NY Times on new application essays dabbling in so-called "identities"

[Anonymous]

Some kids (with all different identities) are comfortable with this and some aren’t (just as some kids are apt to exaggerate their experiences and drum up good identity topics that aren’t really applicable.) It seems problematic.

[Anonymous]

“Get around more and talk to people outside your "bubble." Not everyone is constantly obsessed about "gender," not everyone follows a religion, and few people can choose their nationality.
Many are fed up with the constant emphasis given to these by some. “


Exactly. Just watch a news broadcast and notice how often the real story is buried beneath fawning descriptions of people’s “identities.”

I get an alumni periodical from an elite university. Almost every article is about how this person is the first whatever to do x, or they accomplished y despite being whatever. Some people seem incapable of making an observation that doesn’t include irrelevant identity characteristics.

[Anonymous]

If you can't think of one reason why you want to go to a college besides "mom told me to" ( and even that could be spun into family values), and one reason why you think other students might benefit from your presence, maybe that's not the college for you. You can get the curriculum for free online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....

Then why do you want to go to those colleges?

Part of choosing a college is choosing a community to join. If you don't value diversity in your community, why would you want to join a community like Harvard that places a high value on it? There are plenty of colleges you can get into based on stats alone. Often they are less expensive. Why not go there?

dp.. because many of them provide the launching pad to great careers and high paying jobs.

Thats true, but you don't get to get that and a college of people just like you.

ok, but pp asked, " why would you want to join a community like Harvard that places a high value on it" -- because of what I stated.

Do these colleges not understand how this kind of thing can be gamed? Colleges keep moving the goal posts because people keep finding ways around it (like grades or SAT scores). The "identity" question is just another goal post for students to figure out how to game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....

Then why do you want to go to those colleges?

Part of choosing a college is choosing a community to join. If you don't value diversity in your community, why would you want to join a community like Harvard that places a high value on it? There are plenty of colleges you can get into based on stats alone. Often they are less expensive. Why not go there?

dp.. because many of them provide the launching pad to great careers and high paying jobs.

Most great careers and high paying jobs require people to interact with diverse groups of people. Someone who thinks that's not a goal wouldn't do well in those jobs anyway.

Hmm. Not my experience. It’s mostly all the same kind of people actually. The kids of UMC/UC parents, along with people who can fake it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?

You're lumping a few things together here, but yes, you're right. My kid refuses to answer questions about all of these things unless they are necessary for a legitimate purpose. For instance, a medical doctor might need to know about their biological sex to correctly diagnose symptoms. Otherwise, it's nobody's business, and especially not some random AO's.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know identifies as something.

Get around more and talk to people outside your "bubble." Not everyone is constantly obsessed about "gender," not everyone follows a religion, and few people can choose their nationality.
Many are fed up with the constant emphasis given to these by some.

NP. Again, proving the point that you are obsessed with gender, religion, and "nationality" (but I'm going to assume race).

My kid has many aspects to his identity. He is Jewish. He has a disability. He has a brother with a disability. He is white. He is American. He is a cis male. He plays a sport. He grew up in the south. He enjoys science. He is an extrovert who prides himself on prioritizing friendships. He volunteers. Some of those things he shared in essays, and some he chose not to either because he felt they were too personal (e.g., his disability) or irrelevant (e.g., they saw his citizenship and sex/gender when he applied and he didn't have anything to add on that topic). That left him with tons and tons of things to talk about, many of which he "chose" for himself (sports, academic interests, volunteer work, friendships).

If your kid is really sitting around feeling victimized by a question about their "identity", and you think that's ok, you need to reflect on your parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?

You're lumping a few things together here, but yes, you're right. My kid refuses to answer questions about all of these things unless they are necessary for a legitimate purpose. For instance, a medical doctor might need to know about their biological sex to correctly diagnose symptoms. Otherwise, it's nobody's business, and especially not some random AO's.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know identifies as something.

