<p>I’m always reading how it’s important to let some of yourself come through in your essays. But I’m thinking that the Chicago essays are different. The questions - other than the one about getting caught - seem to lead to intellectual responses, which stand by themselves, regardless of who the author is.</p>
<p>And, Chicago requires the common app, where you can put yourself in the essay.</p>
<p>So do you have to squeeze yourself into one of those quirky provocative questions?</p>
<p>Here’s my take on the situation, but before I go further, I have to remind you that my only expertise here is my own and what my friends have told me about their Uncommon essays. If UChicagoPSAC has a more thorough answer, I’d take that one.</p>
<p>But I’ve always been under the impression that your thoughts constitute an important part of yourself. (Particularly if you’re applying for “Life of the Mind” Chicago, your thoughts are enormously important.) Admissions knows a lot about you (student) that doesn’t go in your essay… your academic record, what your teachers think of you, what activities you’ve done, etc. I’m sure each of those pieces is quite telling.</p>
<p>My advice would be to work the essays however you (student, not parent) see fit. One of the magical things about the Chicago essays is that they seem to inspire students and leave parents at a loss about how to respond… in my own college essay for Chicago, I wrote about myself and an issue I faced that was important to me, and I was able to interpret one of the wacky prompts in my favor. My essay was very boilerplate in some ways and very daring in others-- but my tone in it was pretty standard, and the essay didn’t feature any talking grasshoppers or chocolate-flavored llamas. Some of my college friends have written short stories, stream of consciousness pieces, and philosophical dialogues, but many wrote about themselves. I imagine most students end up writing about themselves. </p>
<p>The prompts should feel liberating rather than confining. If they don’t work, I suggest two things: 1) try harder, or 2) make up your own prompt to fit with the essay you want to write for Chicago.</p>