<p>I may just be overly cynical, but I feel the 'pose your own question' essay is a way to reject people who reuse other schools' supplements, demonstrating their lack of interest in Uchi.</p>
<p>The question you pose is half of the trick. They’ll know if you choose a question that looks like an “any college” question. What they want is a question no other college would ever think to ask.</p>
<p>It’s not a trap. And, honestly, I doubt they care much if you recycle some other essay, if it’s a well-written essay. They aren’t playing games, they are trying to find the best students with the best fits (which, by and large, means the best students, period), and if your recycled essay shows that you belong, it will be fine. On the other hand, they sure aren’t going to cut you any breaks with a recycled essay. Everyone is going to recognize what you have done, and interpret it, correctly, as a sign of some arrogance and disrespect. If your essay and the rest of your application don’t really deliver the goods, you will probably be toast. I assume Recursive was a pretty strong candidate, and wrote a very good obstacle essay.</p>
<p>I think they affirmatively like it when applicants come up with their own UChicago-style prompts. A number of official prompts over the years began life as a roll-your-own prompt on someone’s application. Remember, everyone is reading hundreds of applications, which means scores and scores of the suggested essays. When someone comes up with a really good essay that doesn’t have the same approach as 50 other essays the same reader has read, that essay is going to stand out.</p>
<p>Nope. Did it. Got in. Third-year here.</p>