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Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
581

<p>Accepted EA-- Chicago range SAT’s (690 Reading 780 Math (math is my worst subject grade wise)), a fair amount of A/A-'s and a bunch of B’s from a competitive private school, strong curriculum</p>

<p>Chicago Extended Essay: There are two types of people in the world bla bla bla…</p>

<p>Essay Option #2</p>

<pre><code>I feel that life is divided into the horrible and miserable. That’s the two categories. The horrible are like, I don’t know, the terminal cases, you know, and blind people, crippled. I don’t know how they get through life. It’s amazing to me. And the miserable is everyone else.

I’m not big on plagiarizing, so I should put quotes around the above text. It’s from the movie Annie Hall, written by and starring Woody Allen, who said these wise words. Though seemingly depressing, the quote really holds true. Life is filled with disappointment, and most of us will probably get our fair dose if we don’t live like hermit crabs. But, tragedy is in a category all it’s own. If the University of Chicago decides not to accept me, I might be thoroughly disappointed, but it’s no tragedy. I might even be miserable, but then I’ll just be like everyone else who gets rejected from his or her dream school. The genuinely horrible might be hard to define, but we know them when we see them. We know that for whatever problem, woe, or rue we might have, there is always some amount of Schadenfreude to help us get through it. The horrible are unfortunately unable to take advantage of that luxury.

My aunt is a good example of a miserable person. She always has some problem in her life that requires a shrink to solve on a weekly basis. Her most recent misery was her vehement distaste for her son’s mother-in-law. No matter what my aunt did, this mother-in-law was not going to like her. The feud that ensued resembled the episode of Seinfeld where George demands Jerry’s girlfriend like him, even though the mere fact George obsesses so much for her approval creeps her out. For two years my aunt would wreak havoc in her son’s marriage, never accepting that some trivial relationship with her son’s in-laws was never going to be what she desired. A couple of months ago my aunt demanded my eighty-three year old blind grandmother travel with her to New York to see her psychiatrist to discuss the mother-in-law. She could have dragged all of Manhattan with her to the shrink and still not gained this lady’s approval. However, the morning of the appointment, her husband suffered a minor stroke, almost becoming one of the horrible.

I believe in God, and I definitely believe God was trying to get something through my aunt’s callous head. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be miserable are all miserable to some extent, but she took it to the next level. My aunt has spent her whole life battling one fake issue after the next, and suddenly she was faced with a real one. Though God might have sent her signals before, I think she finally got this one. Maybe she finally digested and comprehended the final part of Woody Allen’s quote in Annie Hall—“So, you should be thankful that you’re miserable, because that’s very lucky, to be miserable”.

As cliché as it sounds, as long as one is not yet horrible, then life is still worth living. Woody Allen’s quote is in reality optimistic even though it takes into the account the negativity that we will inevitably experience. However, we can get caught up in the negativity and not realize what a truly miserable life is—a horrible one. There will often be times where I look around and wish I had lived a different, better life. But then I realize that as long as for just one day I can alter just one thing that can change my life for the better, then I am not even close to being one of the horrible. The horrible live their lives knowing that there will not be such a thing as a better day. The horrible know that the best is long gone. That is why there are no sitcoms about the horrible—only the miserable. It would be cruel to make a sitcom about the horrible as how could the masses relate? We the miserable can enjoy watching for thirty minutes each week Michael Scott, Jerry Seinfeld, Mary Richards and Ralph Kramden because they are miserable just like we are. Life would be too boring being purely optimistic, so we create trivial issues to pass the time. Yet, we know when the thirty minutes are up that Jerry needs George, Elaine and Kramer, that Mary needs the others at her station for companionship, and that Ralph loves Alice.

