UChicago Supplemental Essay Questions
The University of Chicago has long been renowned for our provocative essay questions. We think of them as an opportunity for students to tell us about themselves, their tastes, and their ambitions. They can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between.
Each year we email newly admitted and current College students and ask them for essay topics. We receive several hundred responses, many of which are eloquent, intriguing, or downright wacky.
As you can see from the attributions, the questions below were inspired by submissions from UChicago students and alumni.
2022-23 UChicago Supplement
Question 1 (required).
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay option 1.
Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory. - Inspired by Leah Beach, Class of 2026, Lib Gray SB ’12, and Agnes Mazur AB ‘09
Essay Option 2
What advice would a wisdom tooth have? –Inspired by Melody Dias, Class of 2025
Essay Option 3
You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time? —Inspired by Alexander Hastings, Class of 2023, and Olivia Okun-Dubitsky, Class of 2026
Essay Option 4
UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment. —Inspired by Isabel Alvarez, Class of 2026
Essay Option 5
Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together? -Inspired by Braden Hajer, Class of 2025
Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
Some classic questions from previous years…
Due to a series of clerical errors, there is exactly one typo (an extra letter, a removed letter, or an altered letter) in the name of every department at the University of Chicago. Oops! Describe your new intended major. Why are you interested in it and what courses or areas of focus within it might you want to explore? Potential options include Commuter Science, Bromance Languages and Literatures, Pundamentals: Issues and Texts, Ant History... a full list of unmodified majors ready for your editor’s eye is available here . —Inspired by Josh Kaufman, AB'18
Who does Sally sell her seashells to? How much wood can a woodchuck really chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Pick a favorite tongue twister (either originally in English or translated from another language) and consider a resolution to its conundrum using the method of your choice. Math, philosophy, linguistics... it's all up to you (or your woodchuck). —Inspired by Blessing Nnate, Class of 2024
What can actually be divided by zero? —Inspired by Mai Vu, Class of 2024
The seven liberal arts in antiquity consisted of the Quadrivium — astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and music — and the Trivium — rhetoric, grammar, and logic. Describe your own take on the Quadrivium or the Trivium. What do you think is essential for everyone to know? —Inspired by Peter Wang, Class of 2022
Subway maps, evolutionary trees, Lewis diagrams. Each of these schematics tells the relationships and stories of their component parts. Reimagine a map, diagram, or chart. If your work is largely or exclusively visual, please include a cartographer's key of at least 300 words to help us best understand your creation. —Inspired by Maximilian Site, Class of 2020
"Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" - Eleanor Roosevelt. Misattribute a famous quote and explore the implications of doing so. —Inspired by Chris Davey, AB’13
Engineer George de Mestral got frustrated with burrs stuck to his dog’s fur and applied the same mechanic to create Velcro. Scientist Percy Lebaron Spencer found a melted chocolate bar in his magnetron lab and discovered microwave cooking. Dye-works owner Jean Baptiste Jolly found his tablecloth clean after a kerosene lamp was knocked over on it, consequently shaping the future of dry cleaning. Describe a creative or interesting solution, and then find the problem that it solves. —Inspired by Steve Berkowitz, AB’19, and Neeharika Venuturupalli, Class of 2024
Joan of Arkansas. Queen Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mash up a historical figure with a new time period, environment, location, or occupation, and tell us their story. —Inspired by Drew Donaldson, AB’16
Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Milo drives through the tollbooth. Dorothy is swept up in the tornado. Neo takes the red pill. Don’t tell us about another world you’ve imagined, heard about, or created. Rather, tell us about its portal. Sure, some people think of the University of Chicago as a portal to their future, but please choose another portal to write about. —Inspired by Raphael Hallerman, Class of 2020
What’s so odd about odd numbers? —Inspired by Mario Rosasco, AB’09
Vestigiality refers to genetically determined structures or attributes that have apparently lost most or all of their ancestral function, but have been retained during the process of evolution. In humans, for instance, the appendix is thought to be a vestigial structure. Describe something vestigial (real or imagined) and provide an explanation for its existence. —Inspired by Tiffany Kim, Class of 2020
In French, there is no difference between “conscience” and “consciousness.” In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschämen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language. —Inspired by Emily Driscoll, Class of 2018
Little pigs, French hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Parts of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit together. —Inspired by Zilin Cui, Class of 2018
The mantis shrimp can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. Human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red, green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color, enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain. Seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu What might they be able to see that we cannot? What are we missing? —Inspired by Tess Moran, AB’16
How are apples and oranges supposed to be compared? Possible answers involve, but are not limited to, statistics, chemistry, physics, linguistics, and philosophy. —Inspired by Florence Chan, AB’15
The ball is in your court—a penny for your thoughts, but say it, don’t spray it. So long as you don’t bite off more than you can chew, beat around the bush, or cut corners, writing this essay should be a piece of cake. Create your own idiom, and tell us its origin—you know, the whole nine yards. PS: A picture is worth a thousand words. —Inspired by April Bell, AB'17, and Maya Shaked, Class of 2018 (It takes two to tango.)
“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.” –Oscar Wilde. Othello and Iago. Dorothy and the Wicked Witch. Autobots and Decepticons. History and art are full of heroes and their enemies. Tell us about the relationship between you and your arch-nemesis (either real or imagined). —Inspired by Martin Krzywy, AB’16
Heisenberg claims that you cannot know both the position and momentum of an electron with total certainty. Choose two other concepts that cannot be known simultaneously and discuss the implications. (Do not consider yourself limited to the field of physics). —Inspired by Doran Bennett, AB’07
Susan Sontag, AB’51, wrote that “[s]ilence remains, inescapably, a form of speech.” Write about an issue or a situation when you remained silent, and explain how silence may speak in ways that you did or did not intend. The Aesthetics of Silence, 1967. —Anonymous Suggestion
“…I [was] eager to escape backward again, to be off to invent a past for the present.” —The Rose Rabbi by Daniel Stern Present: pres·ent 1. Something that is offered, presented, or given as a gift. Let’s stick with this definition. Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc.—pick any present you have ever received and invent a past for it. —Inspired by Jennifer Qin, AB’16
So where is Waldo, really? —Inspired by Robin Ye, AB’16
Find x. —Inspired by Benjamin Nuzzo, an admitted student from Eton College, UK
Dog and Cat. Coffee and Tea. Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye. Everyone knows there are two types of people in the world. What are they? —Inspired by an anonymous alumna, AB'06
How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be.) —Inspired by Kelly Kennedy, AB’10
Chicago author Nelson Algren said, “A writer does well if in his whole life he can tell the story of one street.” Chicagoans, but not just Chicagoans, have always found something instructive, and pleasing, and profound in the stories of their block, of Main Street, of Highway 61, of a farm lane, of the Celestial Highway. Tell us the story of a street, path, road—real or imagined or metaphorical. —Anonymous Suggestion
UChicago professor W. J. T. Mitchell entitled his 2005 book What Do Pictures Want? Describe a picture, and explore what it wants. —Inspired by Anna Andel
“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.“—Miles Davis (1926–91) —Inspired by Jack Reeves
University of Chicago alumna and renowned author/critic Susan Sontag said, “The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions.” We all have heard serious questions, absurd questions, and seriously absurd questions, some of which cannot be answered without obliterating the very question. Destroy a question with your answer. —Inspired by Aleksandra Ciric
“Mind that does not stick.” —Zen Master Shoitsu (1202–80)
Superstring theory has revolutionized speculation about the physical world by suggesting that strings play a pivotal role in the universe. Strings, however, always have explained or enriched our lives, from Theseus’s escape route from the Labyrinth, to kittens playing with balls of yarn, to the single hair that held the sword above Damocles, to the Old Norse tradition that one’s life is a thread woven into a tapestry of fate, to the beautiful sounds of the finely tuned string of a violin, to the children’s game of cat’s cradle, to the concept of stringing someone along. Use the power of string to explain the biggest or the smallest phenomenon. —Inspired by Adam Sobolweski
Have you ever walked through the aisles of a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club and wondered who would buy a jar of mustard a foot and a half tall? We’ve bought it, but it didn’t stop us from wondering about other things, like absurd eating contests, impulse buys, excess, unimagined uses for mustard, storage, preservatives, notions of bigness…and dozens of other ideas both silly and serious. Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard. —Inspired by Katherine Gold
People often think of language as a connector, something that brings people together by helping them share experiences, feelings, ideas, etc. We, however, are interested in how language sets people apart. Start with the peculiarities of your own personal language—the voice you use when speaking most intimately to yourself, the vocabulary that spills out when you’re startled, or special phrases and gestures that no one else seems to use or even understand—and tell us how your language makes you unique. You may want to think about subtle riffs or idiosyncrasies based on cadence, rhythm, rhyme, or (mis)pronunciation. —Inspired by Kimberly Traube
In 2015, the city of Melbourne, Australia created a "tree-mail" service, in which all of the trees in the city received an email address so that residents could report any tree-related issues. As an unexpected result, people began to email their favorite trees sweet and occasionally humorous letters. Imagine this has been expanded to any object (tree or otherwise) in the world, and share with us the letter you’d send to your favorite. -Inspired by Hannah Lu, Class of 2020
You’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. What if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the Earth? -Inspired by Chandani Latey, AB'93
The word floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant or of having no value. It originated in the mid-18th century from the Latin words "floccus," "naucum," "nihilum," and "pilus"—all words meaning “of little use.” Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose, tell us its meaning, and describe the plausible (if only to you) scenarios in which it would be most appropriately used. -Inspired by Ben Zhang, Class of 2022
Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm, jinx, or other means for magical mayhem. How is it enacted? Is there an incantation? Does it involve a potion or other magical object? If so, what's in it or what is it? What does it do? -Inspired by Emma Sorkin, Class of 2021
Imagine you’ve struck a deal with the Dean of Admissions himself, Dean Nondorf. It goes as follows: you’re guaranteed admission to the University of Chicago regardless of any circumstances that arise. This bond is grounded on the condition that you’ll obtain a blank, 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, and draw, write, sketch, shade, stencil, paint etc., anything and everything you want on it; your only limitations will be the boundaries of both sides on the single page. Now the catch… your submission, for the rest of your life, will always be the first thing anyone you meet for the first time will see. Whether it’s at a job interview, a blind date, arrival at your first Humanities class, before you even say, “hey,” they’ll already have seen your page, and formulated that first impression. Show us your page. What’s on it, and why? If your piece is largely or exclusively visual, please make sure to share a creator's accompanying statement of at least 300 words, which we will happily allow to be on its own, separate page. PS: This is a creative thought experiment, and selecting this essay prompt does not guarantee your admission to UChicago. -Inspired by Amandeep Singh Ahluwalia, Class of 2022
Cats have nine lives, Pac-Man has three lives, and radioactive isotopes have half-lives. How many lives does something else—conceptual or actual—have, and why? -Inspired by Kendrick Shin, Class of 2019
If there’s a limited amount of matter in the universe, how can Olive Garden (along with other restaurants and their concepts of food infinity) offer truly unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? Explain this using any method of analysis you wish—physics, biology, economics, history, theology… the options, as you can tell, are endless. -Inspired by Yoonseo Lee, Class of 2023
A hot dog might be a sandwich, and cereal might be a soup, but is a ______ a ______? -Inspired by Arya Muralidharan, Class of 2021 (and dozens of others who, this year and in past years, have submitted the question “Is a hot dog a sandwich,” to which we reply, “maybe”)
“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” – Jessamyn West -Inspired by Elizabeth Mansfield, Class of 2020
Choose Your Test
Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 7 uchicago essay prompts: how to write stellar responses.
