One required essay (Question 1) and one required extended essay (Question 2, choose one prompt).
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.
UChicago Question 1 Q&A Slides
Q: How to address learning desires?
A:
Identify unique academic interests.
Example: "Desire to explore ancient Greek philosophy through UChicago's Classics Department."
Example: "Wish to conduct research on quantum computing at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering."
Name specific courses, professors, labs.
Q: How to address community desires?
A:
Describe ideal campus environment.
Example: "Seek a community debating ethical implications of AI in student clubs."
Example: "Desire to join a literary society discussing obscure 20th-century poets."
Mention specific student groups, intellectual traditions.
Q: How to address future desires?
A:
Link UChicago experience to post-graduation goals.
Example: "Learning at UChicago prepares me for a career in urban policy, influencing city planning."
Example: "UChicago's research opportunities fuel my ambition to develop sustainable energy solutions."
Show clear path.
Q: How to show specificity in wishes?
A:
Avoid generic statements like "I want to learn a lot."
Detail exact types of learning, community interactions.
Example: "I wish to engage in Socratic seminars, not just lectures."
Show deep understanding of UChicago's approach.
Q: How to relate wishes to UChicago?
A:
Connect each desire directly to a UChicago aspect.
Example: "My desire for rigorous debate aligns with the Core Curriculum's emphasis on critical inquiry."
Example: "My wish for hands-on research connects to the College's undergraduate research initiatives."
Inter-species Telepathic Communication: In an ideal world where inter-species telepathic communication exists, which species would you choose to have a conversation with, and what would you want to learn from them? Would you ask beavers for architectural advice? Octopuses about cognition? Pigeons about navigation? Ants about governance? Make your case—both for the species and the question.
Inspired by Yvan Sugira, Class of 2029
UChicago Inter-species Telepathy Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose a species?
A:
Select a non-obvious species.
Example: Not a dog, but a tardigrade.
Consider unique biological or behavioral traits.
Show original thought.
Q: What specific question to ask?
A:
Formulate a precise, thought-provoking question.
Example: Ask tardigrades about surviving extreme radiation.
Example: Ask deep-sea anglerfish about bioluminescent communication.
Link question to species' unique ability.
Q: How to make the case (personal)?
A:
Connect species/question to your academic interests.
Example: My interest in astrobiology fuels the tardigrade question.
Example: My passion for neuroscience drives the octopus cognition query.
Show authentic curiosity.
Q: How to make the case (UChicago)?
A:
Align your inquiry with UChicago's intellectual environment.
Example: This inquiry reflects UChicago's interdisciplinary approach to complex problems.
Example: It aligns with the university's emphasis on fundamental questions.
Explore a Contronym: "Left" can mean remaining or departed. "Dust" can mean to add fine particles or to remove them. "Fast" can mean moving quickly or fixed firmly in place. These contronyms—words that are their own antonyms—somehow hold opposing meanings in perfect tension. Explore a contronym: a role, identity, or experience in your life that has contained its own opposite.
Inspired by Kristin Yi, Class of 2029
UChicago 'Explore a Contronym' Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose a contronym?
A:
Select a role, identity, or experience from your life.
Example: Being a "mentor" (guiding vs. learning from mentees).
Example: A "student" (receiving knowledge vs. challenging it).
It must contain inherent opposition.
Q: How to explore opposing meanings?
A:
Detail both sides of the chosen contronym.
Example: As a "mentor," I guided, but also learned humility from my mentee's questions.
Show the tension, not just two separate ideas.
Q: How to use specific examples?
A:
Illustrate the opposing meanings with concrete moments.
Example: A specific instance where a mentee's insight changed your perspective.
Show, don't just state, the tension.
Q: What personal insight to reveal?
A:
Explain what this tension taught you.
How did it shape your understanding of yourself or the world?
Show growth from navigating this duality.
Q: How does this fit UChicago?
A:
Align your exploration with UChicago's intellectual environment.
Example: This reflects UChicago's emphasis on critical thinking, embracing complexity.
Example: It demonstrates a capacity for nuanced analysis.
Show precise alignment.
Q: How to manage word count?
A:
Be concise. Every word counts.
Focus on the strongest illustration of your chosen contronym.
Object Phasing Out: The penny is on its way out—too small to matter, too costly to keep. But not everything small should disappear. What’s one object the world is phasing out that you think we can’t afford to lose, and why?
Inspired by Ella Somaiya, Class of 2028
UChicago 'Object Phasing Out' Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose an object?
A:
Select an object genuinely phasing out.
Example: Not a book, but a physical map.
Consider items with historical, cultural, or practical significance.
Show original thought.
Q: Why is it phasing out?
A:
Briefly acknowledge its perceived obsolescence.
Example: "Physical maps are replaced by GPS for efficiency."
