The University of Chicago

Essay Requirements

Overview

Academic Requirements

Essay Requirements

Costs & Scholarships

Essay Requirements

Applicants should submit their choice of Apply Coalition, Powered by Scoir or the Common Application*, both of which include the University of Chicago Supplement.

  • Personal Statement

Your personal statement is a unique opportunity to present yourself and express your ideas using your own words. It is crucial to craft a personal statement that is suitable for various audiences and showcases your best qualities. Remember to carefully proofread and edit your essay, and seek feedback from someone you trust, such as a friend, family member, or counselor, to ensure it is polished before submission.

  • UChicago Supplement

The University of Chicago Supplement requires one extended essay of your choice from our list of several prompts and one short essay on why you would like to attend the University of Chicago. The Supplement is available through Apply Coalition, Powered by Scoir or the Common Application.

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.

Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)

  • Essay Option 1

    Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory.

  • Essay Option 2

    What advice would a wisdom tooth have?

  • Essay Option 3

    You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?

  • Essay Option 4

    UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.

  • Essay Option 5

    Genghis Khan with an F1 race car. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?

  • Essay Option 6

    And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! 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!

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