College Essays
The University of Chicago is famous for its unique essay topics. They're some of the most creative and off-the-wall essay prompts you'll see when applying to colleges, and it can sometimes be confusing to know how to tackle them.
What should you write about in your UChicago essays? How can you show that you're intelligent, creative, and worthy of a place at their school? As someone who spent a long time on my UChicago essays (and who got into the school), I've figured out exactly what UChicago is looking for in these essays.
Read on to learn all about the UChicago essays, what the admissions team expects to see in your responses, what topics you should write about, and which topics you should avoid. In this guide, we also suggest sample essay ideas for each of the 2022/2023 UChicago supplement essay prompts and analyze past University of Chicago essay samples so you can see what a great UChicago essay looks like.
What Are the UChicago Essays?
Before you can begin figuring out how you'll write your UChicago essays, you should know which prompts you'll be seeing and the rules for each one. You'll need to write two essays, and the UChicago essay prompts you must answer are commonly referred to as Question 1 and Question 2.
Question 1: Why UChicago?
The Question 1 prompt is the only UChicago supplement essay that stays the same each year, and it's also the only prompt that all applicants must answer (for Question 2 you'll have multiple prompts to choose from).
For this question, you'll need to write an essay that explains why you want to attend the University of Chicago and why you think the school is a good fit for you and your goals. UChicago doesn't have strict word limits for essays, but they suggest a response of 1-2 pages.
Here's the prompt:
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
The nice part about this prompt is that it's a pretty standard "why this school" essay . And luckily for you, we have a complete guide that walks you through how to knock this type of essay out of the park.
Want to get into UChicago or your personal top choice college?
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies . We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
Question 2: Extended Essay
For Question 2, you have a choice of six essay prompts, and you'll choose the one you want to respond to. The essay prompts for this question change every year, and while there are always around six prompts, some years there may be one more or one less to choose from.
These are the more unique and offbeat essay prompts that UChicago is known for. Many of them were created by UChicago alumni and current students. Again, UChicago asks you submit a response 1-2 pages long.
Below are the essay prompts for the 2022/2023 school year.
Essay Option 2: What advice would a wisdom tooth have?
Essay Option 3: You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?
Essay Option 4: UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.
Essay Option 5: Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?
Essay Option 6: And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
The world is your oyster when it comes to answering UChicago essay prompts.
How to Answer the University of Chicago Essay Prompts
In this section, we explain what UChicago wants to see in your essays, give ideas for topics to write about for each of the essays, and discuss topics you are better off avoiding.
For this University of Chicago supplement essay, UChicago wants to know why you want to attend their school, what you hope to get out of attending, and how University of Chicago will help you achieve their goals. Basically, they want to know why you think their school is a better fit for you than all the other schools out there. For more analysis of this essay, check out our in-depth guide to the Why UChicago essay .
What Do They Want to See in Your Response?
The "why our school?" is probably the most common essay prompt you'll see on college applications. Why do schools, including UChicago, ask this question?
UChicago wants to first see that you really want to go to their school. Students who love a school are more likely to accept an offer of admission and attend it, and they are more likely to be committed to their studies, participate in extracurriculars, and give back after they graduate. Your passion for UChicago should be shining through in this essay.
Next, UChicago wants to see that you've done your research on their school and have an idea of what opportunities you want to take advantage of while there. You can do this by mentioning specific things you like about UChicago or that you plan to take advantage of as a student there. Potential things to discuss include professors you admire or are interested in working with, specific classes you want to take, and extracurriculars you want to participate in.
Finally, UChicago wants to see that you are a good match for their school. Your essay should explain how you'll make the best use of what UChicago offers, how your strengths match the opportunities they provide, and how UChicago will help you reach your goals for the future.
Potential Topics to Write About
There are many ways you could approach this essay prompt; although since UChicago is best known for its academics (as opposed to killer sports teams, for example), most people will discuss the academic side for at least part of their response. Below is a list of possible topics; most people will discuss one to three topics in their essay.
- Majors or classes you're especially interested in
- UChicago's core curriculum
- Professors whose work you admire and whom you'd like to study with or conduct research with
- Unique events like Scav and Kuviasungnerk/Kangeiko
- Research opportunities you'd like to have
- University of Chicago students you've met who you admire
- Volunteer opportunities
- Financial aid opportunities UChicago offers that make it possible for you to attend
Topics to Avoid
The key here is to avoid generic topics that could apply to practically any school or any student. You want it to be clear in your response what opportunities the University of Chicago offers you that no other school does and how you're going to make use of them. Topics that won't show this include discussing:
- How pretty the campus is
- Chicago weather
- The food on campus
- Where UChicago places on college ranking lists
- Your future major and career path without connecting it back to what UChicago offers
- Bashing other schools
The extended essay is when you can get especially creative. These prompts require you to move outside your comfort zone of typical essay topics and answer in a way that gives readers insight into who you are and what you care about. Remember: Question 2 is required, but you have six different prompts to choose from for this essay response.
Your response to Question 1 is meant to show what you like about UChicago and how you’re going to make the most of the opportunities it offers. Question 2 is less about UChicago and more about you. The admissions team wants to see who you are and what's important to you. Three main things they'd like to see in your essay response are:
- Your personality
- Your thirst for knowledge
Who are you? What have been the important events in your life? What kind of person are you? What do you love learning about? These are the questions UChicago wants you to answer. They want to know what's important to you, what events from your past shaped you, what kind of person you are now, and what you want to accomplish in the future.
UChicago is particularly interested in students who love learning and have a lot of interests in different fields and topics. A mathematician who also does ballet? A creative writing major who started her own business? Bring it on! Make sure to show your love for learning in your essay.
Your passions and goals don't always need to be lofty though; in the second example essay below you can see how the writer took a quirky interest and managed to connect it to larger ideas. If you can connect one of your pet passions to an essay topic, do so!
The great thing about these UChicago essay prompts is you can write about almost anything you want to since they're so different from each other and give you lots of chances to be creative. And you can tackle it from any angle you want. On their website , UChicago states that "[This essay] can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between." Just remember, you want this essay to give UChicago a good idea of the type of person you are and what's important to you.
Essay Option 1
Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory.
The UChicago Optional Essay prompts kick off with probably the wackiest option. You're allowed to let your imagination run wild with this prompt. Pick a palindrome (a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward) in any language and think up an engaging story about it!
For this prompt, they want to see how imaginative you can be. The palindrome–and language–you choose will reveal what you find intriguing, compelling, meaningful, or funny! And the backstory you assign to your palindrome will show off your personality, creativity, and cultural experiences.
Make your response as wacky and original as you like, but remember to tie it back to you. For instance, say you go with the palindrome, “taco cat.” Think up a story about the meaning of “taco cat” that shows off the things that make you unique. Maybe you grew up helping your abuela make tacos, and your cat loved to sneak tacos off the table…which sparked your interest in studying health problems that lead animals to steal tasty table food! Weaving your story into your palindrome’s backstory will show UChicago that you’re creative and intellectually curious. This can include your niche interests, quirky hobbies, or pet projects.
Use this essay to show that you can think outside the box and tell a great story. To do that, make unexpected connections between your palindrome and who you are, what you do, or your passions–and don’t forget to have fun!
Essay Option 2
What advice would a wisdom tooth have?
This is a classic UChicago question that allows you to answer the question literally...or not. (The year I applied, the version of this question was "Describe your table.") So, what advice would a wisdom tooth have? You can answer this literally and describe the advice that your pulled wisdom teeth would have given your past-self back when they were still hanging out in your jaw bone.
Or (as always with UChicago essays), you can take it in a totally unexpected direction. This prompt is a chance to put your interpretive and reasoning skills into action. In fact, you could almost think of it like a riddle, except that the answer is anything that you can come up with and justify.
Where would a wisdom tooth get its advice from? Who would it give advice to, and why? Maybe a wisdom tooth can empathize with people who’ve gone through a major life change or painful experience. Maybe a wisdom tooth could give advice to other things that have become obsolete!
Don’t worry too much about whether your advice makes sense for a wisdom tooth; the idea of a wisdom tooth giving advice is nonsensical in the first place! Think outside the box about the wording of the question, and use your idea of what counts as good advice to anchor your answer. If the wisdom tooth gives advice that is meaningful to you, you’ll give UChicago insight into your values and personality, two things they want to see in these essays!
Essay Option 3
You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?
This prompt is a bit lengthier, but it’s more straightforward about what it’s asking you to write about than the first two prompts. This prompt wants you to describe your view of humanity. If you struggled to think of a good topic for either of the first two prompts, you may have an easier time with this one, since it can apply to pretty much anyone.
Think about the art, music, books, historical events, and ideas that you find interesting, fun, important, and meaningful. Then choose the one you find most compelling and analyze it. What morals, values, epiphanies, or revelations does your chosen representation of humanity convey? What does it reveal about human nature? Why do these things matter to you, and how do they represent an aspect of who you are? The standard guidelines still apply here: choose something that's unique and gives insight into who you are.
It's totally appropriate to get really specific in your answers here. The prompt itself asks you to dive into the nitty gritty of your chosen art/music/event/idea and explain what it is, how you’d present it to outsiders, and what it reveals about the value of humanity. You can be as wacky or as serious as you want with your response, just make sure it fully answers the prompt and gives a little window into what's important to you.