Failing to articulate a unique, non-obvious reason for its importance.
Generic arguments about technology.
No empty flattery for UChicago.
Unexpected Product/Service: From Michelin Tires creating the Michelin Guide, to the audio equipment company Audio-Technica becoming one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sushi robots, brand identity can turn out to be a lot more flexible than we think. Choose an existing brand, company, or institution and propose an unexpected but strangely logical new product or service for them to launch. Why is this unlikely extension exactly what the world (or the brand) needs right now?
Inspired by Julia Nieberg, Class of 2029
UChicago 'Unexpected Product/Service' Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose a brand?
A:
Select an established brand with a clear identity.
Example: A construction company, a luxury car manufacturer, a specific tech giant.
Avoid overly niche or unknown brands.
Q: How to propose the product/service?
A:
Develop a specific, concrete product or service.
Example: A luxury car brand launching a high-end, modular tiny home.
It must be "unexpected but strangely logical."
Q: Why is it unexpected?
A:
Explain the initial incongruity.
Example: "A car company building houses defies traditional automotive scope."
Acknowledge the surprise factor.
Q: Why is it strangely logical? (Brand)
A:
Connect the new product to the brand's core values, expertise, or existing technology.
Example: "The car brand's precision engineering, material science, and design philosophy transfer to modular housing."
Show the underlying rationale.
Q: Why does the world need it?
A:
Identify a current societal need or market gap.
Example: "Global demand for sustainable, efficient, high-quality housing solutions exists."
Show relevance to broader trends.
Q: What personal connection to reveal?
A:
Link your idea to your interests, academic pursuits, or observations.
Example: My interest in sustainable architecture fuels this proposal.
Show authentic engagement with the problem.
Q: How does this fit UChicago?
A:
Align your creative problem-solving with UChicago's intellectual environment.
Example: This reflects UChicago's emphasis on interdisciplinary thought, challenging conventions.
It demonstrates innovative thinking.
Q: How to manage word count?
A:
Be concise. Every word counts.
Focus on the strongest arguments for your product/service and its necessity.
Failing to explain the "strangely logical" aspect.
Generic market analysis.
No empty flattery for UChicago.
Spurious Correlation: Statistically speaking, ice cream doesn’t cause shark attacks, pet spending doesn’t drive the number of lawyers in California, and margarine consumption isn’t responsible for Maine’s divorce rate—at least, not according to conventional wisdom. But what if the statisticians got it wrong? Choose your favorite spurious correlation and make the case for why it might actually reveal a deeper, causative truth.
Inspired by Adam DiMascio, Class of 2025
UChicago 'Spurious Correlation' Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose a correlation?
A:
Select a specific, well-known spurious correlation.
Example: "Per capita cheese consumption and number of people who die by becoming tangled in their bedsheets."
Avoid overly complex or obscure statistical examples.
Q: How to acknowledge spuriousness?
A:
Briefly state why it is conventionally considered spurious.
Example: "Conventional wisdom dismisses cheese-bedsheet deaths as random."
Show understanding of the common interpretation.
Q: How to argue for a deeper truth?
A:
Propose a logical, imaginative causative link.
Example: "Increased cheese consumption indicates rising affluence, leading to larger beds and more elaborate bedding, thus increasing entanglement risk."
Focus on the "why" behind the correlation.
Q: How to use specific examples?
A:
Illustrate your proposed causative truth with concrete scenarios.
Example: "A family upgrading to a king-size bed after a raise, celebrated with a cheese board, then faces greater sheet entanglement."
Show, don't just state, the connection.
Q: What personal connection to reveal?
A:
Link your chosen correlation to your interests, academic pursuits, or observations.
Example: My interest in consumer behavior and its societal impacts fuels this analysis.
Show authentic engagement with the problem.
Q: How does this fit UChicago?
A:
Align your creative problem-solving with UChicago's intellectual environment.
Example: This reflects UChicago's emphasis on questioning assumptions, rigorous inquiry, and finding hidden connections.
It demonstrates innovative thinking.
Q: How to manage word count?
A:
Be concise. Every word counts.
Focus on the strongest arguments for your proposed causative truth.
Simply describing the correlation without a unique causative argument.
Weak or unbelievable connections.
Generic statistical analysis.
No empty flattery for UChicago.
Classic Choose Your Own Adventure: 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!
UChicago 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Q&A Slides
Q: How to choose a past prompt?
A:
Review UChicago's past essay prompts.
Select one that genuinely excites you.
Ensure it allows you to showcase unique strengths.
Example: A prompt on "disappearing objects" if you have a strong interest in history.
Q: How to create your own question?
A:
Identify a deep, personal intellectual curiosity.
Formulate a question that only you can answer.
It must be thought-provoking, original.
Example: "What is the sound of silence in a world saturated with data?"
