It’s that time of the year again! University of Chicago is going to receive thousands of applications and responses to UChicago Essay prompts. You have to make sure you are among those few lucky selected students. But how would you do that?
You will have to sail your own boat as no Santa is going to come and make your wish come true.
So WHAT? Work hard? No JUST WORK SMART!!!
Why Supplemental Essays UChicago Admissions?
Did you ever wonder why University of Chicago asks for essays and not letter of recommendations? Because they don’t care about how many medals or shields you’ve won! They want to see how you can make a difference!
What Are The UChicago Essays Prompts?
Most of the students ask, “What are the UChicago Essays?”
The answer is that University of Chicago asks for two essays for your admission application:
Prompt for Essay 1:
The prompt for essay 1 remains same every year and is called “Why UChicago”. Though the suggested length extends from 250 – 500 words, but you can go beyond 500. The prompt is:
| 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? |
Prompts for Essay 2:
Essay 2 is called “Extended Essay” with suggested word count around 600. You can write more than that but the admission board doesn’t like it very much.
The prompts for essay two change every year and are inspired by UChicago’s recent graduate or current students. Out of 6 topics, you have to select only one prompt and write about them.
The prompts for extended essay admissions 2019-20 are:
| Cats have nine lives, Pac-Man has 3 lives, and radioactive isotopes have half-lives. How many lives does something else—conceptual or actual—have, and why? —Inspired by Kedrick 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 |
| 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 |
| UChicago has international campus centers around the world, but we don’t have any interplanetary, interstellar, or interdimensional campuses… yet! Propose a spot in time or space, in this or any universe, for a new UChicago campus. What types of courses would be taught at this site? What cultural experiences await students who study there? —Inspired by Peter Jasperse, Class of 2022 |
| “Don’t be afraid to pick past prompts! I liked some of the ones from previous years more than those made newly available for my year. Also, don’t worry about the ‘correct’ way to interpret a question. If there exists a correct way to interpret the prompt I chose, it certainly was not my answer.” —Matthew Lohrs, Class of 2023 |
These extended essays are a challenge! While most of the students attempt it on their own many of them scout for college essay help.
Some UChicago Past Essay Prompts You Can Consider:
As you noticed that the last prompt leaves it to your choice or selecting any UChicago past prompt if you like. Check out the list of the following prompts for your essays:
| 1. 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 |
| 2. What is square one, and can you actually go back to it? —Inspired by Maya Shaked, Class of 2018 |
| 3. 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 |
| 4. 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 |
| 5. “I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes.” –Maxine Hong Kingston. What paradoxes do you live with? —Inspired by Danna Shen, Class of 2019 |
Tips For Writing Stellar Responses To University Of Chicago Essay Prompts
For “Why UChicago” Essays?
When writing a response for 1st university of Chicago essay prompts, you should write how this university will help you become a better person, how will it contribute in your career development and avoid writing about how big their campus is. Consider the following table by our website, EazyResearch, when writing your response to first prompt:
| THINGS YOU SHOULD INCLUDE | THINGS YOU SHOULD AVOID |
| Courses that are you are interested in. | How beautiful their campus is. |
| Curriculum and how it can help you. | The weather at Chicago. |
| Professor’s you would love to study from. | Its high ranks among universities. |
| Research opportunities at university. | Comparison with other universities. |
| Internship and volunteer options. | The food available at campus. |
| Events that will help you groom. | Its proximity with your location. |
For Extended Essays:
If you are asking from a professional to write your admission essay for the UChicago, then stop!!!
As I said earlier, Chicago University look for individuals who are different in their own way. The admission authority looks for following qualities in your essays:
- Your skills
- Your qualities
- Your flair of writing
You may lose your uniqueness when asking someone else to do it for you.
However, you can write your essay and get it proofread by essay editing services.
Here are some of the ways you can make your essays unique:
- Choose the prompt that you think can relate with your own life and experiences.
- Understand the prompt before start writing on it.
- Avoid writing about cliché topics.
- Don’t write about the examples given in the prompt. Take it as a basic and adapt it to your own experiences.
- Do not extend beyond the word limit.
Wrap Up:
Though UChicago essays are not an easy pie, you can still ace it by adding your uniqueness into it. Just carefully put your thoughts into words and give it to a professional for proofreading. That will 100% guarantee your admission into your dream university!