Essay Option 4
UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.
This is one of the broadest options of the prompts. You have free reign to discuss why pretty much anything in the world should be included as a category for the Nobel Prize. And just like the other prompts for Question 2, this is another chance for you to write all about–you guessed it!--your interests, passions, and values. So, what are your major interests in life? Is there a subject that you love to learn about and can’t get enough of? Alternatively, can you think of something you’ve seen others doing that’s worthy of a Nobel Prize? How would you categorize their work or accomplishment, and what specific things did they do that make them worthy of this achievement?
You can use a real career field for this prompt, like underwater welding or baking, or create your own category, like a Nobel Prize for Oldest Siblings or a Nobel Prize for Early Risers. You can be serious or quirky (or both!) as long as your response explains exactly what your category is, why you chose it, and what the criteria are for receiving a Nobel Prize in your category. And of course, be sure to let your experiences, interests, and values shape the way you describe your category . That way, UChicago will get a good idea of who you are and what’s meaningful to you!
Essay Option 5
Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?
This prompt is your chance to be more overtly academic in your response . In writing about a historical figure, you’ll be able to show your knowledge of history, culture, politics, economics, religion, scientific discovery…and so on! Choose a historical figure and technology that interest you in some way. Your historical figure could be someone you admire, who impacted the course of history, or who emulates a value or lesson that resonates with you. And since the prompt gives racecars, SuperSoakers, and Furbies as examples, the sky’s pretty much the limit in terms of what technology you choose.
While brainstorming historical figures and technologies will be really fun, the most important part of this essay is justifying why your pairing makes sense and why it matters. Think about what your historical figure could do with your technology, how that might impact historical events, and what the implications of that could be for people today. As long as you’re creative, descriptive, and thorough, your response can range from serious to silly and meet the requirements for this prompt.
Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
If you aren't feeling any of the other five optional prompts, you can respond to this one, which asks you to choose and respond to a past UChicago optional essay prompt, or write and respond to your own prompt. With either option, you'll want to consider your identity, interests, strengths, and goals, and let those factors inform which prompt you choose, how you write your own prompt, and how you craft your response.
You may not feel up to the task of writing your own prompt, but you might like the idea of tracking down an old prompt that catches your eye. Read through the past prompts and consider which one will allow you to play to your strengths . If there's a particular experience or skill that you want to showcase in your response, select a prompt that is conducive to that.
Alternatively, if there's a specific experience you want to write about, you can write your own prompt and respond to it. To write your prompt, use the tone and structure of the existing UChicago prompts as a guide. It'll probably come as no surprise that your original prompt should fit right in with the ones provided on the application. This means you might have to be a little goofy, cryptic, or risky...and that's a good thing!
Though this option allows you to write your own prompt if you so choose, it's important to remember that your response to the prompt should still focus on showcasing who you are , what strengths you will bring to UChicago as a student, and why UChicago is the perfect place for you. Don't get too carried away trying to impress admissions with punny phrases or cryptic logic; be authentic, be bold, and be you.
Some people shy away from this prompt because they feel like it's "cheating" or less impressive to not follow one of the specific prompts that UChicago gives. However, this isn't true! As long as you write a compelling essay that gives readers a better insight into who you are, your essay will strengthen your application. For what it's worth, when I applied to UChicago, this is the prompt I chose, and I was still accepted to the school.
UChicago wants you to be creative here, so there aren't many topics that are off limits. However, you're trying to convince them that you'd be a great and interesting student to add to their school, so make sure you use your essay to show who you are and why UChicago would want to admit you.
This means you should avoid responses that don't give readers a good idea of who you are. For example, if you choose essay option 1, don't just state that “taco cat” is funny because it reminds you of your favorite meme. Instead, tie it back to yourself and your life by explaining its relevance, like making tacos with your abuela and fending off the family cat’s attempts to steal tacos.
Because these prompts are creative, it can be easy to run away with them, but always remember to answer the prompt completely and give UChicago better insight into who you are.
Additionally, don't feel that certain University of Chicago essay prompts are "better" or more impressive than others . UChicago wouldn't have chosen these essay topics if they didn't think applicants could write outstanding responses to them, so please choose the prompt that you feel you can write the best essay for.
University of Chicago Essay Examples
In this section are two University of Chicago essay examples, each written by an accepted applicant.
Below each UChicago supplement essay we discuss what makes the essay work so well.
Dear University of Chicago,
And now you inquire as to my wishes? They're simple, accept me for who I am! Why can't you just love and not ask why? Not ask about my assets or my past? I'm living in the now, I'm waiting for you to catch up, but you're too caught up in my past, I offer us a future together, not a past to dwell upon. Whenever I'm around you, I just get that tingle deep inside me that tells me you're the one; you have that air of brilliance and ingenuity that I crave in a person, you're so mature and sophisticated, originality is really your strongest and most admirable trait. I wish we could be together, I still think in my heart of hearts we were meant to be, but you have to meet me halfway, dear. I'm on one knee here with tears welling up in my eyes, the fireworks are timed and ready to light up the night sky for you, just say 'I accept...you.'
Why Does This Essay Work?
- Creative take on a standard prompt: The writer chose a very unique angle for this essay: comparing the University of Chicago to a lover. He's probably the first applicant to answer the essay prompt this way, which definitely makes this a memorable essay. In fact, UChicago loved this essay so much that they mailed it out to thousands of potential applicants (which actually got them a bit of backlash ). You absolutely don't have to take as unique an approach to this essay as the above writer did, but doing so can definitely help your essay stand out.
- It answers the entire prompt: Even though this is an unusual essay, the writer still manages to answer everything the prompt asks for. He mentions his goal for the future (to become a lawyer), mentions varied interests he has (the Gothic era, the philosopher Kierkegaard), and explains what he likes about UChicago (the brilliance, ingenuity, and originality the school offers). He even manages to mention that he visited campus three times, which shows a serious interest in the school. If you choose to write an especially offbeat essay, it's key to do what this essay did and still answer the prompt while being creative.
This essay is from several years ago, so it doesn't use a current prompt, but it's still helpful to read and analyze.
Share with us a few of your favorite books, poems, authors, films, plays, pieces of music, musicians, performers, paintings, artists, blogs, magazines, or newspapers. Feel free to touch on one, some, or all of the categories listed, or add a category of your own.
Now let's take a look at the successful essay:
The Illuminati changed my life. Three years ago, I found my first ambigram in one of my favorite novels, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I turned the page, and there it was: the word "Illuminati" printed into the exact center of the book. It was styled like a newspaper masthead, exquisite and complex, yet oddly symmetric. Curious, I rotated the book upside-down.
Impossibly, the inverted word was still "Illuminati." Gazing closer, I realized that the letters, I-L-L-U-M, actually shaped into a flipped I-N-A-T-I. Suddenly, I was reading it in both directions. My eyes waltzed along the broad curves and sharp twists of the calligraphy, striking poses in a glamorous font against a sheet of creamy whiteness, sliding between the dense vertical strokes, peering at the edge of the defined serif as it angled away, then bent boldly toward me. Every line was deliberate, every flourish smiling with purpose, and the whole word balanced on the delicate cord that joined two letters into one. It was unforgettable.
Ambigrams are words that can be read from different directions. Actually, "ambigram" is an umbrella term that encompasses dozens of distinct types of visual wordplay. The most popular ones are rotational, mirror image, and-my personal favorites-symbiotic ambigrams, which can spell two different things when viewed normally and upside-down.
Compelled by the striking art, I could not help but try my own hand at designing ambigrams, and slowly I felt the pitiful stick-figure artist inside me shrink away as my inner energetic graphic designer sprang up. Before early volleyball tournaments, I work myself up by filling up pages and pages of experimental letter combinations, gleefully satisfied at the way that a rounded lowercase "a" was a perfect upside-down lowercase "e." In my AP Literature class, I drew "She's a witch!" which revealed, when flipped, "Communist" to reflect Arthur Miller's contemporary motives for writing The Crucible. On a challenge from a friend, I even drew an ambigram of "Jay-Z" and "Beyonce" on a bumpy bus ride back from a leadership retreat.
In the last few months, I have also practiced drawing ambigrams as fast as I can. I dream about the day when I can effortlessly write out a message saying "Hi, how are you today?" normally and "The password is cherry268" upside-down, without pausing or rotating the paper. I imagine a world in which everyone had this ability, and could literally write two things at once. How would that change communication? Encryption? Trust? My legs swing comfortably from this innovative edge, excited to take a stab at the answers.
The best part about the ambigram is that it refuses to define itself as just one thing. It is a linguistic passion, a cryptographic endeavor, an artistic design, and an ironic illusion. I relish the fact that ambigrams force both the artist and the audience to reject first glances and embrace secret identities.
This may just be a nerdy obsession, but ambigrams have taught me far more than how to sketch fancy words. Their multidimensional truth implies that my hobbies of both writing Italian sonnets and solving logical riddles are not opposing functions of my left and right brains, but rather, a perfect conglomeration of my passion for creating and solving puzzles. The beauty of the most surprising combinations reminds me to take bold risks in both my life and my designs.
Above all else, ambigrams have taught me that I can create the impossible. I can make true and false the same word depending on something as simple as a 180-degree head turn. Victory can be defeat. Open can be closed. Am amateur piano player with an obsession for cryptology can learn how to program iPhone apps and get the game-winning kill at the varsity volleyball championship. A girl with divorced parents can make time for both families, and an inspired teenager from California can write her name into world history--both normally and upside-down.
- Samantha M.
Why This Essay Works
- Shows passion: This essay focuses on a pretty unusual and specific topic: ambigrams. While many people may not even know what an ambigram is, the writer is clearly passionate about them. She discusses how much time she spends trying to create different ambigrams, what her goals for ambigram creating are, and some of her favorite ambigrams she's created. UChicago loves people who are passionate about something, even if it's an unusual or offbeat interest. It makes UChicago believe those students will bring that passion with them onto campus.
- Gives insight into the writer's personality: The majority of this essay is about the author's interest in ambigrams, but she also manages to cleverly slip in multiple other references to her personality and interests. From her essay, we learn that she's a volleyball player, writes Italian sonnets, and loves solving puzzles. Adding these details gives UChicago a fuller look at what makes her tick.
- Connects it to a bigger picture: The writer chose to write about a very specific topic—ambigrams—but was still able to connect that to bigger concepts, such as communication, truth, and how she's able to balance her different interests. She's able to take a quirky topic and show how it influences her worldview.
