>
<p>OP’s topic has been better addressed elsewhere:</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_a_Glass,_Darkly_(Gaarder_novel)[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_a_Glass,_Darkly_(Gaarder_novel)</a></p>
<p>Further, “stuff about how you are born into another living thing” may not go over well at university that has produced so many nobel prizes in science.</p>
<p>I think UChicago picks their prompts on purpose to see how people will respond to them and expects prospective students to answer them…when an adcom was asked about it when i visited Uchicago this summer he said that he advised against using your common app or “typical” essays in the create your own category and said to use the create your own only if you think your prompt is super creative or reveals your personality better than the ones given</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I changed my prompt to “Is table tennis a legitimate sport?” seeing as I play competitively and everyone thinks it’s just a hobby. I also wanted to get the fact that I am nationally rated across to Chicago because I didn’t talk about it in either of the other two essays.</p>
<p>I have seen that someone else wrote about racewalking and another about golf in that way. Just fyi. I think the first one doesn’t work. Not risky as far as touching on religion but risky in that it may not show original thought or demonstrate your abilities and insights as a critical thinker. It isn’t right or wrong about what you think, or that anyone cares what your religious belief is, but how you think and how you act as a result that would be the interesting part. If you can show how that thinking relates to you in the world than go for it.</p>