The University of Chicago is a top-tier university in (surprise, surprise) Chicago, Illinois that is considered on par with the Ivy League. Many students applying to Harvard, Yale, and the like also apply to UChicago. The school attracts extremely high achievers who love academia and want to excel in a rigorous collegiate environment. They boast nearly 100 Nobel Laureates, more than 50 MacArthur Fellows, 27 Pulitzer Prize winners, and so many more award winners. The acceptance rate is 5.4%, and it is a test-optional school.
UChicago is especially known for programs in STEM, research, and the intersection of the sciences and the humanities, as they emphasize interdisciplinary courses of study and have a strong core curriculum. Before diving into the supplement, we also want to commend the University of Chicago for releasing their supplement for 2023-2024 far in advance of nearly every other top college. Most colleges wait to release their supplements until August, while UChicago cuts students some slack by letting them start as early as late June. Big claps to them on this one, as students have enough to stress over without having to cram all of their supplement work into the weeks between August and early deadlines.
The University of Chicago wants students who are curious, and the supplement prompts are designed to seek out exactly those types of students. Let’s be honest, though, the prompts are wonky. UChicago is very proud of this. They require prompts that demand curiosity and creativity, and that take time. These aren’t supplements to speed through, but it is an opportunity to have fun.
Whether, after reading through the prompts, you want to write a serious answer to a question or a fanciful one, you must be earnest. Your supplement must say something about you that is important, meaningful, and that the college application readers need to know.
If you’re planning to apply to the University of Chicago but aren’t sure where to start, send us an email. We have a proven track record of getting students into exceptional colleges.
The University of Chicago has two required supplements. The first is fairly traditional and has one prompt — and you have to answer it. The second has many prompts for you to pick from, and is a bit of a beast. Both take thoughtfulness, care, and strategy.
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.
This is the “why us” essay for the University of Chicago, and like all “why us” essays it needs to be specific to UChicago. Start with a short story that relates to what you want to study, and that creates a mental link between something you prioritize in education and something that UChicago also prioritizes (such as collaboration or multi-disciplinary learning). Use that to lead into what you want to study, clearly stating what your major will be if you attend. Specify a professor you’d like to study under, and one or two classes within your major you would like to take. But this can’t just be about your major because the University of Chicago requires breadth from its students. So, next, you need to speak to the core and share a course you’re excited to take outside of your area of study. Close with going back to what you value most in learning, doubling down on how that priority is shared with the University of Chicago.
Question 2: The Extended Essay (Required; Choose One)
For this essay, you have seven prompts to pick from — and these are the wonky ones we have been talking about. Before you write off any prompts for being ‘too weird,’ give each a few minutes of consideration. We recommend brainstorming what would write if you picked it for each to give all of them a fair chance!
Option 1: Exponents and square roots, pencils and erasers, beta decay and electron capture. Name two things that undo each other and explain why both are necessary.
If you choose this prompt, stick to what you know — don’t try to write something super science-y (a technical term, so you can tell we’re super science-y) if you don’t know science stuff. Start by sitting down and trying to list a few pairings that fit the brief of things that undo each other. If you love cooking or have made homemade soap, you may know lye is neutralized by white vinegar. If you have a younger sibling, you may know that Mr. Clean Erasers can undo just about any artistic addition to a wall. Ideally, you want to relate your answer to this prompt to your area of study, but don’t feel completely married to that. The most important thing, after all, is to share a piece of yourself that isn’t in your college essay, and isn’t already emphasized anywhere else in your application. Don’t be a one-trick pony.
Once you’ve picked your pairing, it’s time to answer the question: why are both necessary? As always, we want this to be a story, too. They don’t really care to know the science behind a Mr. Clean Eraser. What they are seeking out is you in that pairing. So instead of getting bogged down in the literal, try to write about the emotional importance of each side of your pair.
Option 2: “Where have all the flowers gone?” – Pete Seeger. Pick a question from a song title or lyric and give it your best answer.
You don’t have to love music to pick this prompt, but you should care about the song you are referencing — if you don’t and are just using this prompt to tell a story you decided you wanted to tell before you saw the prompts, that will come across. To find a song, sit down and list 10 songs that are important to you. They may be songs you simply love, or a song that has a strong emotional resonance for you. Maybe one is the first song you learned how to play or sang solo at a school concert. Once you have the songs, go to Genius.com, a massive compendium of lyrics, and look for questions within the lyrics of your top 10 songs.
Once you have a question, remember what the prompt is — they don’t want you to explain the song, they want you to answer the question. “Who let the dogs out?” “How soon is now?” “Wouldn’t it be nice?” “Where do the children play?”
