The University of Chicago has released its supplemental essay prompts for the 2026-2027 college admissions cycle. Applicants to UChicago’s Class of 2031 will be asked to answer two essays in addition to The Common Application’s Personal Statement. Each essay should be one to two pages in length and, as is tradition at the University of Chicago, the essay options for one of the two prompts are as weird as can be. So what are this year’s UChicago essay prompts? Let’s check them out!

2026 – 2027 University of Chicago Essay Prompts & Questions For All Applicants

For the first essay prompt, which applicants should address in one to two pages, applicants are asked to choose one of the seven essay options, which are as follows:

Essay Option 1

Food for thought: How do thoughts eat?

Inspired by Ernest Leong, Class of 2026

Essay Option 2

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

Essay Option 3

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

Essay Option 4

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

Essay Option 5

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

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!

How to Approach the Weird Essay Prompt at University of Chicago

Irrespective of which essay prompt an applicant chooses among the first six, they should strive to showcase how they think and aim to be memorable. Not every essay in college admissions offers students such a unique opportunity to stand out, but this essay prompt gives students that opening.

As such, while all of Ivy Coach’s students’ essays are always weird, this prompt typically allows our students to showcase their weird sides more than any other. But their answers are not just weird for weird’s sake. Through their compelling narratives, they showcase, through their singular hook rather than well-roundedness, how they’re going to change the world in one super specific way.

Oh, and notice we didn’t suggest a student answer the “choose your own adventure prompt.” It’s because we would always prefer a student to demonstrate that they wrote the essay just for UChicago. The other six prompts are so specific that it’s doubtful an applicant could repurpose the essay for another school, whereas a “choose your own adventure” answer can easily be used for other institutions. Thus, the act of choosing one of the first six prompts is itself a way of demonstrating interest to UChicago.

The Why Chicago Essay Prompt

UChicago’s second required essay should also be answered in one to two pages. For this prompt, students must answer the following 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.

This prompt is a straight-up-the-middle Why College essay that should be filled with specific reference after specific reference of how a student will contribute their singular hook to the school’s enduring programs and institutes, traditions, and activities. Notice we didn’t mention professors or classes. Professors leave, and classes change. Besides, UChicago’s admissions officers weren’t born yesterday. They know students can cut and paste the names of professors and class names from one school to the next like a game of Mad Libs. They want to see that a student wrote this essay just for them. Writing that you want to take a class with Professor Steven Levitt of Freakonomics fame doesn’t cut it. They want to feel special!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with UChicago Essays

If you need assistance optimizing your case for admission to the University of Chicago by submitting wonderfully weird essays that wow admissions officers, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline Ivy Coach’s college admissions counseling services for seniors led by Ivy Coach’s Hannah Skaran, a former University of Chicago admissions officer.