Final Advice: UChicago Essays
When answering the University of Chicago essay prompts, keep in mind that the main reason UChicago is reading these essays is to find out who you are as a person and if you'd be a good fit at their school.
The University of Chicago wants students who are passionate about learning, creative, are excited to make the most of their time on campus, and have big dreams for themselves, and the UChicago supplement questions are designed to help you show these sides of yourself to the school.
For the "Why UChicago?" prompt, you'll want to show the school why you want to go there, why you think you're a good fit for the school, and how UChicago will help you achieve your goals during college and beyond.
For the extended essay, you can (and should) be more creative. These UChicago essays are more "out there," and in your response, you should show your personality and passion for learning.
For both University of Chicago essays, remember to show who you are and what you're passionate about, include details about yourself and the school to help you stand out from other essays, and mention your plans and goals for the future.
What's Next?
If you want a more in-depth look how to write about Question 1, check out our guide to the Why UChicago Essay , which includes an additional sample essay along with analysis of how to answer this prompt.
Are you working on the Common App essay ? Read our breakdown of the Common App prompts and our guide to picking the best prompt for you.
If you're planning to take the SAT or ACT one last time , try out some of our famous test prep guides, like "How to Get a Perfect Score on the SAT" and "15 Key ACT Test Day Tips."
Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar.
Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges.
Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now :
Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.
Student and Parent Forum
Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.
Ask a Question Below
Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!
Improve With Our Famous Guides
- For All Students
The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points
How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer
Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:
Score 800 on SAT Math
Score 800 on SAT Reading
Score 800 on SAT Writing
Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:
Score 600 on SAT Math
Score 600 on SAT Reading
Score 600 on SAT Writing
Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests
What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?
15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay
The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points
How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer
Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:
36 on ACT English
36 on ACT Math
36 on ACT Reading
36 on ACT Science
Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:
24 on ACT English
24 on ACT Math
24 on ACT Reading
24 on ACT Science
What ACT target score should you be aiming for?
ACT Vocabulary You Must Know
ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score
How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League
How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA
How to Write an Amazing College Essay
What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?
Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide
Should you retake your SAT or ACT?
When should you take the SAT or ACT?
Stay Informed
Get the latest articles and test prep tips!
Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?
Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:
GRE Online Prep Blog
GMAT Online Prep Blog
TOEFL Online Prep Blog
Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”
Ivy writing professor & bestselling author guides applicants to Harvard, Yale, MIT & other top colleges with a unique, innovative & personalized approach "The best decision we made during the college process." "She taught me how to write and think." Students work with me, not a random staffer.
When you hire me, you get me. who am i an out-of-the-ordinary college application admissions essay coach tutor consultant, best ever university of chicago application essay prompts 2022-23.
July 17, 2018 Elizabeth Benedict ACT test optional , Best College Application Essays , College Application Essay , college application essay , College Application Essay help , college application essay prompts , college application prompts , Common App Essay Tutor , Common application essay consultant , Common Application essay help , great college application essay , Harvard Admissions , hiring a consultant , how parents can help , How to Write College Application Essay , Ivy League Admissions , Personal Essay Coach , Personal Essay Tutor , SAT/ACT , SAT/ACT Test Prep , Test Optional , Tips for College Application Essays 0
UPDATE! The 2022-23 U Chicago essay prompts are out!
Click right here to read about them., the following post is from two years ago, but the university of chicago is so unconventional that you can use a prompt from any year if you wish. read on and use your imagination:, “you’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. what if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the earth”, if you’re applying this fall to the university of chicago, this is one of the supplemental essay prompts you can choose from. you can also use any prompt from a previous year, including this one, a paragon of pith: “what’s so odd about odd numbers”, the university of chicago is famous – or infamous – for their unusual and unusually demanding additional essays. some of us wait eagerly every year to see what the admissions folks will come up with. the answers are finally here., wondering where they get these quirky questions the answer, on the website, might surprise you: “each year we email newly admitted and current college students and ask them for essay topics. we receive several hundred responses, many of which are eloquent, intriguing, or downright wacky.”, i work with many students who plan to apply to chicago before they know about the essays. when they see the prompts, they have one of two responses: “wow, this is the place for me.” or: “hmmmm. i have nothing to say about any of these.” if you’re in the first category, chicago might be a good fit for you., if you’re in the second, take this as useful information about yourself and the university. it may not be the college for you – and that’s absolutely fine. there are dozens of other outstanding choices. where can you find them try the best 385 colleges , updated every year, published by princeton review., the supplemental essays are a kind of dialogue between college and applicant. while many of the prompts are straightforward – “why do you want to attend our college” – many others are creative,, personal, and/or intellectually demanding., for example, the university of pennsylvania has one supplement, and you can learn a lot about yourself and the university if you sit down to write it: “how will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the university of pennsylvania please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (400-650 words)” if you are a student short on intellectual and academic interests because your focus is marketing or the arts, penn might not be the right place for you. again, this is not a criticism of you; it’s valuable information about the kind of students penn is looking for. if that’s not you, don’t hesitate to move on., whether or not you’re planning to apply to chicago, i bet you’ll find these essay topics fun to read. the infamous essay is one of two additional essays required for chicago. see below for the second., if you need help choosing colleges and/or writing your essays – common app or supplements – shoot me an email at [email protected] ., here’s the intro on chicago’s website , followed by this year’s prompts:, “the university of chicago has long been renowned for our provocative essay questions. we think of them as an opportunity for students to tell us about themselves, their tastes, and their ambitions. they can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between.”, 2022-23 uchicago supplement, question 1 (required), how does the university of chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to uchicago., question 2: extended essay (required; choose one), essay option 1, was it a cat i saw yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (japanese for “the world is a warm place”). może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory. – inspired by leah beach, class of 2026, lib gray sb ’12, and agnes mazur ab ‘09, essay option 2, what advice would a wisdom tooth have –inspired by melody dias, class of 2025, essay option 3, you are on an expedition to found a colony on mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of martians suddenly emerges. they seem eager to communicate, but they’re the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. what do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time —inspired by alexander hastings, class of 2023, and olivia okun-dubitsky, class of 2026, some classic questions from previous years…, joan of arkansas. queen elizabeth cady stanton. babe ruth bader ginsburg. mash up a historical figure with a new time period, environment, location, or occupation, and tell us their story. —inspired by drew donaldson, ab’16, alice falls down the rabbit hole. milo drives through the tollbooth. dorothy is swept up in the tornado. neo takes the red pill. don’t tell us about another world you’ve imagined, heard about, or created. rather, tell us about its portal. sure, some people think of the university of chicago as a portal to their future, but please choose another portal to write about. —inspired by raphael hallerman, class of 2020, what’s so odd about odd numbers —inspired by mario rosasco, ab’09, vestigiality refers to genetically determined structures or attributes that have apparently lost most or all of their ancestral function, but have been retained during the process of evolution. in humans, for instance, the appendix is thought to be a vestigial structure. describe something vestigial (real or imagined) and provide an explanation for its existence. —inspired by tiffany kim, class of 2020, the university of chicago essay prompts page is right here, if you’d like help drafting these essays or any others, please contact me:, [email protected], share this:.
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- best college essay prompts
- college app essay
- college application essay editor
- College Application Essays
- Common App essay
- common app essay coach
- common app essay tutor
- personal statement
- university of chicago essay prompt
Copyright © 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes
University of Chicago 2021-22 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide
University of chicago 2021-22 application essay question explanations.
The Requirements: 2 essays of 1-2 pages each
Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Oddball
This is it, the infamous U Chicago supplemental application. These quirky prompts have been a rite of passage for generations of applicants. So before you dive in, just remember that if they could do it, so can you! Your goal in writing your Chicago extended essay should be the same as ever: to reveal something new to admissions. It might even help to have a few ideas in mind before reading through your options. These prompts are so specific and strange that, in the end, the key is just to follow your instincts. What speaks to you right away? What inspires you?
Question 1 (Required)
How does the university of chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to uchicago..
Think of this run-of-the-mill why essay as the overture to your magnum opus (i.e. the Extended Essay). Chicago wants you to cover all the bases – “learning, community, and future” – so as with any why essay, you’d best buckle down and do your homework. The more specific details you can incorporate into your essay, the more sincere and personal it will feel (and be!). Explore both academic and extracurricular opportunities. How will you pursue your interest in oceanography? With a major in biology and a semester in Australia? What research opportunities will you pursue? Will joining the club crew team help you feel more connected to aquatic life despite your midwest location? One thing you won’t find on the school website, though, is that third piece, that “future” thing. Think about where you’d like to be five or ten years from now – your career or the impact you’d like to have or even just a geographic location. How will a U Chicago education help you get there? How will your scholarly and social pursuits help you grow? Show admissions how U Chicago is the bridge between the person you are and the person you hope to be.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay option 1, what if the moon were made of cheese or neptune made of soap pick a celestial object, reimagine its material composition, and explore the implications. feel free to explore the realms of physics, philosophy, fantasy…the sky is the limit.
—Inspired by Tate Flicker, Class of 2025
Your answer to this prompt should ultimately speak to your passions. Maybe Jupiter is made up entirely of salt water because you can’t think of anything cooler than alien sharks (and you’re an aspiring marine biologist). Perhaps Saturn is made up of string because you recently discovered a love for knitting and you would take full advantage of this bountiful new resource. If Pluto is made up of trampolines, would you take your love of gymnastics to new heights? (We’re too punny!)
Whatever the celestial object is made of, it has to link to some kind of story or revelation about yourself. You need to know what you’re choosing, why you’re choosing it, and how it relates to something about you that admissions doesn’t yet know.
Essay Option 2
What’s so easy about pie.
—Inspired by Arjun Kalia, Class of 2025
You could take this prompt as face value and literally write about pie. Maybe you’re a novice baker or pie serves as the centerpiece of all of your family reunions. Does pie smooth out social interactions with your relatives? (Who can question you about your career path and life goals when they have a mouthful of delicious pumpkin pie in their mouth?!)
On the other hand, maybe this prompt isn’t about pie at all. Or, if it is, perhaps you don’t think there’s anything easy about pie. This prompt can be interpreted in a hundred different ways. The extent to which you can push this open-ended question is virtually limitless. Admissions is looking to see how you think, process, and approach. So, flex your imaginative muscles and take the metaphor off a cliff (in a good way). In the end, if this prompt doesn’t speak to you, don’t worry, there are plenty of others to choose from!
