U of C To Sing Along with the Common People?

By Scott Smith in News on Nov 16, 2006 4:45PM

The University of Chicago’s Uncommon Application may be about to get a little more common, though it would likely keep its trademark quirky essay questions.

In an effort to “increase and diversify” its pool of applicants, U of C may begin using the Common Application that allows a potential undergrad to apply to many schools at once, but fill out only one application. U of C President Robert Zimmer supports the change in an effort to make more students aware of the Hyde Park institution, but Dean of Students Ted O’Neill believes the application begins a “unique dialogue” with potential students.

The proposed changes would likely affect the “look and feel” of the application, while still garnering much of the same data. In addition, the trademark essay questions would remain. This year’s transfer applicant application (PDF link) bases some of its essay topics on a quote from Miles Davis, the concept of Hē’Ladē in the Kwakiutl tribe of British Columbia, and the suggestion that the applicant describe his or herself as a point on the Cartesian coordinate system (just reading that one gave us a mild panic attack ).

This past weekend, we spent some time on U of C’s campus, trying to sneak into The Pub (don’t ask). We failed, but standing on the stairs of Ida Noyes Hall, we saw a middle-aged gent, dressed in a blazer and bow tie, smoking a pipe and reading a book. We could not have come up with a better visual representation of the uniqueness that is U of C, and we wonder how this change will affect the average student’s Hyde Park experience. Will this divide students into Uncommoners and Commoners and turn U of C into some sort of quasi-Lord of the Flies or Animal Farm? And how long before someone writes a thesis paper on it?

By the way: is having a blog about your school's undergrad admissions application totally nerdy or totally charming? What about having a separate blog for the transfer application?