<p>As you may all know, the UChicago essay prompts are truly "the diamonds in the rough" as far as college essay prompts go; reading through the prompts for last 3-4 years or so, I've been unable to stifle a chuckle for each incredibly original questions. And, to my satisfaction, there are certainly a few prompts that I can relate to or elaborate upon deeply.</p>
<p>The trouble, however, is that I can see so many different tones I can employ. I consider myself a relatively versatile writer, and I am familiar with narrative, persuasive, informational, comedic, etc. writing. So, my question is, what type of essays is UChicago expecting with such open-ended prompts? Are they expecting a purely intellectual and philosophical analysis of a facet of life? Or perhaps a completely off-topic, creative work? A cynical observation of the world around us? (In short, how seriously should I take this?) And on that note, how do the essays align with/express UChicago's criteria for its "model student?" UChicago seems to be a school known for its intellectualism; does that discourage a heavily "stereotyped" essay that summarizes one's life and achievements?</p>
<p>I am not sure if I should add to all the existing material here on the UChgo essays, but here goes. The answer to your questions is “all of the above”. There is no specific format or style. They want to see if you can write, it’s as simple as that. </p>
<p>An “essay that summarizes one’s life and achievements” would not be appropriate in response to a prompt about (say) comparing apples and oranges. Many students are taught to twist any application essay topic into an opportunity to talk about themselves, flatter themselves, navel-gaze, etc., which comes easily to high school students anyway, but the uncommon essay is not the best place for that The writing you will do in college will not generally be about yourself, so show (don’t state) that you are smart, well-read and ready to write at a college level. </p>
<p>Chicago has such open-ended prompts in large part because that forces applicants like you to make choices like the ones over which you are agonizing. They want to see what you do with it. (They also want not to be bored. Can you imagine trying to read 50-60 college application essays a day for weeks on end?)</p>
<p>Whatever you do, it will be a lot more effective if it is good than if it is bad. Good anything beats bad anything else. So make it good. It also helps, I think, if it is not over-subtle (or, if it is very subtle, the subtlety should be obvious). When people are reading that many essays day in and day out, even if they are reading the essays very sympathetically and looking for the best in each (which, of course, is what every college application essay reader aspires to do), there is a risk they won’t notice subtle beauty. So show it to friends and parents, and make certain everyone “gets it” easily.</p>