<p>"At present you need to live the question."Rainer Maria Rilke, translated from the German by Joan M. Burnham.</p>
<p>I've been able to grasp all of the UChicago essay topics besides this one. It seems that every year they always have a REALLY open-ended quote. Anyone care to explain how to interpret this one?</p>
<p>Hmm, I don't get it neither. If it helps the full quote is: </p>
<p>"Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day."</p>
<p>How do you interpret it? There's no right answer to your question other than the one you settle on. (Perhaps your difficulty in interpreting the quote is part of the quote?)</p>
<p>it might translate into this: "right now, you need to experience what you question, to take risks and to search out what remains unanswered to you in life."</p>
<p>maybe this helps?</p>
<p>UChicago has by far the worst essay topics. It's ridiculous.</p>
<p>That's really subjective rameezkhan. If you're a creative person, you'll think that u of c has the best essay topics.</p>
<p>But yeah, that quote stumped me too.</p>
<p>Yup, I'm a very subjective person. ;) And my way is the only way. Hehe.</p>
<p>Eh, to be honest, I don't apply to certain schools BECAUSE of the essay topics. :] I'm just lazy, I guess.</p>
<p>It might help to reflect on one of philosophy's greatest contributions, the Socratic</a> Method, to appreciate the power and insight of inquiry. </p>
<p>It can be argued that inquiry is a corner stone of civilization.</p>
<p>I wrote a story of a guy committing sucide then went on to discuss the importance of it to me intergrating the quote both into the story and analyzing it. 2 pgs non double spaced...too long i think but oh well there aint no word limit ;)</p>
<p>^ My UofC essay is at 1,165 words. Glad to know I'm not the only one writing a long essay. :) </p>
<p>OP- interpret it however you want to. That's the point of UofC topics. :)</p>
<p>wow rameezkhan you're my opposite. i want to attempt a uchicago essay question but don't wanna apply to uchicago! lol</p>
<p>oh...dear god. i have no idea what that means, and i actually consider myself a creative thinker :X haha, no more, i suppose :-</p>
<p>Me neither... i consider myself a creative thinker... but not this time... though i won't write this one, still i wanna know some insights about it... seems nobody has good opinions = (</p>
<p>Hi kz26!</p>
<p>Write about what YOU think the quote is about. There is no right answer when you're writing U Chicago's essay. Think about it. Sit on it for a while. What have you done to "live the question"? When you write your response, actually "live it." Think outside the box. Release your inner monkey.</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Btw UChicago essays are SO awesome --- I love how their essays are so different from other schools. Keep up the tradition Chicago!</p>
<p>i actually wrote my UChicago essay on Question 1.
For me, I just asked myself what were the pressing questions in my life..then that lead to me thinking about the pressing questions of the world. Combined, I ended up writing about pressing questions of the world and how I thought they needed to be fixed. Basically, a call for social awareness. I like my essay. I mean, its Uchicago. Even if you're off-topic you're still technically answering the question the way they'd like. In the end, colleges want your essays to express your thought processes, the type of person you are, and what you would contribute to the student body and school.</p>
<p>So go crazy with it. You could even pick Topic 5 and write whatever you wanted. Just make it something that grabs their attention and makes them want you to be a part of their school next year. :)</p>
<p>Hopefully we both get in!</p>
<p>hey......can anybody plzzzzzzzz tell me hw long should be a common app essay......mine is arnd 1100 words........does that make it too long for the admission ppl to read...should i shorten it??</p>
<p>OP, the deal is that they make them all open ended.</p>
<p>So as to inspire you. no grasping involved.</p>