Essay Option 3
In homer’s iliad, helen had a “face that launched a thousand ships.” a millihelen, then, measures the beauty needed to launch one ship. the sagan unit is used to denote any large quantity (in place of “billions and billions”). a new york minute measures the period of time between a traffic light turning green and the cab behind you honking. invent a new unit of measurement. how is it derived how is it used what are its equivalents.
—Inspired by Carina Kane, Class of 2024, and Ishaan Goel, Class of 2025
This question can be reflective of so many aspects of your life. It can refer to a subject that you enjoy studying, a place that is important to you, or a hobby you’ve invested a lot of time into. This prompt is meant for fun, so don’t hesitate to tap into your comedian side or engage in wordplay. Are the hours between dinner and twilight the “construction-zone,” as you try makeup tutorials in your free time? (Repurposed phrases are encouraged!) If this prompt appeals to you, your answer will become abundantly clear. What do you want admissions to know about you? You can make almost any topic work for this prompt, so long as you have the proper segue.
We here at CEA have a different definition of a New York Minute, which is the time it takes a New Yorker to mute the monitor in the backseat after getting into a cab. If we were responding to this prompt, we might explore what it’s like to grow up in a city filled with distractions or what it’s like to be part of a super fast-paced environment.
The new unit of measurement you invent could be the octave your mom manages to reach when breaking into one of her hyena laughs (her “wild-note”), or the force in which your dog is able to wag his tail and knock over literally everything (the “demolition-wag”). Let your mind wander and see what comes up for you!
Essay Option 4
“there is no such thing as a new idea” – mark twain. are any pieces of art, literature, philosophy, or technology truly original, or just a different combination of old ideas pick something, anything (besides yourself), and explain why it is, or is not, original..
—Inspired by Haina Lu, Class of 2022
This prompt is for all the creatives out there. Like the rest of the University of Chicago’s prompts, it doesn’t really matter which side you take, so long as you’re using the prompt to write about something that is important to you. Maybe you want to write about recent social justice movements like Black Lives Matter or #MeToo . Are they introducing new ideas? Not necessarily. Does that mean they’re not important for us to engage with and pay attention to? Absolutely not.
You can also argue that everything is new. Sure, every piece of music is composed of the same notes, but those notes can be arranged in an infinite number of ways, evoking joy with that classic G-major and melancholy with those minor keys. You could argue that, every time you play a song, it’s for the first time because it will never be played exactly the same way twice. Or you could argue that ideas are reflective of the times in which they are introduced, and thus, they’re always brand new because they’re explored through the lens of a new chapter in history. If this prompt calls to you, follow the sound, and we’re sure you’ll come up with something great (and maybe even new)!
Essay Option 5
It’s said that history repeats itself. but what about other disciplines choose another field (chemistry, philosophy, etc.) and explain how it repeats itself. explain how it repeats itself..
—Inspired by Ori Brian, AB’19
This prompt serves you with a fun, creative way to nerd out about an intellectual interest of yours. However, what you choose to focus on doesn’t have to be something related to your major or long-term goals; it can just show admissions that you’re multifaceted and think about things creatively.
Maybe you’re a music-lover and want to write about how lyrics or choruses repeat themselves. Or, perhaps, you’re an avid reader and you’ve read or seen the plot of Pride and Prejudice at least seven times (each time with a different title and new characters, despite being the same storyline). Maybe you’re a science geek and want to talk about asexual bacteria and how it replicates/repeats itself all the time. So long as you’re having fun while responding to this prompt, you’re doing it right!
Essay Option 6
In the spirit of adventurous inquiry (and with the encouragement of one of our current students) choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). be original, creative, thought provoking. draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the university of chicago; take a little risk, and have fun.
We love all the prompts from the past —there are so many quirky ones! If this year’s questions aren’t inspiring you, don’t be afraid to peruse the archives to find one that stands out to you. If you belong at UChicago, there is no doubt you will find a prompt that sparks a story within you.
We’d also like to note that this is a great opportunity for recycling essays. If you wrote a strong longform essay for another school, see if any of the old prompts work in your favor, or make up your own question custom-built for your essay. Good luck! 😊
About CEA HQ
View all posts by CEA HQ »
We thought you might.
Contact us for information on rates and more!
- I am a * Student Parent Potential Partner School Counselor Private College Counselor
- Name * First Last
- Phone Type Mobile Landline
- Street Address
- Address City State / Province / Region Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini (Swaziland) Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands Country
- Which best describes you (or your child)? High school senior High school junior College student College grad Other
- How did you find CEA? Internet Search New York Times Guidance counselor/school Social Media YouTube Friend Special Event Delehey College Consulting Other
- Common App and Coalition Essays
- Supplemental Essays
- University of California Essays
- University of Texas Essays
- Resume Review
- Post-Grad Essays
- Specialized Services
- Waitlist Letters
- Agnes Scott College
- Alvernia University
- American University
- Amherst College
- Bard College
- Barnard College
- Baylor University
- Bennington College
- Bentley University
- Berry College
- Bethany College
- Bishop’s University
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Bowdoin College
- Brandeis University
- Brown University
- Bryn Mawr College
- Butler University
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- California Lutheran University
- Capitol Technology University
- Carleton College
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Catawba College
- Centre College
- Chapman University
- Claremont McKenna College
- Clark University
- Colgate University
- College of Mount Saint Vincent
- College of William and Mary
- College of Wooster
- Colorado College
- Colorado School of Mines
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Culver-Stockton College
- D'Youville University
- Dartmouth College
- Davidson College
- Duke University
- Earlham College
- Elon University
- Emerson College
- Emory University
- Flagler College
- Fordham University
- George Mason University
- Georgetown University
- Georgia State University
- Georgia Tech
- Gonzaga University
- Harvard University
- Harvey Mudd College
- Haverford College
- Hillsdale College
- Hofstra University
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Indiana University Bloomington
- Ithaca College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kalamazoo College
- Lafayette College
- Lehigh University
- Lewis and Clark College
- Linfield University
- Loyola Marymount University
- Lynn University
- Macalester College
- Malone University
- Manchester University
- Marist College
- Mary Baldwin University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Meredith College
- Monmouth College
- Moravian University
- Morehouse College
- Mount Holyoke College
- New York University (NYU)
- North Park University
- Northwestern University
- Occidental College
- Oklahoma City University
- Pepperdine University
- Pitzer College
- Pomona College
- Princeton University
- Providence College
- Purdue University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rice University
- Rutgers University
- Saint Elizabeth University
- Santa Clara University
- Sarah Lawrence College
- Scripps College
- Seattle Pacific University
- Soka University of America
- Southern Methodist University
- Stanford University
- Stonehill College
- SUNY Stony Brook University
- Swarthmore College
- Syracuse University
- Texas A&M University
- Texas Christian University
- The College of Idaho
- The George Washington University
- The New School
- Trinity College
- Tufts University
- Tulane University
- University of California
- University of Chicago
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Florida
- University of Georgia
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of Maryland
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Miami
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Oregon
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Richmond
- University of San Diego
- University of San Francisco
- University of Southern California (USC)
- University of Tampa
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Tulsa
- University of Vermont
- University of Virginia (UVA)
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Vanderbilt University
- Vassar College
- Villanova University
- Virginia Tech
- Wake Forest University
- Washington and Lee University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Wellesley College
- Williams College
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
- Yale University
Want free stuff?
We thought so. Sign up for free instructional videos, guides, worksheets and more!
One-On-One Advising
Common App Essay Prompt Guide
Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide
- YouTube Tutorials
- Our Approach & Team
- Testimonials
- Where Our Students Get In
- CEA Gives Back
- Undergraduate Admissions
- Graduate Admissions
- Private School Admissions
- International Student Admissions
- Academy and Worksheets
- Common App Essay Guide
- Supplemental Essay Guide
- Coalition App Guide
- Admissions Statistics
- Deadline Databases
- Notification Trackers
2022-23 University of Chicago (UChicago) Essay Prompts and Tips
UChicago has long been known for their “provocative” essay prompts, viewing them as a chance for “students to talk about themselves, their tastes, and their ambitions.” The University of Chicago admissions committee invites you to approach the UChicago supplemental essays with “utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between.” While writing this “uncommon essay” sounds like a real lark, we have to keep in mind the sobering facts that UChicago admitted just 5% of applicants into the Class of 2026, and the mid-50% SAT range of those who enroll is 1510-1560. This level of competition places the UChicago essay prompts squarely in the spotlight.
(Want to learn more about How to Get Into UChicago? Visit our blog entitled: How to Get Into the University of Chicago: Admissions Data and Strategies for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)
When applying to an institution like the University of Chicago that rejects 19 of every 20 applicants, you’ll need to put maximum effort into every area of the application, including the two UChicago supplemental essays. Below are UChicago’s supplemental prompts for the 2022-23 admissions cycle along with our advice for composing a winning essay.
UChicago Essay Prompts – Question 1 (Required)
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
For the absurd level of uniqueness in the prompt choices in Question #2, Question #1 is as common as they come—the good ol’ “Why Us?” essay, Chicago style!
How to write a winning “Why University of Chicago?” essay
How will you take advantage of UChicago’s endless resources both inside and outside of the classroom?
- Cite specific academic programs, professors, research opportunities, internship/externship programs, study abroad programs, student-run organizations, etc.
- Show evidence of how your past/current endeavors will carry over onto the University’s campus community.
- Lastly, what special talents and passions will you bring to the University of Chicago?
Examples of items to include in a “Why UChicago?” essay
Examples of items that quality “Why UChicago?” essays touch upon include:
- Two-thirds of UChicago professors live in Hyde Park, making for a particularly cohesive campus.
- 80% of undergrads elect to participate in undergraduate research .
- Additionally, the quarter system allows students to explore a greater number of courses each year in a more in-depth manner.
- 85% of UChicago classes enroll fewer than 25 students.
- The school has 160+ research centers, institutes, and committees.
- Many students win Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright Scholarships after graduation.
- The Jeff Metcalf Internship Program also offers 3,500 paid internships .
- They offer 450 student organizations .
- The university sponsors 66 study abroad programs in 31 cities ; many include chances to study with UChicago professors around the globe.
Of course, these are just a small sampling of the thousands of possible features that could be part of a successful essay, but we hope this helps your brainstorming session take flight!
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Before offering a few words about how one might address each of the following prompts, we want to stress to future UChicago applicants that there is no right way to talk about celestial objects made of provolone, the unspoken challenges of baking, or creating your own unit of measurement. What matters is that your response to any of the following prompts demonstrates your excellence and creativity as a writer. If the first five prompts don’t appeal to you, there is no downside in constructing your own via option #6.
