Reply to Why do you think UChicago supplmentals have no word limits

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Substance over form.

My DD enjoyed writing the “uncommon” essay. Actually, she answered two of the questions and was torn until the last minute which one to submit. [/quote]

This makes no sense. In fact, arguably a set length requires whittling away all unnecessary junk and no limit means many will ramble without substance.[/quote]

Unless - you can write without rambling. Both Elon and Jobs said during job interviews - if the person did the work they can talk about it. If you can detail your passion project then it's real. And if you are excited about it then it will show in the writing. If you need to fill space then that will show as well.  
[/quote]

Eh...

- writing well doesn't mean there is significant substance there

- writing more doesn't mean that the writing is better than a writing that is shorter

It seems like people are saying those that love UChicago have no problem writing or even writing extra UChicago essays that won't be used. Nothing has been said that indicates why 2 pages versus 1, 3 or 4 is better and the lack of word-limit guidance invites longer answers, which seems ridiculous. If it was purely about good writing then the instruction should say: feel free to write as little or as much as you want as we admit applicants with 50-2000 word responses and have no preference about length.[/quote]

That is essentially what they say, only with a narrower range of word counts. From their FAQ:

"Please note any word limits for Coalition or Common Application essays; however, there are no strict word limits on the UChicago supplemental essays. In general 500-700 words for the extended essay and 300-600 words for the “Why UChicago?” essay are good benchmarks, but these are rough guidelines and by no means requirements. The ideas in your writing matter more than the exact number of words you use!"

I don't think that invites particularly long responses, and definitely emphasizes good writing first and foremost.

NP.[/quote]

I’m not sure why people are getting fired up about this. They give some guidelines (PP posted above) but aren’t super specific (eg 400 words max). What’s wrong with that? And yes kids who decide to write multiple essays “for fun” might just be the type of kid who likes UChicago. If that’s not for you/your kid, you do not need to apply. [/quote]

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