<p>So the deadline for Early Action is 3 days away and, like everything else in my life, I have managed to procrastinate until now. I wrote 2 of the 3 Chicago essays, the first one about why Chicago would be a good fit, and the 3rd major essay. </p>
<p>Questions:
How long is too long? How short is too short?
My first essay is 312 words which I cut down from 450 because I thought it was too long; my major essay is 572 words not including the prompt (I chose the make your own prompt option) which I’m afraid is too short.</p>
<p>The problem that I’m having with my major essay right now is that I wrote it on a whim and not specifically for Chicago or any other college essay. I do, however, like what I wrote, so I wrote a prompt to fit it:</p>
<p>Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives.James Joyce (1882 - 1941)
Describe your relationship with the English language. Is it love, hate, or something in between? Have you abandoned the baby moocows along the way or do you still keep them company? Paint your own portrait of the writer as a young man or woman.</p>
<p>I am afraid that a reference to James Joyce and the Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man can come off sounding rather pretentious and showy, both of which are not my intentions. I simply wrote an essay explaining my development as a writer and was amused by that quote from Joyce.</p>
<p>Also, I did not tailor my short essay response to question number 1 very specifically to Chicago. Instead, I described a personal anecdote, posed a question, and wrote about how they’ll be fulfilled at Chicago. Overall, I am just wondering if it is a problem if I don’t seem to express specific reasons for wanting to go to Chicago, but rather tried more to convey a sense of who I am.</p>
<p>So how important exactly are the essays? This was a rather long post, but I hope someone can help me out. :)</p>
<p>Your first question answer sounds great. Your major essay does seem a bit short but it is a great prompt. It’s strange to tell you what to write because it is so hard to tell what Chicago wants in a candidate. Oh and BTW the essays are extremely important. They make or break you.</p>
<p>I would humbly disagree with the previous poster. I think that the essays are mainly just to show that you are serious about U of Chi. The main thing is to show that you took some care with the essays.</p>
<p>If you have the grades and test scores and don’t completely tank something else you should be in at U of Chi - they are much less arbitrary in their admissions than are the other truly great universities.</p>
<p>I would try to let them know that they are your first choice.</p>
<p>"I would humbly disagree with the previous poster. I think that the essays are mainly just to show that you are serious about U of Chi. The main thing is to show that you took some care with the essays.</p>
<p>If you have the grades and test scores and don’t completely tank something else you should be in at U of Chi - they are much less arbitrary in their admissions than are the other truly great universities.</p>
<p>I would try to let them know that they are your first choice."</p>
<p>You’ll get plenty of people that disagree with you. Chicago doesn’t care too much about test scores. Grades/ GPA is pretty important but the essay is right under it.</p>
<p>The UChi adcom told me how he ranks stuff:
Classees>Essays>ECs>GPA/Rank>SAT</p>
<p>Not to say that GPA and SATs arent important. They do not want you to be compeletely stupid, but they also want to see that you are challenging yourself and are intelligent. Most people ask “should i get a B in AP X or an A in honors X?” and colleges will say “A in AP X” but UChi is more like “Just take AP and see how you do.” Also, UChi is a school that can tell who they want based on essays and the studnet’s academic interests and will generally disregard SAT and GPA unless they are like 2.0/4.0 and 1500/2400.</p>
<p>PS
I’m applying EA and writing all my essays now. I am so bad.</p>
<p>The one thing I’m worried about with my essays right now is the fact that I haven’t gotten them edited by anyone. Because English is a second (and very late) language for both my rather scientifically inclined parents (both doctors), I have never ever had any assignment/essay/report edited by my parents. I have had them read my essays, but they don’t really offer much feedback aside from telling me that they like them. I’ve had a couple of friends read them, but no one has given me any critical feedback. All in all, I just feel like I’m in the dark here when it comes to gauging my own essays.</p>
<p>I also make it clear in my essays (or at least I hope I do) that I am interested in majoring in English. If I consistently point out that I am interested in becoming a English major, will that make Admissions view my essays in a more critical light and judge them by a harsher standard?</p>
<p>If I were you, I would ask an english teacher who is familiar with your writing style to look over them for you. It’s always good to have an outside opinion…</p>
<p>As for talking about wanting to major in English, I don’t believe they would hold your essays to any higher standards that anyone elses. English majors do more than study grammar anyways.</p>
<p>ahhhhhh and I think I’m finally going to give in and ask about my chances…</p>
<p>GPA: 4.8 (out of 5.0, weighted)
Rank: school doesn’t rank
SATs: 2290 – CR 790/M 740/W 760</p>
<p>Senior Courseload:
AP Chem
AP Calc AB
AP Eng. Lit
AP Spanish
AP US Gov.