University of Chicago Supplemental Essays:
Essay option 1.
Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory.
Option #1 was changed for 2022-23; yet, it remains a particularly quirky offering. Last year, this spot was reserved for imagining that the moon was made of cheese or Neptune from soap. To that prompt, we advised that it didn’t matter if you wrote about a quasar made of Jergens Enriching Shea Butter or Jupiter’s moons constructed from Bored Ape NFTs—your imagination and writing ability is what matters here. The latter half of that advice remains applicable to this palindrome-focused prompt. If you happen to love a particular palindrome, it could be a fun launching off point here. However, if you aren’t obsessed with sentences that read the same backwards and forwards, you shouldn’t put too much time into constructing an essay from scratch here (just our opinion).
Essay Option 2
What advice would a wisdom tooth have?
Research has shown that 11% of UChicago applicants who have the wisdom tooth impart to “enjoy the time you have” are accepted. Those who utilize some sort of wise man/tooth-related pun are admitted at only a 2% clip. Just kidding. If you want to write about a wisdom tooth guru, or some creative spin-off concept, knock yourself out. If not, keep moving down the list of prompts…
Essay Option 3
You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they’re the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?
This new prompt is a pretty decent platform upon which an applicant can build an imaginative, clever, and/or deep response. Other essays you’ve completed may have asked you to name a song that is meaningful to you or an idea you find inspirational. If so, feel free to rework that essay here. No pressure–you are only responsible for convincing an alien species of humanity’s worth in a single image!
Essay Option 4
UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.
This essay affords applicants a chance to flex their intellectual muscles and show off a talent for making interdisciplinary connections that stretch the imagination. After all, the prompt wants a “specific” category. This means that you probably don’t want to offer a straightforward answer like “History”. Of course, the prompt ignores that the Nobel Prize is also awarded in medicine and literature (so don’t name those!). However, we want to emphasize that the explanation matters more than the category. For example, you could name something straightforward like the “Preservation of Democracy” and write a compelling piece ripped from contemporary headlines.
Essay Option 5
Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?
If you, as a ridiculously busy applicant, have time to spare, this is a pretty fun prompt to ponder. The only downside is that—since this is so specific— you may not be able to reuse your composition for any other college to which you are applying. That said, the examples in the prompt itself are very funny. If you enjoy writing humorous compositions, this could certainly provide some fun. Alternatively, you could even take things in a slightly more serious direction.
Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry (and with the encouragement of one of our current students!) choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
If you elect to go with an archived prompt, you can locate some past entries around the internet such as here and here . A good number of applicants we have worked with avail themselves of the flexibility offered by this restriction-free offering.
How important are the UChicago essay prompts?
The University of Chicago lists six factors as being “very important” to the admissions committee and the essays are among them. In addition to the essays, UChicago most heavily weighs the rigor of your secondary school record, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability and character/personal qualities. Clearly, the Common App and supplemental essays are among the most important considerations for the University of Chicago in their decision-making process.
Want Personalized Essay Assistance with the UChicago Essay Prompts?
Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your UChicago supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote today.
Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
Filter By Category
- Application Strategies
- Big Picture
- College Essay
- College Search/Knowledge
- Costs & Financial Aid
- High Schools
- Navigating the Admissions Process
- Uncategorized
BUY OUR BOOK
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
Downloadable Resources for your College Transition
- Admissions Counseling
- College Investigator
UChicago Essay Examples (And Why They Worked)
The following essay examples were written by several different authors who were admitted to University of Chicago and are intended to provide examples of successful UChicago application essays. All names have been redacted for anonymity. Please note that CollegeAdvisor.com has shared these essays with admissions officers at University of Chicago in order to deter potential plagiarism.
For more help with your UChicago supplemental essays, check out our UChicago Essay Guide ! For more guidance on personal essays and the college application process in general, sign up for a monthly plan to work with an admissions coach 1-on-1.
Question 1 (Required; Choose one) How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
When I visited UChicago, a friend invited me to step into her Comparative Literature class: Monstrosity and the Monstrous. Desperate for refuge from the cold (as a Bay Area resident, I hadn’t packed for the Chicago winter), I quickly obliged. I expected to silently observe, but when I mentioned that I’d read Antigone , her professor was thrilled–he immediately invited me into the discussion. For an hour and a half, we weighed the pros and cons of civil disobedience: did Antigone’s actions permanently destabilize Thebes, and in the modern day, when does protesting against a government cross the line? Was Antigone justified in interpreting the will of the gods? And, if so, would Sophocles support pardoning well-intentioned criminals? Beyond the enthralling analysis of the play, I was captivated by the spirit of UChicago: a campus that invites everyone (including a loitering high school student) to contribute and develop their ideas.
Now, it’s surreal to imagine taking “The Economics of Crime” from someone as renowned as Professor Levitt (I’ve been a fan since reading Freakonomics ) and staying after class to clarify the finer points of the latest Freakonomics podcast (I particularly enjoyed “Speak Softly and Carry Big Data,” on using data analysis to perfect foreign policy decisions). I hope to add to UChicago’s legacy of pushing the boundaries of our economic understanding by participating in undergraduate research, and perhaps put my findings to use through crafting social policy for the Harris School’s Public Policy Practicum. Prior to graduating, I’ll sample tastes of future careers through the Fried Public Policy and Service Program or the Trott Business Program. Simultaneously, as someone who enjoys conversing and respectfully challenging ideas, I look forward to immersing myself in the Core Curriculum and obtaining a strong foundation of knowledge. Above all, I appreciate that UChicago teaches students how to think, encourages dialogue, and prompts students to question norms.
Beyond an unparalleled education, UChicago boasts an incredible student body. Whether it’s over $1 milkshakes, at a desk beneath the stunning glass dome of the Mansueto library, or over a game of pick-up basketball, students at UChicago have a reputation for cultivating the most interesting conversations, both miscellaneous and profound. I hope that culture will only intensify within groups like the student government, Muslim Student Association, or the (undefeated) Model United Nations team. Though I look forward to Scav, the prospect of another scavenger hunt is even more enticing; over the next four years, my peers and I will discover the impact we intend to have on the world. Whether I end up delving into politics, finance, or the nonprofit sector, I know UChicago will guide me through that process–more importantly, as a member of a campus of visionaries, I hope to learn how I’ll change any field I enter. I look forward to four life-changing years–this time, with a warm winter coat.
Why this UChicago essay worked, from an ex-admissions officer
The author of this essay did a great job highlighting their familiarity with the faculty’s research and the university’s traditions. In doing so, admissions officers know that this student conducted the necessary research and is not solely interested in the university based on its rankings and reputation but rather the intangibles- the things that set UChicago apart, from other colleges/universities.
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of visiting UChicago’s campus. What I found was exactly what I’d hoped for: an absurdly specific and drawn-out debate over which poem was better, The Iliad, or The Odyssey.
It happened in a dorm. After my official tour, a good friend of mine, Lizzie, who I’d met two summers ago on a writer’s retreat offered to show me around campus. The insider tour: coveted by many, enjoyed by few. As we were leaving the common space on her floor in Max P., we were discussing our respective class schedules. We came to find that we were doing similar coursework with regard to Classical studies, and with a simple groan at my mention of the adventures of Achilles in Ilion, the battle began.
Quickly, I found myself drawing my spear—the initial jab: “The portrayal of Odysseus in The Odyssey is lackluster and inconsistent with prior descriptions at best.”
She dodged, “Maybe, but The Iliad is just a bunch of gore. I want a real story.” The phalanxes were starting to form; war cries echoing, bouncing off doors which held the empty beds of students wintering at Mansueto, I stopped.
“Listen,” I said, with a ring reminiscent of a sword being gloriously drawn from its sheath. “Homer may not have even been the mind behind much of The Odyssey . On top of that, how do you reconcile Odysseus’ supposed military genius spanning ten years with his seemingly cavalier attitude towards his men’s safety on the voyage home?” In turn, she threw her arms up with a sigh of exasperation—a shield, a deflection.
“Maybe, but Achilles’ melodramatic fits aren’t worth reading. If I wanted to witness overwrought pouting, I’d go find a four-year-old. Besides, an inconsistency doesn’t damn a story to the pits of inadequacy.”
Round and round we went, like Achilles and Hector around the city of Ilion, neither of us gaining an inch, and neither of us drawing nearer escape. But then, for us, escape wasn’t the point, was it? It was the chase. The Iliad would have been far less exciting had Achilles settled for glory, fought for Agamemnon, and killed Hector immediately. Likewise, The Odyssey is nothing but a story of a journey, and therefore wouldn’t have a leg to stand on without the chase. From my point of view, this is what UChicago is all about—the chase; the journey—the questions asked and examined, not only those answered. Lizzie and I never came to a conclusion about which poem is better (thankfully we could agree that The Aeneid was objectively well written, and well told), but we had a riveting, impassioned conversation on a dime. My favorite part of this? It happened on the way to her Physics discussion.
That’s why I love UChicago; this is what I crave. The perpetual hall pass to unapologetically geek out with fellow cats whom curiosity didn’t kill, but strengthened. To walk by the chapel, and hear the bells playing Kiss the Girl, to sit in the Reading Room and write, to marvel at the marketing genius behind the naming of Grounds of Being ; to have conversations with poetry nerds, language lovers, people who can rant about the beauty of the C7 chord or the curvature of a parabolic function. I can only see myself in a place that emphasizes interdisciplinary studies, that offers a slew of majors, minors, and career courses—that not just allows, but encourages exploration—that finds its students discussing Homer on the way to a physics class. I would not be able to function without the camaraderie that comes with the $1 shake, or the friendships born of mutual vitriol at the notion of their disappearance. This community is not tied, but melded together—one that challenges, one that nips stagnancy in the bud. So, paint me maroon and point me towards Axelrod; I’m ready to join this Odyssey-loving, manhole-cover-thieving, Royal Tenenbaum-esque family.
In this essay, the writer connected her seemingly random conversation with a friend to the interdisciplinary focus of the university and the ways in which, others challenge her views. Oftentimes, when we think of a college education- there is so much focus on the rankings, reputation, and major, career opportunities, return on investments, and salary– all of which, are very important; however, one could argue that that true purpose of college is to challenge yourself, to step outside of your comfort zone, meet new people and challenge others as well. This writer understands those values are paramount to an education at UChicago. The admissions officer reading this essay, knows this student will thrive at UChicago, but most importantly, this student will leave UChicago in a better place than where they found it by challenging those around them.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Editor’s Note: The UChicago supplemental essays change each year, as the University is known to reach out to newly admitted and current students for essay prompts. These are examples of previous successful approaches to essay prompts.