Get around more and talk to people outside your "bubble." Not everyone is constantly obsessed about "gender," not everyone follows a religion, and few people can choose their nationality.
Many are fed up with the constant emphasis given to these by some.

That is not what the question asks at all. Again, according to the article, it says: "Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you." Honestly, how is that different from the question my kid answered two years ago, which was something like "Tell us about an adversity or challenge you have overcome and how it affected you"? My kid was like, what if you haven't had any adversities or challenges, does that mean you can't go to college? I feel like the new question is actually more inclusive, because life experiences apply to more things than challenges or adversities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....

+100

And it’s so gross how they expect high schoolers to POUR their hearts out and reveal vulnerabilities/personal details all to be picked over and discarded.

All my kids DO is reveal their personal life. The internet is one huge "Dear Diary" entry

Some kids over share, but most do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can't think of one reason why you want to go to a college besides "mom told me to" ( and even that could be spun into family values), and one reason why you think other students might benefit from your presence, maybe that's not the college for you. You can get the curriculum for free online.

IMO, the question seems more about identity as it relates to your gender or race, not about "who are you".

Honestly, do you think Harvard cares about some rich kid's identity in terms of gender? These types of questions really only apply to the masses, and it's kind of sad that they'll take the wealthy and connected even if they are all cisgender, white, but want "diversity" for the rest of the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....

Then why do you want to go to those colleges?

Part of choosing a college is choosing a community to join. If you don't value diversity in your community, why would you want to join a community like Harvard that places a high value on it? There are plenty of colleges you can get into based on stats alone. Often they are less expensive. Why not go there?

dp.. because many of them provide the launching pad to great careers and high paying jobs.

Thats true, but you don't get to get that and a college of people just like you.

ok, but pp asked, " why would you want to join a community like Harvard that places a high value on it" -- because of what I stated.

Do these colleges not understand how this kind of thing can be gamed? Colleges keep moving the goal posts because people keep finding ways around it (like grades or SAT scores). The "identity" question is just another goal post for students to figure out how to game.

I think they are aware that it can be gamed. I don’t think they care. If they accept some sly sneaky kid who pulled a fast one, they don’t mind. Those kids add to the variety of campus life too. And if they’re rich, better yet!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification". Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?

Everyone I know identifies as something.

If you're a white male, cis/het, not religious, UMC, family been here a long time and intermixed (generic European), truly what is there to say?

I'm not in this category but I feel like these Qs should be optional. Otherwise it is very cringe and fake.

The questions talk about how your life experiences and/or aspects of your identity have shaped you -- this is basically the work of adolescence, to figure that out. It's not peripheral and it's important for people who see themselves as the dominant group to examine that too.

[Anonymous]

I don't know when victimhood and trauma became such a hot commodity to AOs. It's really sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything about college these days...from the admissions process to the day to day culture of what "matters"... seems so backwardass stupid - I'm embarrassed for the administrators and the parents buying into it all....

100% I am absolutely disgusted by the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know when victimhood and trauma became such a hot commodity to AOs. It's really sick.

Evidence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people opposed to this only do so because they think race or gender are the only way people identify and they are afraid that being white and cis may hamper their kid's college app.

But it is BS because there are so many ways your identity is defined. Physically, racially, culturally.

My husband wrote his essay on being an only child.


When I read the question from the article, “Tell us about an aspect of your identity or a life experience that has shaped you," I immediately thought of how much of my life has been shaped by my physical disability (missing a limb). In fact, I wrote about this in my college app essay in 1994.

Sorry if it offends you that I was shaped by this, and that I shouldn't have written about it. I know some of you want to believe or downplay the experiences of others as cashing in on "trauma," but you are so far off the mark.

Yup. As always, the people who claim not to want to talk or think about race and gender can’t help but show that they are actually obsessed with it.

white/hetero/athletic/intelligent male:
People look at me and before they know anything about me or my background they think: 'toxic masculinity', 'privilege', 'racist', 'misogynist', 'homophobic', etc. They see the root cause of all that is wrong with society these days apparently. I am a walking billboard for them to direct their hate.