<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I was wondering someone could take a look at my Why Chicago essay and give me some feedback on it. Thanks a lot! </p>
<p>I consider myself to be an avid learner. From my earliest days in elementary school, I have been like a sponge for information. I have fond memories of visiting the school library and checking out books on everything from dinosaurs to head lice to the solar system. I did not read these books because I had to; rather, I read them because I felt an urge, even then, to expand my view of the world. </p>
<p>As I have grown older, the targets of my learning have changed, but the burning desire to expand and broaden my mind has not. In fact, this desire is one of the major reasons why I am going to college in the first place. Of course, I am going to prepare myself for my intended career in government. Of course I am going to meet new people and forge lifelong relationships. But perhaps most importantly, I am going to college in order to learn more. The University of Chicago seems like it would be an ideal place for that.</p>
<p>Crescat scientia; vita excolatur. Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched. This Latin motto is the perfect illustration of why the University of Chicago is such an alluring choice for me. I want to attend university in order to improve myself as a person, as well as a scholar; I want to expose myself to a variety of different perspectives and enrich my outlook on life through intellectual improvement. I believe that the University of Chicago will provide me with the opportunity to do this just this. The Common Core will be a major help. By forcing me to study a diverse range of topics, the Common Core will push me out of my comfort zone and broaden my intellectual horizons. By studying such a thorough liberal-arts curriculum, I will truly emerge from my undergraduate studies a more well-rounded individual.</p>
<p>I also believe that the relatively small class sizes at the University will provide a learning environment in which I will be able to thrive. The high school that I attended was a very small international school in Shanghai, China, in which most classes did not exceed 15 students. I believe that this small-class setting was truly beneficial for me, as it allowed for more one-on-one time between my instructor and I, which in turn allowed me to gain a better understanding of the course material. Thus, the fact that most Core classes at the University do not exceed 25 students is particularly comforting for me. </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, however, the entire culture at the University of Chicago seems to be geared towards intellectualism, something that I find particularly intriguing. I have read that the University of Chicago is considered by some to be a place where fun comes to die. I take that not as a negative, but as a positive. I take it as a commitment by the University to providing the most rigorous and intellectually stimulating experience that it possibly can. Maybe it won't be fun, in the sense that popcorn movies and gore-filled video games are fun. However, I believe that in the pursuit of knowledge lies another type of fun, one of intellectual improvement and personal betterment. For a devoted learner such as myself, this is why the University of Chicago is so appealing.</p>