2017-2018 UChicago Essay Prompt
What’s your armor.
I won’t knock on wood for luck if the wood isn’t demonstrably pure as the waters of the Piscine Molitor. When I say I won’t, I don’t mean that I will knock on a table, or a bench occasionally through gritted teeth if I’m in dire need of cosmic intervention, no, I mean I will not, under any circumstance, on a train, a plane, or even in Spain, knock on anything other than natural, uncoated in any way, wood. I recognize the scientific irrationality, not just of superstitions, but of being picking nits within a particular superstition. I have my reasons.
Two years ago, while scrolling through my Instagram feed, I stumbled across a disconcerting “fact” that probably wasn’t a fact . The post asserted that more than ninety-percent of all wooden tables, benches, chairs, etc are not, in fact, strictly wooden. Rather, they are a mix of synthetic materials and wood. Granted, in most cases, the synthetic is likely just a coat of protective varnish, but you see, that tarnishes the product for the superstitious. It was a moment of earth-shattering ramifications. In a matter of three seconds, I questioned every bit of trust I’d ever placed in the universe. It all seemed futile, meaningless. Now, I’m not knocking on wood, I’m knocking on wood that has been coated once, twice, ninety-six times with preservative varnish. At that point, it’s just a synthetic graveyard with a foundation of wood. There is no luck to be found in an ungodly cemetery of bones like that. I might as well knock on glass, or grass, or a plastic container. It surpasses trivial in the scheme of things, but imagine I were to have something especially important looming, something that has the potential to frame the context of the rest of my life, something like college applications. Why would I take a chance on something that merely resembles pure wood for luck? I wouldn’t. I’d run straight outside, find the nearest tree (the only real guarantee), and knock until my knuckles resembled shredded calf-liver. It’s really not worth the risk.
Why does it even matter, though? Who, and/or what enforces frivolous matters like outdated pseudo-religious compulsions? I like to imagine that there is a being in charge of each superstition, both the common and obscure. The Being of Repetition would oversee all attempts to cheat one’s destiny by uttering a word thirty-seven times, the Being of Self-Induced Discomfort would superintend those who hold their breath while they cross bridges or drive past cemeteries, and the Being of Sylvan Knocks would assure that not a single soul who bops their knuckles on a tarnished, synthetic-wood abomination receives their prize of favor. This being watches and keeps tabs on those foolish enough to put their faith in the preternatural equivalent of fool’s gold, and shames them by leaving their worlds deservedly unaltered. However, those who are devoted enough to search out the nearest tree and give it a few raps for good measure, will find magnificent rewards from their generous karmic sugar daddy. Call me a purist, call me ridiculous, but I’m convinced that this is the indisputable truth.
So convinced, in fact, that those closest to me have picked up on my idiosyncratic neurosis. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the friendship of observant souls, one of whom, named Jack, happens to be a skilled woodworker. Upon confessing to him my cognitive dissonance of being vehemently non-superstitious, while also controlled like a marionette by this irrational belief, he took it upon himself to, at the very least, ease the inconvenience of finding a tree in my panic. He gave me a teardrop-shaped, knuckle-sized piece of pure wood. Not just that, but he put a small hole in it so that it would fit on my keychain. I carry it everywhere. I give it a little knock every now and then just for the extra luck. Knowing that no matter the place, no matter the scenario, I’m always in the good graces of the Being of Sylvan Knocks means that I never again have to add “find a tree” to my mental to-do list. It means release—means freedom.
Maybe one day I’ll get over my manneristic malady, but until that day comes, I’ll keep carrying my teardrop everywhere I go, and hope that Jack never tells me that my charm is anything less than Piscine pure, unadulterated luck. Knock on wood, right?
2013-2014 UChicago Essay Prompt:
The mantis shrimp can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red, green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color, enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain. seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu . what might they be able to see that we cannot what are we missing.
The red and purple hues of the sunset warm the chilly summer evening; the soft pastels blend perfectly under my fingers to emanate the photograph; each Van Gogh and Renoir mesmerize me as I creep through the brightly lit museum. Photographs and paintings capture the beauty that we see with our eyes. Our almighty sense of sight allows us to be immersed by the extraordinary, but at the same time, it hinders us.
Although breath-taking to witness, the mantis shrimp, majestic as a unicorn or narwhal from the outside, relates more closely to a soul-sucking dementor. Its mighty claws enable it to chomp nearby prey instantaneously. Is it possible that the violent behavior of a mantis shrimp is related in someway to its heightened abilities of sight?
Segregation, discrimination, isolation; so many “tion”s can be attributed to our sense of vision. In elementary school, the concept of being popular is already engrained in our minds. As a first grader, I got my first glimpse of this when a girl was forced to tell her best friend that they couldn’t hang out anymore because she “wasn’t cool enough.” And what deems someone to be popular? Of course, attitude and self-confidence are key, but popularity is equally derived from having the newest backpack and sparkly shoes that light up with each step. In the 1940s, having “the look” meant blonde hair and blue eyes with the emanating threat of concentration camps and execution. America, the land of the free, cannot forget its very own history of segregation that nearly split the nation in two. People were belittled and harassed due to the color of their skin. Throughout history, mankind has associated superiority with skin color and race. Our sense of sight has limited us oftentimes to fixate on seeing instead of understanding.
The kaleidoscopic exoskeleton of the mantis shrimp indicates its very own evolutionary emphasis on beauty. Why else would one attempt to look so radiant if not to mate and produce heirs? I would probably be pretty picky too if I had such a powerful pair of eyes—fixating on each segment, each tentacle, each antenna. Over the centuries, the selectivity of the mantis shrimp possibly eliminated less attractive members from the gene pool. It never thought “Oh well, maybe she has a nice personality and a good sense of humor.” In a world of plastic Barbie dolls and glossy magazine covers, I would hate to see an even greater emphasis on aesthetics.
As a child, I read A Wrinkle in Time and journeyed to the planet Ixchel where Madeline L’Engle’s fictional character Meg tries to explain the concept of seeing to a creature with no eyes. In response the beast states, “We do not know what things look like, as you say… We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing, this seeing.” As a child, I pondered the difficultly of explaining sight to someone incapable of it and all the words that a person wouldn’t understand—light, dark, colors, shades. When I initially read this prompt about the mantis shrimp, I was reminded of this passage. The difficulty of imagining all that the mantis shrimp can see is possibly just as difficult as it is for someone who is blind to imagine the red of a robin’s belly, the illustrious light blue sky, or the shades of skin tones. I was originally perplexed by the idea that seeing can be “a very limiting thing.” Over half a decade later, as I reread Madeline L’Engle’s words, I find the truth in this phrase. We do not need sight. It is convenient being able to color coordinate files and match shoes with shirts, but the ability to see can often overpower our other senses. We judge and make first impressions by the way a person dresses, often neglecting what that person says or thinks or knows.
Perhaps the mantis shrimp’s eyes allow it to see further than our color spectrum, into infrared, ultraviolet, or radio waves. Maybe this allows it to see its predators inching closer before they devise an attack. The shrimp’s vision could possibly replace its sense of feeling and hearing—observing sound waves in the wavy, salty sea or having thermal imaging abilities. However, the extent to its abilities is far greater than we can perceive. It would be impossible to imagine the full capabilities of the mantis shrimp without having a “Freaky Friday” moment and switching brains. As humans, we have become too accustomed to our perception of superiority that it is difficult to imagine abilities greater than our own. What we lack, we attempt to compensate for with technology and scientific advancements. We have escaped the mentality of our cavemen and cavewomen ancestors—scavenging for food and hiding from predators. Machine guns and others weapons of mass destruction have given humans the mindset that we are on the top of the food chain.
The short novel Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott was enforced upon my Geometry class over spring break. Although initially a lesson about the multiple dimensions, Flatland also explores the challenge of explaining higher realms to those who cannot experience it. The king of Pointland is so narrow-minded and insular that he refuses to believe that there are objects larger than he is. When confronted with a square, all he sees is another point. As humans, our abilities are limited as well. We do not have the innate skills of the mantis shrimp with its sixteen receptors; however, centuries of innovation have made us inept to fully perceive the skills we are incapable of.
The mantis shrimp can see a greater spectrum of rays and waves and possibly some great unknown, but perhaps, it is better that its abilities remain a mystery. At this time, we are probably not ready for such visual capabilities; our current ones have already proven to be overbearing. Maybe the best things in life are not meant to be seen because they must be felt or understood.
These UChicago essay examples were compiled by the advising team at CollegeAdvisor.com . If you want to get help writing your UChicago application essays from CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts , register with CollegeAdvisor.com today.
Personalized and effective college advising for high school students.
- Advisor Application
- Popular Colleges
- Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice
- Student Login
- California Privacy Notice
- Terms and Conditions
- Your Privacy Choices
By using the College Advisor site and/or working with College Advisor, you agree to our updated Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy , including an arbitration clause that covers any disputes relating to our policies and your use of our products and services.
Just one more step to start saving colleges!
Sign up for an account or login to start your college list.
UChicago Released 2022-2023 Essay Prompts and We're Loving Them
Each year, applicants to The University of Chicago are asked to answer two supplemental essay questions. Sounds normal enough, right? Not quite – UChicago is famous for its unique essay prompts which are often creative and uniquely fun.
Applicants are asked to submit two essays with their application. The first is the standard "why UChicago" question. The second question takes a more creative approach. The essay prompts change wildly each year–because they are submitted by current students!
The University of Chicago’s history of unique essay questions began in 1984 when the admissions staff added a fun prompt asking students to image themselves as astronauts on Mars. In 2000, UChicago students took over the task of writing essay questions. Each year, UChicago receives several hundred essay prompt submissions from students enrolled at the university and narrows it down to a handful for applicants to choose from.
When asked why they offer such unique essay prompts Peter Wilson, assistant vice president of enrollment and student advancement and director of undergraduate admissions, says: “We are interested in diversity in all its forms, and a wide variety of questions allows for a wide variety of ideas to be represented.”
2022-2023 University of Chicago Supplemental Essay Prompts
Question 1 (required): .
How does the university of Chicago, as you know it, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose 1)
Essay Option 1 : Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory.