There is the occasional time when we truly do lose touch and do not put our misery in perspective. We can travel down dangerous paths of depression and self-pity and never again see how benign our issues really are. As miserable as we might be, there’s always someone more miserable out there. And if there isn’t, then sadly, we’re the minority—the genuinely horrible.
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<p>Why Chicago?</p>

<p>From the moment I finished my tour at the University of Chicago, I knew this was the place I wanted to call home. I want to be at a place where intellectual integrity is valued and learning for learning’s sake is the common mentality on campus. No other university I have seen respects and promotes these ideals as much as the University of Chicago, and no other university will challenge me as much as a thinker. Also, no other school combines the true sense of community that I desire alongside academic life better than the University of Chicago. I greatly value Chicago’s core curriculum and its quarter system, as it will allow me to take a diverse and greater quantity of courses. I already know that foreign languages and economics might be my two main focuses in college, but I particularly like Chicago’s first year core curriculum as college should be a place where one explores realms of academics one might never get to explore after college. I have always wanted to take an art history class, or maybe even a class in geographical studies. I also have a great interest in international relations, but might not want to make any of these three disciplines my main focus. At the University of Chicago, I won’t have to immediately declare or even pursue my major, and can enjoy my academics, rather than feel pressure to commit to a narrow field of study. Also, I greatly value the University of Chicago’s stance on study abroad. I feel strongly that studying abroad is not a birthright, and should be an enriching experience—not a five-month vacation. The scope and quality of study abroad options at the University of Chicago make me certain of an enlightening abroad semester.</p>

<pre><code>The academics at the University of Chicago are without a doubt intellectually stimulating and first-rate, but what draws me to this institution most is the student body. I can receive fine academics at many institutions, but I have never seen a college where students have so much pride and gusto for knowledge and academe itself. I must say the essay options for the Chicago supplement highlight the uniqueness of the university and the types of thinkers that go to the University of Chicago. College should not just be a means to and end. I want to cherish the endless opportunities the University of Chicago offers and use them to enhance my perspective and intellect for the future. Though being a part of the Tablao Flamenco or the Persian Cultural Society may not influence precisely where I end up after college, the experience itself is what truly matters to me. I might never again be in an environment that is so culturally and intellectually rich. The University of Chicago is a truly special place, where I will have the opportunity to make every day unique and worthwhile, whether it takes place in the classroom, in the office of the Chicago Maroon, or sailing on Lake Michigan. Plus, Gino’s East is just twenty minutes away.
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<p>Optional Essay: From applying ED to Columbia, I just assumed we were supposed to list… I still got in but I wasn’t crazy about it after reading all the others</p>

<p>Some of favorite musicians/music producers are Pete Rock, Guru, C.L. Smooth, Bajofondo, Ella Fitzgerald, The Gypsy Kings, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Astrud Gilberto, Craig Mack, Nas, Bebel Gilberto, Pat Metheny, Frank Sinatra, Gotan Project, Thievery Corporation, Stolen Identity, Biggy Smalls, Luca Mundaca, Marcela Mangabeira, Suba, Jamiroquai, INI, St. Germain, Wayne Shorter, Sting, Joao Gilberto, Santana, Electro Coco, John Mayer, RioListic, and Esteban. If I had to choose to a favorite piece of music, it would have to be Gymnopedie No. 1 written by Erik Satie. My favorite two artists are Georges Seurat and Jackson Pollock. Though, my favorite painting is Van Gogh’s Starry Night over the Rhone. Some of my favorite novels/plays are Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Bahia Bakari’s Moi Bahia—la miraculée, Miguel Delibes’ Los Santos Inocentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa’s La Ciudad de Los Perros. My favorite newspapers are The New York Times, The Star Ledger, Argentina’s La Nación, Le Figaro, and The Globe and Mail. Some of my favorite TV shows are Seinfeld, South Park, Decisiones (Telemundo), 60 Minutes, Nightly News with Brian Williams, Sabado Gigante (Univisión), The Honeymooners, Real Time with Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Meet the Press, and The Daily Show. Some of my favorite movies are El Norte, Annie Hall, Heartbreakers (2001), Catch Me If You Can, Abre Los Ojos/Vanilla Sky, Zoolander and The Aviator.</p>

<p>There are a couple of typos in all three of the essays; see if you can point them out! One was really glaring. Also, my comma use could have been much improved… but I still got in oddly enough.</p>

582

<p>I wish that someone had the balls for the “Find x” prompt to print out a photograph of one of the UofC’s most beautiful buildings, then draw a big red X on a piece of paper, accompanied with a small caption reading “here it is!”.</p>

583

<p>@chicago2015
Biggy Smalls :wink:
I really liked those essays, well done!!!</p>

584

<p>chicago2015, you referenced The Mary Tyler Moore Show!!!</p>

<p>That’s my favorite TV show in the whole world and no one our age has even heard of it! :D</p>

