The University of Chicago is a large liberal arts undergraduate college within a powerful research university in Chicago, Illinois. There are 6,285 undergraduate students and 10,159 graduate, professional, and other students. The university is known for a rigorous Core curriculum that requires all students to gain a well-rounded liberal arts education before graduating. It also operates on a quarter system, rather than the typical semester system that most colleges use. Gaining admission to the University of Chicago is analogous to getting into an Ivy League university. The acceptance rate is a mere 7.3%.
Each year, the University of Chicago offers a series of ~quirky~ prompts to pick from that are inspired by current or recent students. They pride themselves on having earned a reputation for having some of the *quirkiest* prompts in the world of college admissions. Cool cool cool. We are more than willing to congratulate them on having the Quirkiest Supplement, but their commitment to creativity makes for a fairly overwhelming list of options, especially for students who do not have help or guidance through the college process.
Also, in the vein of transparency, we hate all of these supplements. They are the equivalent of Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With.
Choose one of the six extended essay options and upload a one- or two- page response.
Before you start writing, you need to be clear on the formatting guidelines. We say guidelines because there are no requirements beyond the response being under three pages, but we have some guidelines we’d like you to follow. Please do not use ½-inch margins or a tiny font. Your document should have normal margins, be single-spaced, and the text should be a simple serif or sans serif font in a readable size (11 or 12 is best).
Every supplement you write for your college applications should be well-structured, but the length of this supplement means that it needs to be executed as fully-fledged essays — much like your Common App essay. Do not pick a prompt and start writing from a stream of consciousness. Do not try to finish this response in one go. Brainstorm, outline, draft, edit, and then edit some more.
1. Cats have nine lives, Pac-Man has 3 lives, and radioactive isotopes have half-lives. How many lives does something else—conceptual or actual—have, and why?
—Inspired by Kedrick Shin, Class of 2019
If you are going to pick this prompt, you need to have a lot of fun with it. We’re not going to throw any ideas or examples out at you, though, because if you want to write a piece using this prompt you need to have the kind of mind that came up with something within seconds. The thing you came up with might not be what you end up writing about, but your brain did jump to something quickly.
Structurally, you could try writing a scene-based essay, playing out the lives of whatever you pick in a vignette structure. Whatever structure you choose, do not spend two pages over-explaining the concept behind your decision. Be bold, commit to a story, and stick to it.
2. If there’s a limited amount of matter in the universe, how can Olive Garden (along with other restaurants and their concepts of food infinity) offer truly unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? Explain this using any method of analysis you wish—physics, biology, economics, history, theology… the options, as you can tell, are endless.
—Inspired by Yoonseo Lee, Class of 2023
We have to admit that we don’t really ‘get’ this question, especially since the answer is a rather transparent combination of economics, price controls, and shipping logistics that isn’t exactly what we would describe as captivating for a college supplement. However, if you are captivated by economics, this question could work for you. If you decide to go for it, make sure to bring the topic alive by using vivid imagery and storytelling — the life of a breadstick from wheat field to breadbasket to belly if you will.
3. A hot dog might be a sandwich, and cereal might be a soup, but is a ______ a ______?
—Inspired by Arya Muralidharan, Class of 2021 (and dozens of others who, this year and in past years, have submitted the question “Is a hot dog a sandwich,” to which we reply, “maybe”)
Is sorbet ice cream? Is ice cream cake a cake? Is a cookie cake a cake? What even is cake?!?
This question is a lot of fun if — and you’ve probably already caught onto the trend by now — you are willing to go for it. Let yourself ponder without muddling. Explore how an item may fall into a category, or may not, in a spiraling way that leads the reader into your brain, down a rabbit hole, and out the other side. And please be funny.
4. “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” – Jessamyn West
—Inspired by Elizabeth Mansfield, Class of 2020
If you are interested in literature or writing, you’ve probably thought about this a fair bit. The power of fiction is that it allows us to look into issues of life, culture, and society, with just enough distance to be honest with ourselves about ourselves, and about the world around us. If this is intriguing to you, this may be the perfect prompt for you.
Your first step should be to brainstorm for a story that embodies the concept the prompt introduces. Is there a time in your life when fiction played a role in understanding a truth? If so, tell the story. If not, pick another prompt.
5. UChicago has international campus centers around the world, but we don’t have any interplanetary, interstellar, or interdimensional campuses… yet! Propose a spot in time or space, in this or any universe, for a new UChicago campus. What types of courses would be taught at this site? What cultural experiences await students who study there?
—Inspired by Peter Jasperse, Class of 2022
Like all of the University of Chicago prompts, this is a great question if you are willing to throw yourself into it. No matter what you are interested in majoring in or what passion you want to show, there is a way to use this prompt. To make it work, you need to embrace the storytelling opportunities it presents.
If this sounds exciting to you, go all in. Be creative and let this supplement reveal so many parts of the inner workings of your mind. Present a potential syllabus and explore the course requirements. Design a program all students would have to take part in or try writing it from the perspective of a first-year student arriving on campus for the first time.
6. “Don’t be afraid to pick past prompts! I liked some of the ones from previous years more than those made newly available for my year. Also, don’t worry about the ‘correct’ way to interpret a question. If there exists a correct way to interpret the prompt I chose, it certainly was not my answer.” —Matthew Lohrs, Class of 2023
In the spirit of adventurous inquiry (and with the encouragement of one of our current students!) 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!
This prompt (the last prompt!) is a long way of saying, “write whatever you want!” Most of the time, we advise students to take this option when they have it. Here, though, we’re going to break from our script. Prompts 1-5 offer so many options and avenues while simultaneously giving you room to roam that we advise choosing one of them over this one (number 6).
Applying to colleges with long supplements can be overwhelming. We help students thrive through the process, becoming stronger writers while producing exceptional applications. Send us an email if you’re interested in our helping hand.