College admissions departments looking to learn more about prospective students may have a secret weapon: the admissions essay.

While plenty of schools are sticking with traditional “Why this school?” essays, some are learning more about applicants by offering more quirky, unusual prompts, such as:

• “Imagine you have to wear a costume for a year of your life. What would you pick and why?” – Brandeis University
• “What is your favorite ride at the amusement park? How does this reflect your approach to life?” – Emory University
• “What does Play-Doh have to do with Plato?” – University of Chicago
• And rather ominously, “Why did you do it?” – Wake Forest University

Other schools are sticking with more standard questions, but with a twist – a word length that shows how concise a student’s response can be:

• “You have 150 words. Take a risk.” – University of Notre Dame
• “If I could do something with no risk of failing, I would … (25 words or fewer)” – Brown University
• “Gadget that needs inventing (in 20 words)” – University of North Carolina

How does your school get to know prospective students? Let us know in the comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Writing essays on college apps can be grueling enough. But here’s a list of some topics from Mental_Floss magazine that make the job even more difficult.

How do you feel about Wednesday? (University of Chicago, 2002)

Are we alone? (Tufts, 2009)

Please describe a daily routine or tradition of yours that may seem ordinary to others but holds special meaning for you. Why is this practice significant to you? (Barnard, 2009)

Make a bold prediction about something in the year 2010 that no one else has made a bold prediction about. (University of Virginia, 1999)

How did you get caught? Or not caught, as the case may be. (Chicago, 2009)

For the rest of the list, click here.

Any topics you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments section below.