<p>would you mind posting your essay on why chicago is a good match for you? i'm not going to copy it or anything, but i want an idea of the kind of stuff they're looking for.</p>
<p>If you're a fit for UChicago, writing this essay ought to be cake. Never try to write towards "the kind of stuff they're looking for;" it's pathetic.</p>
<p>it'll be a slice a pie.... why do you want to go? let them know</p>
<p>yeah, i wrote what i think is good, but i think i might have focused a bit too much on the social environment and not enough on the academics. also, i don't take a very direct approach to the quesion (which might be a good thing, might be a bad) i'll post it; tell me what u guys think.</p>
<pre><code>Ever since I was in Middle School I was part of a small community of intellectual mindsnerds, if you will. Back in 2000, while most of my classmates cafeteria tables were gossiping about who made it to second base with whom, my friends and I were huddled around a table in the corner, taking seriously about the election (we all wanted Ralph Nader) in between cracking jokes about public figures. School was interesting at times, but for us the real learning took place in the reading and discussing we did outside the classroom. We were surrounded by a sea of jocks and popular kids. Even the typical overachievers werent part of our groupif we asked them what they thought about the conflict between free speech and the preservation of public order, they wouldnt know what to answer unless there was a test on it next Monday. We were the vast minority. But at Chicago, everyone will be a nerd just like. At Chicago, I suspect the student body consists entirely of kids from these corner cafeteria tables. I know that my learning experience wont end when class is overit will continue when Im eating lunch with my friends, or when Im in the bathroom reading the graffiti on the walls. Chicago is the only place where Ill be able to discuss higher philosophy while at a party; the discussion of course will be made all the more interesting by the fact that were at a party.
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<p>i think that you come onto the admissions people a bit too much. they know that these qualities are the ones that are advertised, it comes off as a little pushy--like youre pushing your vision of the u on them. also, youre calling them nerds. no one likes that. other than that, its cool</p>
<p>i'm sure you could have a philosophical, serious discussion at a Harvard or Princeton party just as easily, if you're gonna try the let's tell them how much we love Chicago attempt you should try more hard to get information like the hammer and sicle which forms on May 1st on the economic statue. (May 1st is a communist holiday and the stature was designed by a soviet, rly ingeniously giving a big F U to chicago's renowned business and economics programs.)</p>
<p>calling yourself an intellectual, setting yourself and your "nerd" friends apart, sounds a little pretentious. key piece of advice in all writing: SHOW NOT TELL. show them you're intellectual, show them how they fit you.</p>
<p>I understand what you're trying to do and you miss some of the landmines but imo the tone is more than a little bit too self-congratulatory.</p>
<p>can i please see some of your responses?</p>
<p>oh yeah, btw, this is another version of the same essay i wrote before that one... is this one any better? </p>
<p>As a young person, I view my life as a source of endless possibility. Its cliché to say this, but really, at this point in my life anything can be mine if just get up and take it. Sometimes when Im sitting not doing anything in particular, or waiting to fall asleep, I like to construct elaborate pictures in my mind of what the future might hold for me </p>
<pre><code>A sole beam of Chicago sunlight pokes its way through the window of my Breckinridge Hall dormitory, slowly rising me from my slumber until my alarm clock speeds things up and announces its almost time for my first class of the morning. I remember that today Ill be getting last weeks term paper back. In High School an A would have been all but guaranteedhere, thats not the case. I exhale deeply and go about my morning routine. In the bathroom, I notice there are scrawled: an amusing comment about the categorical imperative, and an equation that I assume would be somehow funny if I was a math major. God, I love this place.
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<p>Walking outside towards my class I am greeted by the usual stone gargoyle, which has now become a typical sight and a symbol of my existence. I nod hello to a passing classmate who I had an extremely interesting discussion about the merits of representative democracy the other night. I arrive to class, sit down, and prepare myself mentally. In High School, I had prided myself on my ability to sit nonchalantly daydreaming in class and still pull of an A. But now, class isnt someplace I sit and wait for an hour, paying attention when necessary or interesting. Now, in class I am fully alert and engaged, my entire mind awake and afire as my brain absorbs new and incredible things. Listening to the professor gives my mind this feelinga feeling I used to associate with reading a good book, or having an interesting debate with a friend, not with class. Chicago is making my brain work harder than its ever worked in its life, and I absolutely love it. Thinking and learning about something that interests me just gives me this rush, and this is only heightened by the fact that I know every other student on campus feels the same way. Class is over, and the papers are being returned. I hold my breath. I really worked hard on this paperthe topic was incredibly interesting, and I put a lot of time and thought into it. Thinking a C+ would be typical and a B would be an achievement, I look down at my grade its an A! I stand up in my chair and throw my arms into the air. At Chicago, an A is a real accomplishment. I feel like I earned it, like I deserve it. Its not some arbitrary symbol, its a sign that my education is working, that Im developing into a greater intellectual being. </p>
<pre><code>After class, I look forward to a night of partying to celebrate my achievement. Of course, my idea of a fun night is a lengthy debate about a controversial subject. Being in a partied state of mind just makes these discussions all the more interesting. Its only at Chicago where I will have classmates who will have as much fun doing this as I will.
