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Yes, you can. You have the option of submitting an essay on a topic other than their special ones. My son did this, and he was admitted to Chicago.</p>
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My son was admitted to Chicago as well as Williams and several other liberal arts colleges. He turned down Williams to attend Chicago. Only anecdotal, of course, and only one case, but the prestige of Williams didn’t mean anything to him. He was looking for the best education he could get, and in an environment that was attractive: big league city beat out tiny town in Western Massachusetts.</p>
<p>BTW/ all this discussion of admit rates doesn’t mean very much. A far more important issue is the quality of students who are admitted and enroll. I don’t think you will find substantial differences across most of the schools that have been discussed here.</p>