I tried taking a more creative route with this one. Let me know if it works.
Question: "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."
In determining whether University of Chicago would satisfy my intellectual, academic and artistic appetite for the next four years of my educational career, I employed Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's "Picture Theory of Meaning" to compare my proposition of an ideal college experience with the reality of UChicago. Wittgenstein's theory suggests that an idea or statement is only meaningful if it can be pictured and represented in the real world. I chose, therefore, to address the statement "The University of Chicago is the best fit for me."
As I picture it, my perfect college would fulfill my desire for both breadth and depth among various academic interests. Emphasizing a strong but broad core curriculum, the university would introduce me to a variety of subjects through both canonical and novel works. As both a literary fanatic and self-proclaimed poet, I would take great satisfaction in a program designed to address some of the most essential philosophical questions via the careful examination of history's fundamental texts. The classes would engage me as a reader, writer and theorist, whether it be through a course like "Flux Americana: Tramps and Tramping in American Literature" or an in-depth study of Nabokov's "Lolita". Geography would be key-a city steeped in history, designed to foster academics and artists alike. I would take full advantage of a thriving music scene, neighboring educational institutions, paradigms of world-class architecture and globally renowned museums. My classmates would recognize the worth in spending Saturday nights crowded around a laptop watching classic Doctor Who episodes and discussing the reality of time travel or parallel universes. The university would not just encourage eccentrics, but breed them.
In order for the previous statement to be true, to hold any absolute meaning, The University of Chicago must mirror the aforementioned ideals. The graphic representation of the language in my proposition must be exactly congruent to the reality of the college. And when I hold a picture of University of Chicago to that of my ideals, both Wittgenstein and I agree, it is a perfect match.
.. I would take great satisfaction in a program designed to address some of the most essential philosophical questions, via the careful examination of history's fundamental texts.
I would take full advantage of the thriving music scene, neighboring educational institutions, paradigms of world-class architecture and globally renowned museums.
The university would not just encourage eccentrics, but breed them.---I love this!
Your essay is great! They'll be very lucky to have you as a student!
:)
