Would this be really awful?

<p>For the princeton essay, you need to use a quote at the beginning.</p>

<p>I want to use my UChicago essay where I wrote about something I've outgrown.</p>

<p>Would it be really terrible to use the quote from the UChicago prompt in my princeton essay?</p>

<p>The quote was "Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they're worn out and times - and this is the worst of all - before we have new ones".</p>

<p>Also, the Princeton prompt says to use the quote as a jumping off point. Does this mean that you have to begin your essay talking about the quote itself?</p>

<p>I interpreted “jumping off point” as “write an essay based around the same topic as your quote.” Or something like that.
And I think it’d be unique and funny if you quoted yourself, so go ahead :)</p>

<p>Just a note though, I think you forgot an “at” in front of your second “times”</p>

<p>NO! Don’t use it! All the schools know each other’s essay prompts (like UPenn’s page 217 and Brown’s Best Advice & Write what you don’t know). Princeton looks to see that you are creative, and can find your own quotes. They’d look down on you if you used the quote given to you in the Chicago prompt.</p>

<p>As for the ‘jumping off point’, they most likely prefer you start with the quote and tie it into your essay. (Think of those writing prompts you got in middle school.)</p>

<p>Ohh, I thought that was a quote you wrote in response to UChicago, sorry haha. I’m not applying there, so I wasn’t familiar with the given prompt.</p>

<p>thanks limabeans! yeah, I thought that would be a bad idea. </p>

<p>so, do you think I should start my essay by directly discussing the quote? Or do I never actually have to discuss the quote if it clearly ties into the themes of my essay?</p>

<p>@limabeans: really? A friend of mine from school used Brown’s “What don’t you know” essay for Chicago’s extended one… epic fail I guess…</p>