University of Chicago supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Why UChicago? (Question 1)no stated word limit · Why us

   “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.”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Chicago good" but "what will you do here that you can't do elsewhere, and what in your past proves you'll actually do it." The reader already knows the school is good.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Opening with the campus, the ranking or the "world-renowned faculty." Every sentence that would survive with another school's name swapped in is wasted. Listing three programs with no explanation of any of them is the second trap.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Chicago resources (a course, a lab, a program, a professor's actual work) and say what you'd do with each. End on the next step, not on a compliment.

2. Extended essay option 1no stated word limit · Open prompt

   “Food for thought: How do thoughts eat? – Inspired by Ernest Leong, Class of 2026”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Chicago is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

3. Extended essay option 2no stated word limit · Open prompt

   “The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, utilized origami-inspired techniques to compactly store and deploy its sunshield in space. Choose an artistic practice and use its principles to propose an elegant solution to a problem. – Inspired by Akhil Korra, Class of 2028”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Chicago is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

4. Extended essay option 3no stated word limit · Open prompt

   “Sometimes metaphors get mixed up. For one reason or another, one could say, 'we'll burn that bridge when we get there' or 'the world is your china shop'. Make up your own mixed metaphor. Explain how it could make sense, be understood, or even applied. – Inspired by Julia Nieberg, Class of 2029”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Chicago is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

5. Extended essay option 4no stated word limit · Activity

   “The Olympics have long celebrated the pinnacle of human athletic achievement. But what if they expanded to honor the mundane? Imagine a new Olympic event built around an everyday activity like speed dishwashing or competitive grocery bagging. How is it scored, officiated, and judged? Why is it a worthy addition? – Inspired by Ewan Smith, Class of 2028”

   What it's really asking

   Depth on one activity: what you actually did, what was hard about it, and why it mattered to you beyond the title. Chicago already has your activities list; this is the story behind one line of it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Re-listing the activities list in prose, or choosing the most prestigious activity rather than the one you can say something true about. Starting with "I joined X in ninth grade."

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start inside a specific moment of the activity. Explain one problem you solved or one thing you built, with detail only a participant would know. Close on what it changed in how you think or work.

6. Extended essay option 5no stated word limit · Community

   “AI: Allen Iverson. NASA, or the North American Saxophone Alliance. Share a potentially confounding, comedic, or captivating example of MIA (Mistaken Identity of Acronym) and tell us its backstory. – Inspired by Jeeho Byun, Class of 2030”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Chicago because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Chicago: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

7. Extended essay option 6no stated word limit · Leadership

   “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!”

   What it's really asking

   Not your title but a moment where you changed what a group did. Chicago reads "leadership" broadly; the youngest sibling organising a family can answer this as well as a club president.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the role instead of a decision. "As president, I led the team to success" contains no information. Taking credit for a group's work.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One situation, one decision you made that others didn't have to accept, how you got them to, and what happened. Include what it cost you or what you'd do differently.

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Chicago) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.