585

<p>My favorite thing essay:</p>

<p>The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot is not going to win awards for Serious American Literature anytime soon, but this book, and several of her other books, changed me. Cabot told stories in a series of diary entries, and that everyday, nonchalant kind of writing told just as much story as the serious books I’d read in English class (Tuck Everlasting and D’Aulaires’ Greek myths). In other “novels,” she told stories using only emails, receipts, grocery lists, and phone messages.</p>

<pre><code>In seventh grade, almost a year after I first read Cabot, I started to keep a journal, too, and somehow I stuck with it; I didn’t give up after a few days like I did every January with all my other resolutions. I wrote every day, and soon the act of picking up a pen and writing something was one I needed. I needed to get my ideas down on paper, where they wouldn’t be forgotten. Writing was my duty. It was my duty to some future historian to document my life in the early 21st century. I pictured an aging man with glasses, his beard almost as long as his ponytail, pouring over boxes of my old journals, bookishly raving over my historical accuracy, impeccable penmanship, and the treasure trove of ticket stubs and grocery lists.
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<p>My paperback copy of The Princess Diaries is ripping along the spine; the corners of pages are worn and fuzzy; it smells like all the purses I’ve shoved it into. The damage is done; I’m a writer now. I’m addicted to storytelling and documentation, and storytelling by documentation, and I hope that’s going to make one future historian very happy.</p>

586

<p>So I’m deferred right now but this is my favorite things essay. I combined my love of running and a few of my favorite songs. Much longer than 2 paragraphs (woops?). Also, no one did the conveniently honest prompt? That’s the one I did.</p>

<p>Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm sounds waking you from your slumber. You think to yourself what on Earth you were thinking waking up this early. Groggy, tired, and weary all at once you reach towards the buzzer and hit snooze. Ten minutes later you arise, seemingly more fatigued than you thought before. Still, you trek to your closet digging through garments to find a pair of shorts, a large shirt, and your dirty pair of Nikes. Its 5 A.M. – morning. Only in Arizona must you rise at such an hour to hopefully beat the sun before the blistering heat sets in. Better yet, it’s Saturday and your friends are fast asleep in their beds. But at this point, time and place don’t matter. You grab your trusty iPod, setting it to a random playlist, and you’re out the door. Time for a run.</p>

<p>As your feet alternate from hard hitting pavement to weightless air, you are greeted by the soft sounds of South Korean, folk-rock singer, Susie Suh. As the piano interludes, you find yourself at a state of total tranquility. Despite your quick mobile nature, you feel weightless. You begin to connect your thoughts with the song (The water is rushing in / I feel it on my skin). At this moment your mind catches a memory. A memory of why you started running in the first place – to get away without really leaving. Give me all I never knew…Give me something to hold on to. (Now Playing: Give Me Heart by Susie Suh)
Ironically, as the motion of your feet slows from a rapid sprint, to a leisurely jog, to a brisk walk, you hear Kirk Hammlet’s energetic guitar solo. You recall the lyrics having nothing to do with why you love the song. You think back to last summer where you had the 5 hour long Rock Band battle in your friend’s garage. You also recall how you won that battle. Remembering the sound of Nick’s screeching voice as he sang and everyone’s hysterical laughter, you can’t help but smile as you begin to pick up the pace. (Now Playing: Hit the Lights by Metallica)</p>

<p>Running now at full speed, the song ends and switches to the electro-funk, Canadian duo, Chromeo. You realize that the songs in this playlist share absolutely no common thread, but you ignore it since they are all songs you love nevertheless. The techno beats and 80s influence are a cause for distraction and you find yourself doing an awkward mixture of dancing and running at the same time. Passers start to look at you strangely. The musical fever overcomes you and you start dancing in the street as you walk. (Now Playing: Fancy Footwork by Chromeo)</p>

<p>Reaching your doorstep, perspiring and worn out, the music ends, your feet pause, your run’s over. Singing aloud you jump in the shower, the music you’ve created follows.</p>

587

<p>imdamoos, I pretty much love you for writing about the Princess Diaries/Meg for your favorite things essay. =)</p>

588

<p>for my favorite things essay, I did a mock-dictionary of twelve of my random favorites, from alligator pears to Watership Down. I’m actually pretty pleased with it.</p>