People have a tendency of falling into a trap with the University of Chicago: they try to be funny or clever. Don’t fall into this trap. When in doubt, and especially with this prompt, be earnest. Answer the question with a story from your life that is personal, important to you, and that shows the University a piece of who you are as a person, friend, or community member.
Option 3: “Vlog,” Labradoodle,” and “Fauxmage.” Language is filled with portmanteaus. Create a new portmanteau and explain why those two things are a “patch” (perfect match).
If it wasn’t clear from the prompt, a portmanteau is a mash-up of two words. The word comes from a type of traditional truck or suitcase with two equally-sized halves. Portmanteaus (the word kind) are rarely equally balanced between the two words, but it’s fun to know the origin regardless. We think this prompt is super fun, but you don’t want to be ‘silly.’ One way to stand out from others who pick this prompt is by being earnest (which, if you notice, is a theme for this supplement), instead of making a joke. Start by coming up with a list of words that relate to things you care about, and then start playing around with them. Google along the way to make sure the ones you invent aren’t actually already commonly used, and then use the portmanteau to tell a story that explains why they are a match.
For example, confused and frustrated is (a member of our team insists) confrustrated. She might write about how confusion and frustration go hand-in-hand, and how she navigated a tough situation hiking in Wyoming by learning how to control the two emotions.
Option 4: A jellyfish is not a fish. Cat burglars don’t burgle cats. Rhode Island is not an island. Write an essay about some other misnomer, and either come up with and defend a new name for it or explain why its inaccurate name should be kept.
We don’t love this prompt because there are not a ton of routes to earnestness in it. Our best advice is to skip this one, but if you insist it better be because there is something personal and important to you that you simply must say and that just so happens to match up perfectly with this. For example, a good reason to choose this prompt would be if you come from a minority culture or speak an uncommon language, and can use a misnomer from your language to highlight that aspect of yourself. If that is true to you, you have the opportunity to write an essay about culture, language, and community — and that’s powerful! Introduce the misnomer through story, and don’t get too bogged down in the word or phrase itself. Instead, focus on experiences that tie into it that reveal something about who you are.
Option 5: Despite their origins in the Gupta Empire of India or Ancient Egypt, games like chess or bowling remain widely enjoyed today. What modern game do you believe will withstand the test of time, and why?
This is another prompt that we aren’t really a fan of. A lot of athletes — ones planning to play in college and ones that aren’t — are going to gravitate to this prompt because it offers an opportunity to write about their sport without trying to shove it into a prompt that doesn’t fit. While that isn’t terrible, it definitely isn’t ideal. Why? Because arguing about why lacrosse is going to exist in 1000 years simply doesn’t say much about you. One exception, though, are games that aren’t ‘sports.’ Specifically, metal games. Wordle, anyone? If you want to do this prompt, pick a game that is cerebral, and tell a story about the role it plays in your life that clearly communicates why you believe it will withstand the test of time. Use your experience to convey the ‘why,’ rather than simply stating it outright. With college applications, it’s always better to lead with story.
Option 6: There are unwritten rules that everyone follows or has heard at least once in their life. But of course, some rules should be broken or updated. What is an unwritten rule that you wish didn’t exist?
Unlike prompts four and five, we love this prompt. It is an exceptional opportunity to spotlight your perspective on not just education, but on life. Approach it with confidence, but not cockiness. Do not try to use your essay here to elevate yourself, but to bring more people into your community and conversations. Pick something that opens up the field to show that you aren’t simply focused on yourself, but consider yourself part of a global community. The University of Chicago wants students who seek collaboration and community, and here you can show that you are right up their alley. Tell a story about a time you or someone close to you (or even a stranger if you’re really brave!) broke a rule, and how it impacted you. Why did breaking that rule make a positive difference? Don’t look to the past and historical rule breakers. Instead, focus on an experience you’ve had whether it’s watching someone cut in line but have a very good reason for it, or breaking an unwritten rule yourself. As always, use the story to convey the message.
Option 7: 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).
Here, they even give you some favorite previous prompts to peruse. And we don’t hate it but, contrary to our advice on the college essay, we actually don’t recommend picking a ‘choose your own adventure’ with this one. You’ve been given a wide range of awesome, fun, challenging prompts. You really don’t need to look elsewhere, and doing so may even be distracting.
However, if there is a story you want to tell and one of the prompts above doesn’t fit, this may be a good option. Remember, though, that the stories you most want to tell aren’t necessarily the stories that will do the most for your application — which is why working with us can be so helpful. We know the difference between what you may want to share and what you should actually emphasize.
The University of Chicago supplement is a fun challenge, so let yourself play around a little. If you try out a few prompts, stories you don’t use here may well be useful for a future supplement for a different college. We even love having students start here to break the ‘ice.’
If you are applying to the University of Chicago, send us an email. We help passionate students pursue admission to the best universities in the world.