<p>I've noticed that you've posted on a lot of Chicago-related forums, and that you always seem to have the most thoughtful, coherent replies. I was wondering if you'd be willing to read my "Why Chicago?" essay not for editing purposes, but to see whether or not Chicago really does sound like a good fit for me.</p>
<p>Everything I've written is genuine; I just want to make sure that I'm not misinterpreting the mission of Chicago or the nature of academic life there (and I trust your verbal prowess and your perception of being a Chicago student). THANK YOU!</p>
<p>For the record, I don't like to read student essays (okay, okay, I have caved in before, but it wasn't my fault, I promise!) and it's exactly for reasons like these. </p>
<p>My opinion on your opinion isn't as helpful as your thoughts and feelings communicated straight to the admissions counselors. If you say something that is out of step with the University's mission, something to the effect of, "I want to study engineering, nursing, and education, and I want to be able to choose all of my classes," and that is truthful, then the adcoms would be doing you a favor in saying no. If you communicate your thoughts and feelings about what you want to get out of the University without me as an interloper, then you know upon your admittance that you were chosen for your words and not mine.</p>
<p>FWIW, I didn't share my essays with anybody outside my family, teachers, and best friends. I knew Chicago alumni and students and I'm sure I could have pushed my essays on them, but I decided not to for exactly this reason-- I wanted the U of C to know me and accept me on my own terms rather than somebody else's glossed version of me. That said, my "Why Chicago," on my part, was a bit of a shot in the dark. It was sort of an academic and personal statement on everything I knew about my life up to that point.</p>
<p>I've read it over repeatedly since coming here. Not only did it ring very true for me at the time of my writing it, but it's only now clear to me why I was admitted way back then.</p>