Honors Creative Writing
Honors Modern World Lit.
(I took 3 APs junior year – English Language (5 on test), US History (5 on test), and Physics Mechanics (didn’t take test–i’m not the best math/science person but i got an A in the class)-- the most our school allows)</p>
<p>Extracurriculers/Honors:
National Honor Society
National Merit Semi-finalist (PSAT-228), put UChicago down as my first-choice school
Field Hockey
Crew (Rowing-- I’m a coxswain)
Theater - I’ve done 4 shows
Officer of 2 clubs, Newspaper editor, founder of 1 club
I’m in about 5 other clubs, with tutoring at the elementary schools being the biggest commitment (I want to be an English teacher)
PA Gov. School for Teaching 2006 (5-week gov’t sponsored summer scholarship program)
Volunteer at my local hospital for 4 years
Sunday school teacher at my church for 4 years
Accomplished pianist (too lazy to list awards)</p>
<p>UChicago is tied as my first choice school with Swarthmore, I’m worried to death >_<</p>
<p>theskyfell_in - What level English do you want to teach? Maybe rather than emphasizing your intentions to major in English you can emphasize your love of teaching instead and bring in a lot of anecdotal evidence with regards to tutoring and teaching sunday school class? Just a thought…</p>
<p>I would love to teach a course similar to the AP English Language and Composition course I took last year.
Yeah…I wrote rather abstractly for question #1.</p>
<p>well according to collegeboard.com, this is how Chicago reviews an application:</p>
<p>Very important admission factors:
Character/Personal Qualities
Application Essay
Recommendations
Rigor of secondary school record
Talent/Ability </p>
<p>Important admission factors:
Class Rank
Extracurricular Activities
Volunteer Work
Academic GPA </p>
<p>Considered:
Alumni Relation
Interview
Racial/Ethnic Status
Standardized Test Scores
Work Experience
First generation college student
Level of Applicant’s Interest</p>
<p>Hmmm, I’d be tempted to reject you because of a lousy taste in literature. James Joyce? Ick. (Joyce must have firmly believed that statement, because he certainly didn’t write English!!!)</p>
<p>I’ve been on amissions forums longer than most (before some of the Chicago adcoms graduated college :o), and I’ve seen interesting quirks in Chicago admissions. One student had sterling test scores and GPA, was practically dying to go to Chicago, and applied EA. He was rejected out of hand- he’s now at Stanford. I’ve seen other students be pleasantly surprised by a Chicago acceptance, and I’ve seen quite a few get rejected. I would hesitate to put too much emphasis on essays or claim that grades and SAT scores are an afterthought. Essays are extremely important, but excellent grades and test scores can only help. Many of the admits I’ve seen presumably got in on grades, because their essays were horrible (it was VERY clear they used Chicago as a safety). Chicago’s GPA and test score percentiles are roughly consistent with those of other top universities, and it’s not because they ignored them, although there is certainly a good amount of self-selection. I would guess that schools that don’t require the SAT (Bowdoin, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Hamilton, et al) put at least as much stock in essays as Chicago. Until Chicago makes such a move (I doubt it will), I’m not sure essays can be taken as the be-all-end-all.</p>
<p>
theskyfell_in, write strong essays to match the rest of your application, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t get in.</p>
<p>ugg, I’m doing EA and I’ve doen 1 1/2 essays by now. I’m screwed. My long essay is really weird and I can’t figure out how to answer teh second short essay</p>