Hello! I’m a current junior who’s interested in applying to UChicago next year. Their optional essay prompts are known to be quite eccentric and to encourage creativity. I was wondering, would it be interesting to write something like in Morse code (so handwritten) or would that just be confusing? Thank you!
I wonder how thin the line is between “quirky” and “unreadable.” Do they have time to sit there and puzzle out an entire essay letter by letter?
You could do a couple lines in morse code, translate it, and continue in plain English. (Not handwritten, ideally). They need to be able to read it quickly and still feel the impact. It has to make sense though - quirky for a reason. Don’t do something odd just to seem unique, let your ideas and personality speak for themselves. Your essay would have to discuss morse code or forms of communication in a meaningful way. Really interesting idea, just make sure it’s fully fleshed out.
I really think you’re on to something. Follow Rafalala’s lead, and heed the words of @bodangles.
They do love the differently minded. Good luck.
You don’t know their prompts yet – it needs to make sense in the context of the prompt you choose, of course. My kid noodled over essay ideas for weeks before deciding what to write on – got in, too.
Don’t they always have the ‘make one up yourself’ prompt option?
Thank you to all these people for responding! Actually, I’ve been self-teaching myself how to write in short-hand so I was wondering if that could work. But I see how it’s rather a pain to read if I don’t translate it immediately. I will keep all these opinions in mind when I try my hand at the essays for the upcoming year. Thank you so much for the comments.
I heard through the grapevine that they accept morse-code essays but only if you actually telegraph it to them
“Every year there are applicants who write their essays upside down or backwards or in pictograms. It’s not as unique as these young men and women think it is. So please be nice to your admissions officer, who has to read hundreds or thousands of essays, and don’t make the task any harder.”
-UChicago admissions dean, when I visited two years ago.
There it is, straight from the horse’s mouth. Make of that what you will.
I would caution against writing a whole essay in code. These admissions officers are reading thousands of essays and don’t necessarily have the time (or patience) to decipher code.
Also if you write a mundane essay but waste time translating it into a well-known code, I would imagine that this could actually be detrimental to your chances of admission. I would recommend you pen a well-written essay that let’s your unique way of thinking shine through without unnecessary frills.
If you write a mundane essay for UChicago Do Not Press Submit.