<p>So I've been trying to write my college essays, obviously. A few drafts in and I feel I've got a neat idea for the "Games" UChicago prompt. However, I remember reading in some college essay guidelines somewhere that philosophizing in an essay should be avoid, since "you probably don't have anything fundamentally new or interesting to say." I wanted to make what I think is a neat observation about a certain game, and what it says about us/our society, but I don't know if that crosses this line. I also know that UChicago tends to be more lenient and open-minded about these things.</p>
<p>Armchair philosophy is surely Chicagoan in character, but it may be inappropriate for an admissions essay. If you wish to be profound, be thoroughly thoughtful. When you give your “neat observation about a certain game,” be careful to use it effectively. Do not carelessly toss it between two sentences and expect your reader to perceive its profound nature. As an example, I give you a quote from Morpheus, whose dialogue is at times deep, but at times foolish. For example:</p>
<p>“No, what happened happened and couldn’t have happened any other way.”</p>
<p>This sounds significant, but it really doesn’t do anything more than restate the reality of the situtation in an obvious and redundant way. If anything, it makes Morpheus sound like a determinist, which, within the wider Matrix context, he certainly is not. </p>
<p>That is a second point: make the philosophy ‘your’ philosophy. Ensure it is consistent with the entire tone of your essay.</p>
<p>As long as you feel it is completely “you”, then definitely go with it. Chicago loves it. =) I did a fair amount of that in my essay, and at the time I wondered if it would come off as contrived, but I felt it reflected myself and my views enough that it would work just fine. I think the bottom line is to think originally, and just be yourself.</p>
<p>As long as you don’t just make a bunch of empty claims that are impossible to understand, it will probably be okay. If you’re going to do any philosophizing, it should be fairly simple and specific. Yes, this is UChicago, and yes, they love to hear your ideas. But you’re probably not the next great philosopher, so you shouldn’t try to be that in your essay.</p>
<p>Oh, and a side note: Don’t overuse the word “society.” I’ve read course syllabuses from professors at UChicago who have it printed that “society” should be used sparingly in essays. The professors are not the people admitting you, but you should still be careful making claims about “society.”</p>
<p>Do whatever you feel comfortable with and just be yourself. If what you’re writing feels fabricated and unnatural, the people reading it will feel that too. My only advice is just let it happen.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think you should write an essay that feels right for you. For every school! </p>
<p>I say this after reading a fair share of others’ college essays. Too often, I think people take a stiff tone that might be appropriate for a cover letter, but not a personal essay. Think about it this way: if I, armchair reader of college essays, get bored after reading cookbook college essays (How my team won the game; How [insert activity here] changed my life; Why Albert Einstein is an important person-- in case that was a contentious claim–!) I think it’s fair to say that most adcoms can see and feel vanilla.</p>
<p>I wrote an essay that was about me. It wasn’t as much about ME as “about” me. I wrote it as if I were talking to a very good friend. I wrote about a certain struggle I encountered in high school (and not a particularly unusual one, at that) and I was able to weave in a prompt. </p>
<p>A friend wrote about a summer job experience (again, a pretty common topic), but what he had to say about it was observant, funny, and a little sad. If anything impressed the adcoms about his essay, it was probably his attention to detail, which is characteristic of him.</p>
<p>Another wrote about town politics, a topic he knew a lot about.</p>
<p>Another wrote about three college essay “no-no’s”-- Drugs, Death, and Divorce. </p>
<p>My general point is that there are a lot of ways to approach the college essay, and the only right way is the way that’s right for you. All of these friends got into their top choice (elite) schools, and while the topics were extremely different, they were all representative of who they are.</p>