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<p>You lost me at the first paragraph. Boring as hell. Didn't read the rest. Haven't you noticed that anyone accepted to Chicago has not posted essays? Buy a clue.</p>
<p>"party on, dude"</p>
<p>the first paragraph doesn't even really add anything. in fact, i deleted it. now, read it, please, tell me what you think. i know exactly why i want to go to chicago and they are strong reasons, but i'm trying to decide exactly how to express it.</p>
<p>didn't get in...but...i will post it. </p>
<p>How does University of Chicago as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community and future? Please address with some particularity your own wishes and how they relate to Chicago.</p>
<p>As I read the phrase The life of the mind I was intrigued, puzzled and curious. What is the life of the mind? Is it some sort of way that the elite follow? A life filled with reason, facts, understanding, and mind? When I pondered more upon this idea, I concluded that the life of the mind also includes the desire, the passion and the unrelenting search for the truth. Whether it is in biology understanding the exact mechanism the HIV virus activates the apoptosis pathway in T-cells or in an Indiana Jones movie when Harrison Ford tries with all his might and wisdom to uncover the Ark of the Covenant, the life of the mind is set into motion. </p>
<p>In my life, the desire to know the truth led me to many odd places. One day I wanted to see the world on the other side of my fence, I jumped and landed in a puddle of water in which small fish were enjoying a non-stop buffet of mosquito larvae. I saw the force of natural selection in action when few fishes were a tad faster than the others, enough for the faster ones to enjoy more larvae. I then wondered what would happen if all the larvae were consumed by the fish? Would the fish population also die? </p>
<p>Wherever I go I apply the life of the mind. Not because I choose to, but because I need to. I worked for two summers in a research lab. In there, I would not have lasted a day doing cloning, transformations, transfections, westerns and cleaning thoroughly all the glass ware (rinse thoroughly 3 times with water, then apply Alconox and thoroughly scrub using a scrubber, after which rinse 6 times with water till all the soap is off and then rinse 3 times with distilled water and let it air dry over night to autoclave) without focused concentration. </p>
<p>The core curriculum that is synonymous with the name of University of Chicago is a vital force that attracts me to your institution. I intend to concentrate on biological sciences with a specialization in neuroscience. By understanding the world around me from the eyes of physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, and religion, I believe Chicago prepares me more for the real world and helps me understand the human body and its mind in a broad view, yet with no loss of scope. </p>
<p>So you see, going to a university where the life of the mind is upheld above all else is a dream come true. Either it be doing research on prions in Dr. James Mastrianis lab or stealing cups of coffee for one of many overnight study sessions to Regenstein Library, University of Chicago is a life-long love that aids in enriching my life, fulfilling my dreams and most of all, let me be who I am.</p>
<p>All I can say is "wow". I think you have just put into words what I have felt about uofc for the past four years.
You'll be sorely missed.
It's just an utter loss on Chicago's part.</p>
<p>Refering to Chicagonobel, not the other guy.</p>
<p>WAIT CHICAGONOBEL YOU DIDNT GET IN???????????????????</p>
<p>please tell me you were at least defered.</p>
<p>i am so so so sorry</p>
<p>hey, can anyone let me know what they think of my essay? it's not really done yet--(it cuts off at the end). thanks</p>
<p>When I was much younger, I had only a few vague notions about college that could easily be summed up in a simple statement: it was the place one went, after graduating from high school, to learn more. Then I grew up, entered that once-awing phase of high school, and discovered that college wasnt supposed to be so simple. Like other second-semester high school juniors attempting to discover where they wanted to spend their college years, I was assaulted by teacher-student ratios, school-year-abroad opportunities, internship possibilities, and glossy viewbooks displaying happy students having class on the perpetually green grass, until I wondered whether there it even mattered which Top 25 College a student attended; after all, they sounded practically the same. But when I returned to my childhood definition of college, I realized that my fundamental interest in attending college remained the same: to learn more. With this in mind, I revisited my Fiske Guide to discover and be excited by a handful of colleges whose educational philosophy matched mine with uncanny precision, and at the very top of that list was the University of Chicago.
I want to attend school where peers who recognize the value inherent in useless knowledge, where a core curriculum is embraced and not shunned, where Evil and Moments in Atheism are offered as elective courses, where political science was first recognized as a scholarly discipline, where intellectualism is never a dirty word, where drinking is not a social necessity, where fun and learning are not exclusionary spheres, where education is never a passive act. I see myself most comfortable with classmates for whom the college experience is not considered merely as a stepping stone to the first million, but a stepping stone to the grandeur of understanding. While a liberal arts education such as the University of Chicago offers is often dismissed as an impractical privilege, I expect the Core to also serve me a very practical purpose. Currently, I am undecided in both major and profession, and my absolute terror of having a midlife crisis because of an unfulfilling career far outweighs my reluctance to be mistaken as a directionless dilettante. Hence, the Core will not only give me the breadth of knowledge I desire, but also exposure to a number of different areas, allowing me to make an educated, informed decision about my choice of concentration. Regardless of what I do ultimately pursue, I hope that my studies will remain very much interdisciplinary, and this objective can be fulfilled</p>
<p>what more can I say, you hit it right on the spot.</p>
<p>did you get in EA?</p>
<p>Marry Christmas</p>
<p>no, I'm applying RD even though it's my first choice (long story)
thanks, and merry xmas to you too</p>
<p>omg, sweetdreams87 - is that you mackenzie???? its jean! from edwards! that is, if it is mackenzie...</p>
<p>hehe, sorry, not mackenzie. :)</p>