589

<p>i know this isn’t exactly the right place to post this… but i just applied to uchicago and i wrote my why chicago essay as a series of flashbacks between me visiting the school reading Plato for the first time as a kid… I don’t mention anything specific about the school like its academic programs, housing, core curriculum etc… not because I don’t know about them, but because that’s not what hit me when I visited.
After reading some of these essays, I’m doubting what I did… do you think that could hurt me? And advice would be helpful :)</p>

590

<p>I feel that it will be okay. If this is the only thing that bothers you then you have nothing to worry. All the best!</p>

591

<p>Since the deadline’s passed I feel it’s okay for me to post the introduction to my Why Chicago essay ^________^</p>

<p>From the outset of my education, my experiences have been plagued by limitations. When I was fourteen, about to begin my GCSE courses, I was made to study eight different subjects: from these, I was only allowed three electives. When I began my A-level exams at sixteen, this was halved to four subjects. At a British university, I would be expected to drop down to just one. </p>

<p>I don’t want to be limited in what I can learn. I want to examine a whole breadth of issues, spanning from the difficulties currently facing pharmacologists to the philosophical wonders of millennia long gone. I want to free myself from the educational pigeon-hole into which I’ve been pushed. I want to liberate myself, and I fully believe that the educational opportunities available at the University of Chicago will push me to achieve my ambitions.</p>

<p>etc… :D</p>

592

<p>I think it’s safe to post my Why Chicago, it’s short, but that’s part of the tone, honestly.</p>

<p>“I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in every chitling and spare rib. It is alive from snout to tail.” - H. L. Mencken</p>

<pre><code>A city that’s alive; that’s the one for me. I’m infatuated with the hustle and bustle of the urban environment of big cities, and no city is bigger than Chicago. And although it’s American in every way, I feel that Mencken cuts Chicago short. No, it’s not London or Harvard. It’s a vibrant city, not sugar-coated with stuffy English antiquity; a university bearing more noble laureates than the so called ‘number one school’. No, it’s not Paris and Buttermilk, it’s deep-dish pizza and Wrigley Stadium. Chicago is a city where an equilibrium of work and play is found.

The atmosphere of Chicago can only harbor a university that creates success. Why does the University of Chicago satisfy my desire for the future? Because I’m sure that my experiences at not only the University of Chicago, but Chicago as a whole will develop me into the person I want and need to be: an American success.
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593

<p>“… and no city is bigger than chicago”</p>

<p>Um if u meant population and area wise then ur wrong.</p>

594

<p>So my final essay ideas were the following:</p>

<p>Why Chicago: I compared my aspirations to a recipe, and each student as a chef. I talk about my recipe which includes EC activities, Physics or Math major, and research, and a few specific course requirements that make me jitter with excitement. I talk about other stuff too, but yeah.</p>

<p>Optional: “The Square Root of Three” by Dave Feinberg (As seen in Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay) I talk about how I discover what love is through the poem, and how I actually learned love from a mathematics poem. The stark contrast and stuff.</p>

<p>Extended Essay: “Dear History Channel” Breakup Letter because it is airing shows that don’t have to do with history. I say some cutsie things like leaving until History resolves its problems, and that I will be moving in with Discovery Channel until it resolves that problem.</p>

<p>I hope I get in :)</p>

595

<p>obviously i meant that no city was more desirable than chicago – no place has more going for it.</p>

596

<p>That’s not obvious in the essay… But I speak for myself.</p>

597

<p>@ Blackbanana</p>

<p>Obviously, UChicago will realize that someone who has an SAT score high enough to be competitive in the first place knows that Chicago is not quantitatively the largest city. The writer of the essay made it clear that Chicago is “big” due to its completeness, at least I think so.</p>

598

<p>I think I’ll change the mood here a little if I can… I unfortunately have no decision yet to share, but looking back on my essay concept I thought it might get a few laughs. Please keep in mind that when I wrote this, I was swamped with work and wanted to have a little fun. Soooo my “find x” essay ended up being a short, unrelated, pulled out of my butt… Pirate story. Yes, a wrote about pirates searching for an x from a treasure map. Meh. I didn’t think it would be an overdone essay. That’s for sure. What do you all think of the idea?? Aaargh!</p>

599

<p>Did you happen to mention UChicago mathematics professor Paul Sally in your pirate essay? That would have been quite funny.</p>

600

<p>@wofbharatj
Wow, those seem original! I hope you get in with them!</p>