<p>hey everyone!
just wondering, for the uchicago optional favorites question..would it be weird if i wrote on eminem? </p>
<p>haha sorry dumb question..i know, but he really is my fave artist and i think i could execute it really well..i just dont know if thats too risky, but then uchicago is all about risks, so hey ;)</p>
<p>what are you guys writing on?</p>
<p>That might be an inadvisable risk to take.</p>
<p>writing your college essays on someone which your admissions reader could very likely hold in very poor esteem is not something I would do, even for UChicago.</p>
<p>Eh. I don’t know. I highly doubt that an admissions officer at the U of C is going to think, oh, this person wrote about Eminem. He’s offensive and militant. Reject! I’d like to believe that the admissions people aren’t cultural elitists like many U of C students are, but I guess it’s hard to predict these things.</p>
<p>I’d say write about Eminem if you have something interesting to say. If it’s something like, “Eminem is my favorite artist because his lyrics are so meaningful and I can relate to them, blah blah blah…” then stay away. A simple list of reasons for why you like Eminem probably won’t add anything to your application, so it’s really not worth the effort.</p>
<p>I didn’t write on this prompt when I applied because I didn’t have any good ideas. For some examples of what some other applicants have done for this prompt, dig around this forum a bit. It’s been discussed at length in the past.</p>
<p>i wouldn’t advise doing so. I agree with IBfootballer just because you never know what the admissions counselor thinks of eminem. Also, they say you should try to stay clear of essay topic #5 unless you really really have something good to say.</p>
<p>If you have something interesting to say about Eminem, that’s 100 times better than having nothing interesting to say about some less controversial artist. No one is going to judge a high school senior on his or her taste in music – they will be judged on their passion and their ability to get that onto paper.</p>
<p>^ I totally agree, and would like to add that most (but certainly not all) admissions officers are pretty young, hip, and progressive/liberal. Of course there are also many, many exceptions, but they are in the minority.</p>
<p>Also, I know someone who did write about rap, albeit in an intellectual, humorous, “UofC-style” way, and got in.</p>
<p>Still…you’d better write a great essay on that topic.</p>
<p>If you like it, talk about it. Admissions counselors probably get more “favorites” essays on smart-sounding books people don’t actually like and Bach than really good, thoughtful essays on Eminem; if you can do it in a tasteful way that reflects you and what you really like, I think it’s wise to go with it. I wrote my “favorites” essay (back in the day) on Yngwie Malmsteen, who is a fat old ex-cokehead electric guitar player with an amazing symphonic piece for guitar and orchestra that I loved (and still love)- I’m glad I wrote that one, because my first draft (which was a pretentious essay about a book I didn’t actually like and Bach) really didn’t reflect me or my personality.</p>
<p>Like JHS said, if you have something to say, go for it. If not, remember that people do decide not to do the optional essays blank and get in (myself included).</p>
<p>And Eminem is really not a bad person to write about - I’d even argue that Mockingbird had more emotion in it than Sarah McLachlan’s Angel. And I LIKE Sarah McLachlan.</p>
<p>If Grace – who is practically a walking lexicon of Chicago virtues – wrote about Yngwie Malmsteen, that’s pretty much all you need to know. Except that it’s much harder to believe that there’s anything worth liking in Yngwie Malmsteen’s work compared to Eminem, and he’s been out of fashion for much longer than Eminem (and had been four years ago when this particular essay was a glimmer in her eye). I’m not sure Yngwie Malmsteen was ever IN fashion. Of course, that makes her essay even more admirable.</p>
<p>I wrote about Jay-Z and was admitted. Just be honest.</p>
<p>I wrote my essay on two songs: “Don’t Stop Believing,” by Journey, and the more unusual song, “Melt,” which is sung by a Japanese Vocaloid. A vocaloid is essentially a computer program that sings lyrics that are given to it at certain pitches. </p>
<p>And it worked!</p>
<p>So as long as it’s not shallow or anything and it is sincere, it should be okay.</p>