The 15 Most Ridiculous College Application Essay Questions

Peter Jacobs of Business Insider rounded up some of the strangest essay questions that colleges have asked applicants to write about. Here are a couple of oddies from the list:

University of Chicago:
Have you ever walked through the aisles of a warehouse store like Costco or Sam's Club and wondered who would buy a jar of mustard a foot and a half tall? We've bought it, but it didn't stop us from wondering about other things, like absurd eating contests, impulse buys, excess, unimagined uses for mustard, storage, preservatives, notions of bigness…and dozens of other ideas both silly and serious. Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard.

Tufts University:
Kermit the Frog famously lamented, 'It's not easy being green.' Do you agree?

I don't think that all of the questions are necessarily "ridiculous." Some of them could be excellent prompts for tests of creative thinking and writing. Here are two examples from the same list:

University of Pennsylvania:
You have just finished your three hundred page autobiography. Please submit page 217.

University of Notre Dame:
You have 150 words. Take a risk.

Link -via College Insurrection

(Photo: Graduation Pen now on sale at the NeatoShop!)


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Ridiculous but useful. No one will be able to give a "perfect" answer, but it will tell the admissions committee how well an applicant thinks on his/her feet and handles stress. After all, we will spend the rest of our lives facing ridiculous situations. It will also provide a glimpse into the applicant's creativity and sense of humor.
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If I received the Uni of Chicago essay question, I would just allude the 'super-huge' jar of mustard to the American dream and possibility of buying excess in this country, and throw in something about being raised as a first (second?) generation Asian-american. lol I'll title it "From Bottle of Soy Sauce to Super-Huge Jar of Mustard"
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