Some critics say that novels teach us how to live. What novel has taught you something about how to live? What did you learn?

53-word version:
I learned to look at an issue from various angles. In One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the protagonist McMurphy protests against Nurse Ratched...

You can bring together two people from any two periods in history to debate an issue of our time. What issue would you have them discuss, and who would they be?

47-word version:
I would bring Mother Teresa and Bill Gates, and discuss whether we should maintain our materialistic point of view...

What in your hometown would you show new friends from college to help them know you better?

59-word version:
I would show my tangerine tree and fishing rod. I grew the tree in the backyard myself...

In the spirit of Northwestern`s tradition of collaborative learning, please provide us with an original essay topic or short statement you`d like to see on next year`s application. (All of this year`s essays and short statements, except for this one, were suggested by students.)

54-word version:
“The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct; but since we are likely to go astray, the reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach,” said Sophocles...