<p>A few universities released their supplement essay prompts early via email.
Please use this thread to list prompts released early specifically for the incoming class of 2018.</p>
<p>Here are the first two:</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania:
“The Admissions Committee would like to learn why you are a good fit for your undergraduate school choice (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, The Wharton School, or Penn Engineering). Please tell us about specific academic, service, and/or research opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania that resonate with your background, interests, and goals.
The essay length limit is 400650 words.”</p>
<p>University of Chicago:
"So without further ado, we give you the Uncommon Essay Topics for 2013-14:</p>
<p>Essay Option 1
Winston Churchill believed “a joke is a very serious thing.” From Off-Off Campuss improvisations to the Shady Dealer humor magazine to the renowned Latke-Hamantash debate, we take humor very seriously here at The University of Chicago (and we have since 1959, when our alums helped found the renowned comedy theater The Second City).</p>
<p>Tell us your favorite joke and try to explain the joke without ruining it.</p>
<p>Essay Option 2
In a famous quote by José Ortega y Gasset, the Spanish philosopher proclaims, “Yo soy yo y mi circunstancia” (1914). José Quintans, master of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division at the University of Chicago, sees it another way: “Yo soy yo y mi microbioma” (2012).</p>
<p>You are you and your…?</p>
<p>Essay Option 3
“This is what history consists of. It’s the sum total of all the things they aren’t telling us.”-- Don DeLillo, Libra.</p>
<p>What is history, who are they, and what arent they telling us?</p>
<p>Essay Option 4
The mantis shrimp can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. Human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red, green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color, enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain.
Seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu.</p>
<p>What might they be able to see that we cannot? What are we missing?</p>
<p>Essay Option 5
How are apples and oranges supposed to be compared? Possible answers involve, but are not limited to, statistics, chemistry, physics, linguistics, and philosophy.</p>
<p>Essay Option 6
In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, pose a question of your own. If your prompt is original and thoughtful, then you should have little trouble writing a great essay. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun.</p>
<p>There’s no rush with these: your application won’t be due until November 1 (Early Action) or January 1 (Regular Decision). Just some food for thought as you head into your summer. We can’t wait to read your responses!</p>
<p>Below is the link for the Tufts supplement. [Essay</a> Questions · Tufts University Admissions Department](<a href=“http://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions/]Essay”>Essay Questions | Tufts Admissions)</p>
<p>Here’s Yale:
In this second essay, please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application, or on something about which you would like to say more. You may write about anything—from personal experiences or interests to intellectual pursuits.We ask that you limit your essay to fewer than 500 words. Before you begin, we encourage you to go to [Advice</a> on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/essay]Advice”>Advice on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions), where you will find helpful advice.</p>