— Inspired by Leah Beach, Class of 2026, Lib Gray SB ’12, and Agnes Mazur AB ‘09
Essay Option 2 : What advice would a wisdom tooth have?
— Inspired by Melody Dias, Class of 2025
Essay Option 3 : You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?
— Inspired by Alexander Hastings, Class of 2023, and Olivia Okun-Dubitsky, Class of 2026
Essay Option 4 : UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.
— Inspired by Isabel Alvarez, Class of 2026
Essay Option 5 : Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?
— Inspired by Braden Hajer, Class of 2025
Essay Option 6 : And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
Past Supplemental Extended Essay Prompts
Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm, jinx, or other means for magical mayhem. How is it enacted? Is there an incantation? Does it involve a potion or other magical object? If so, what's in it or what is it? What does it do? — Inspired by Emma Sorkin, Class of 2021
UChicago professor W. J. T. Mitchell entitled his 2005 book What Do Pictures Want? Describe a picture, and explore what it wants. —Inspired by Anna Andel
Heisenberg claims that you cannot know both the position and momentum of an electron with total certainty. Choose two other concepts that cannot be known simultaneously and discuss the implications. (Do not consider yourself limited to the field of physics). — Inspired by Doran Bennett, AB’07
Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Milo drives through the tollbooth. Dorothy is swept up in the tornado. Neo takes the red pill. Don’t tell us about another world you’ve imagined, heard about, or created. Rather, tell us about its portal. Sure, some people think of the University of Chicago as a portal to their future, but please choose another portal to write about. — Inspired by Raphael Hallerman, Class of 2020
Due to a series of clerical errors, there is exactly one typo (an extra letter, a removed letter, or an altered letter) in the name of every department at the University of Chicago. Oops! Describe your new intended major. Why are you interested in it and what courses or areas of focus within it might you want to explore? Potential options include Commuter Science, Bromance Languages and Literatures, Pundamentals: Issues and Texts, Ant History... a full list of unmodified majors ready for your editor’s eye is available here . — Inspired by Josh Kaufman, AB'18
How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be.) — Inspired by Kelly Kennedy, AB’10
Discover more of The University of Chicago’s past essay prompts on their admissions essay website .
Read more on application essays:
The Importance of Supplemental Essays in College Admissions
Supplemental Essay “Fun”
Application Essay Topics to Avoid
And don't forget to join the CC Community for more discussion on application essays, admission tips, and applying to college.
Sam is a freelance writer , a blogger, and a bookmark collector. She studied at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she earned a degree in English.
More on Applying to College
Letter of Continued Interest: What is it, What Should You Include, When Should You Send One?
Have you been waitlisted or deferred by a college you wish to attend? If so, you are not alone. Thousands of college hopefuls are…
The Architecture Portfolio That Got Me Into My Dream School
The portfolio is one of the most critical aspects of your application when applying to architecture school , but there is a limite…
How to Get More Out of Your College Tours
College tours are schools’ best opportunity to convince potential students that they’ve got everything you could ever want to suc…
UChicago Admissions Q&A: ED/EA Ask Me Anything Recap
Last week, we were privileged to hear from a UChicago admissions director in an Ask Me Anything forum event to get exclusive tips…
NYU Early Decision Ask Me Anything Q&A Recap
This month we were able to hear from New York University admissions representatives in an exclusive Ask Me Anything event hosted …
Need Help Paying for College?
Our Top 10 Most Mind-Blowing Supplemental Essay Prompts
One of our favorite things about this time of the year is tracking the release of supplemental essay prompts. (Check out our database for the most-up-to date list). While many schools stick to classical questions about academic interests and extracurricular involvements, others get a bit more creative and bold. Depending upon the particular college or university, students could find themselves creating personal hashtags, collecting the soundtrack of their lives, or even explaining how Olive Garden can possibly offer unlimited breadsticks.
Many college admissions blogs have collected their favorite quirky supplemental essay prompts, but here at DC College Counseling, we like to write “outside the box”- just like we encourage our students to do. So in the spirit of creativity, we’re sharing our top 10 list of most mind-blowing supplemental essay topics.
Top 10 List
We’re so inspired by Wake Forest’s infamous ‘Top 10’ that we couldn’t help but answer their prompt in our blog today. For years, applicants have been challenged to create a top 10 list for the admissions team. Any theme, any topic, any concept goes! With no limitations, this prompt all-but-begs for creative risk-taking. A generic collection of favorite foods or best movies of all time won’t cut it here. Students have to stretch their imaginations if they want to move to the top of Wake’s list.
A Mouthful of Advice
UChicago is famous for its eccentric supplemental essay topics. In the past, applicants have been asked to ponder deep questions like “Where is Waldo, really” and “What is square one, and can you actually go back to it?”
So who comes up with these quirky topics? UChicago actually takes suggestions from its own student body to craft their five annual prompts. Although the essay topics change dramatically from year to year, one thing remains the same. Choice six, otherwise known as “choose your own adventure” allows applicants to select any essay prompt from a previous UChicago admissions cycle.
The 2023 prompts have just been released, and we think this one is a real mind bender: what advice would a wisdom tooth have? Students better brush up on their personification skills if they want to get at the root of this question.
A geographic conundrum
If you follow us on social media, then you probably know by now that the University of Virginia completely overhauled their supplemental essay topics for the 2022-2023 cycle. Gone are the days of the 250 word essays. As part of the application, students are now required to choose from a list of 11 topics and write two- 50 word responses. Sounds easy, right? Well, not exactly. Some of the prompts are definite brain teasers. Just take a look at choice #9 : tell us about a place you’d like to share with everyone, but also keep to yourself. Tackling an antithetical prompt like this one is going to be an exercise in irony and ingenuity, that’s for sure.
Ice cream, anyone?
Cleverly capitalizing on its location, UVM took inspiration from Burlington entrepreneurs Ben and Jerry for one of its supplemental essays. Last year, applicants had 500 words to reflect on the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor- real or imagined- that best describes them.
This was definitely one of our favorite fun topics in the 2022 cycle, but we know it caused a brain freeze for some student writers. With over 100 Ben and Jerry’s flavors to choose from, many applicants were left wondering: what do caramel swirls and brownie bits really say about me?
Tell the truth!
What is the truest thing that you know? This has been Villanova University’s philosophical take on supplemental essays for the past few years. And yes, the truth will continue to prevail this admissions cycle. Applicants who select this prompt from the list of five choices will have to grapple with some deep concepts if they want to produce a meaningful response. What exactly is the truth? Where can you find it? And what do you do with the truth once you discover it? Then they’ll have to capture all of this contemplation succinctly in 250 words.
So in conclusion, the truest thing we know is: this essay question looks deceptively simple, but it’s actually the most mind-blowing prompt on Villanova’s supplemental essay list.
Anything Goes!
Some schools have very structured topics and guidelines, but that’s not the case at The College of William and Mary. Here “anything goes” –well, anything except a boring response. For years, W&M has prompted applicants to explain what makes them unique and colorful —and with “attitude.” As if this isn’t enough of a creative challenge, the admissions team proclaims, “Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh!”
To captivate their audience, student writers have to abandon their formal academic tones and inject their essays with much more character and flair! We know this is a real mindbender for those who haven’t thought much about writing style before, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in this personality-promoting essay. Remember, anything goes–if W&M sticks with the same prompt this admissions cycle. Wait and see!
A picture is worth a thousand words
Rice University has a reputation for quirky traditions, and one just happens to appear in the admissions application. In addition to supplemental essays, applicants must also submit an image of something that appeals to them . This space is affectionately referred to as “the box.”
Now uploading a photo might seem much quicker and easier than writing another essay. However, many of our students have admitted to spending more brainstorming hours on this prompt than the essays themselves. After all, the picture has to speak for itself because no captioning is permitted. And it better say something truly original about the applicant!
Would you like fries with that?
Last year Pomona College posed a seemingly silly question to applicants: what’s your favorite way to eat a potato? Mashed? Hashed? Fried? The most mind-blowing part of this prompt for some might have been wondering why the admissions team thought applicants needed 50 whole words to answer it. However, for some, this became a deep and thoughtful question. Why, you might ask? Well, because every single supplemental question is a chance for applicants to reveal something deeper about themselves, no matter how you slice or mash it.
Have a little heart
In 2019, Notre Dame added a bit more heart to the standard ‘why this school’ supplemental essay. For the past three admissions cycles, applicants have been asked: how do you hope a Notre Dame education and experience will transform your mind and heart?
With a soulful side to the prompt, a powerful verb like transform, AND a strict word limit, it’s no wonder students have been stumped by the question. The wording can easily trick applicants into writing vague responses about critical thinking and kindness. Really, though, the heart of this prompt is still ‘why this school.’ In 200 words or fewer, students need to show they’ve done their homework on Notre Dame and understand how the school will help them grow personally and academically. This tricky prompt definitely requires a fighting Irish spirit to prevail, especially if it appears again on the application this year.
A Wonderful Essay
Did you know that Dr. Seuss is a Dartmouth alumni? The college is honoring the famous author this admissions cycle in one of its supplemental essay prompts: Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” What do you wonder and think about?
Studies have found that we have about 6,000 thoughts per day. So how does an applicant choose just one to discuss in their application essay? We’re guessing that the more student writers wonder about their thoughts for this prompt, the more thoughts they’ll continue to generate. And so the Dr. Seuss cycle goes…which doesn’t exactly make writing this 250 word essay easy.
Need help with supplemental essays?
Book a session with us here. We have a team of essay coaches ready to help students craft strong, memorable responses!
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm, jinx, or other
Think about the art, music, books, historical events, and ideas that you find interesting, fun, important, and meaningful. Then choose the one
UChicago Wants to Know How You Think. UPDATE! The 2022-23 U Chicago essay prompts are out! Click right here to read about them.
Explore both academic and extracurricular opportunities. How will you pursue your interest in oceanography? With a major in biology and a semester in Australia?
Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could
UChicago Essay Prompts – Question 2 (Required): · 1. What if the moon were made of cheese? · 2. What's so easy about pie? (Inspired by Arjun Kalia, Class of 2025).
For more help with your UChicago supplemental essays, check out our ... that UChicago teaches students how to think, encourages dialogue, and prompts
UChicago requires two essays—one that is a typical “Why This College?” prompt, and the other, your choice among seven zany prompts. The seventh
Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm
UChicago is famous for its eccentric supplemental essay topics. In the past, applicants have been asked to ponder deep questions like “Where is