<p>Topic 4 this year (I love it!) allows us to write either a story, essay, or script that includes the listed elements. </p>
<p>I have an idea for a short story but it will have nothing to do with me. It will be about an unpleasant man to whom a (tasteful) unfortunate event happens. I'm just afraid it will reflect poorly on me. I'm a decent writer and I know I can pull off a solid story. I will be able to demonstrate my observation skills and dry wit, but that's about it.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how much the admissions counselors will read between the lines of the story. I realize how much reading they have to complete. I'm just afraid the counselor will finish the story and think, "Well, that was a waste of time. I didn't learn a thing." </p>
<p>Should I worry about this?</p>
<p>Well, I sometimes worry about doing the same exact thing! But, I don't think that the counselors expect you to be so creative that you teach them something. I think the whole intention was to see the creativity, humor, originality and talent of a student - not a double meaning that somehow explains something to the counselor. Good luck!</p>
<p>There's a great thread on essays that addresses this issue, Unalove started it, just look below. This is what admissions counselor Libby Pearson said on the subject:</p>
<p>"3) FOR THE UNCOMMON ESSAY, DON'T WORRY IF YOU'RE NOT WRITING DIRECTLY ABOUT YOURSELF. DON'T WORRY IF YOU ARE."</p>
<p>I think this is the best advice unalove has given.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I would say think for yourself. Your essay is not "supposed to be" anything... funny, a particular number of pages, about you, about the cure for cancer, etc. That is what is so great about having new questions every year -- we have no expectations when we begin reading in November. Any preconceived notions we have when we read the questions in the summer usually fly out the door when we read the first ten essays of the year.</p>
<p>Hehehe. I love being requoted.</p>
<p>As an erstwhile fiction writer, a former school newspaper editor, and a current student, I would love to read over your essay.</p>
<p>What I think Libby meant by the essay not having to "be" anything is that this application is a way for you to show your writing and thinking skills more than how you saved puppies in Guatemala while playing the violin and figure-skating. Your writing and critical thinking skills are EXTREMELY important in evaluating your "fit" at a place that has a rigorous core curriculum and a lot of thinking going on at all hours of the day.</p>
<p>Chicago is not the only school to have open-ended questions or to ask about something more than just a cut-and-dried essay. JHU still has that 10-dollar question that can be answered in any way and in any media the applicant likes, Vassar, W&M, and Caltech have blank spaces to fill, etc.</p>
<p>You might also want to check out the essays that students have posted from past years.</p>