How to Write the UChicago Admissions Essay

 University of Chicago Excerpt

by Sarah O'Neill, Coatesville, Supreme Editing

The University of Chicago admissions committee wants “...y

ou, through your application, [to] show [them] who you are in your own voice. What is your story? Why did you choose to pursue certain opportunities? What activities are most meaningful to you? The very best way to approach your UChicago application is to simply be yourself and write in your own voice. [They] care about you and who you really are, not what you think we want to see in an application.

UChicago is dedicated to changing the world by asking tough questions, conducting ground-breaking research, and cultivating a community of extraordinary scholars.

According to University of Chicago admissions (via their website):

Common App Personal Statement: Your personal statement should be appropriate for a wide array of audiences and should put your best foot forward. There is an academic part of the essays (can you think and can you write? Are you college ready?), but there is also a non- academic component: helping the college learn about who you are, what you value, and where you come from. This is a personal opportunity to show what defines you or what distinguishes you from other people–the thing that would be essential for a stranger to know about you. You should get to the specifics about why you chose this college… get to the heart of the type of institution. Why do you think this one is the one you'll be the happiest at? The one where you really fit in (in and outside of the classroom)? Explain how you will make use of the very specific aspects of the college thriving at this particular college. Pay attention to the values expressed in the question and respond to how you hold those values in kind.

UChicago Specific Supplemental Questions: Think of them as an opportunity for you to tell us about yourself, your tastes, and your ambitions. They can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between.

The types of students admitted consisted of people who answered the common app essay using strong introductions that engage the reader and propel the purpose of the narrative/personal statement. Essays were well organized and walked the admissions officers through an experience to a revelation. The strong revelation is supported by specific examples of internal reflections and often suggests a willingness to continue working and growing. The essays were interesting and unique and really left the reader feeling they “knew” the student.

Supplemental Essay Example:

Prompt: Please tell us why you are planning to leave (or have already left) your current college or university, and how the University of Chicago will 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. (500)

Andrew Mellon said that everyone wants to connect their lives to something eternal. He’s right. I often ask, “What could I do forever?”. The answer is math, and UChicago has programs like Research Experience for Undergraduates and Directed Reading Program that would add to my eternal quest to use math in real life. In the Paris Mathematics Program, math people are required to take French. I recall the mathematician I admire most – Carl F. Gauss – and how he taught himself Russian at sixty-two. I, too, want to see the other side of the world starting with math learning. UChicago’s program shapes young mathematicians into global ones. At WashU, we don’t have this.

Currently, I take three of the highest-level math courses for undergraduates and could earn a math degree in my sophomore year. However, I seek more modern mathematics. UChicago’s courses are expanded into sequence and more choices for undergraduates. Abstract Linear Algebra, for instance, is a three-quarter sequence in analysis. At WashU, we also take independent studies, but I would prefer some lectures to learn exactly what they need to know. l am also amazed that proofs are integrated into UChicago’s basic Calculus class. Everything in higher mathematics is based on them. There is so much more to prove, and UChicago is where I can do it.

On Reddit, UChicago students define classes as “ones that change lives.” I am ready for this necessary change like taking political science with Prof. Mearsheimer and by joining the Spiritual Life Program. The spiritual life program sets up weekly sessions for students to share current world issues, and to pose life questions and faith reflections. I noticed the “Interfaith Dialogue” event, which encourages us to share faith commitments to support each other towards an equitable society. As an international student who experienced racial bias, I would join this program because it celebrates holidays that are unique to different cultures.

Although I’m a math nerd, I am drawn to humanities and social studies. They are in the category of my UChicago “eternal.” Also, on the Math Department Calendar there are multiple seminars and Colloquia each week. At WashU, I am currently taking an Honors Seminar in Mathematics, designed for Freiwald scholars, and we have seminar discussions so I am confident that attending UChicago will provide a space for cutting-edge conversations with mathematicians so I can start thinking about my own research.

I was also lucky to have visited UChicago last October for a tour. Our leader was also in charge of the application reading process, which made me feel jealous because the prompts are so entertaining that I can just imagine the responses. In this way, I think UChicago is a very creative community! Like their motto says, “Crescat scientia; vita excolatur”, I seek more challenges under a math umbrella, but also seek to stretch it out into other areas of my intellectual and social life. As a person who wants to connect with something eternal, UChicago is where I can find it.

by Sarah O'Neill, Coatesville, Supreme Editing