Some College Essay Prompts are OTT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the pretentious preamble that’s ridiculous.
The question itself is fine. And it would have sufficed to simply ask it without the other context.

Yep. That would be off my list. Says a lot about the school.

Not good writing - on the question.

[Anonymous]

THESE are OTT questions:

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/uchicago-supplemental-essay-questions

[Anonymous]

This question would make me not want to apply.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is not a difficult question. I'd expect a high school senior to be able to identify the question, 'read the room' with the context provided, and respond clearly and concisely.

[Anonymous]

The intro to the question is utterly ridiculous and the school likely is as well.

[Anonymous]

The first sentence is so dumb that I’d reconsider applying to Harvey Mudd.

Of COURSE scientific research is a human endeavor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the pretentious preamble that’s ridiculous.
The question itself is fine. And it would have sufficed to simply ask it without the other context.

Yep. That would be off my list. Says a lot about the school.

Not good writing - on the question.

Exactly! It was pretentious, rambling and convoluted questions like that that made my DC decide not to apply to Amherst. Ugh! I don’t blame her. They should let the faculty check questions for grammar and style, otherwise people will get a very bad impression of a school.

[Anonymous]

I mean, academia in general is out of touch, so what do we expect really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the pretentious preamble that’s ridiculous.
The question itself is fine. And it would have sufficed to simply ask it without the other context.

+1 And apparently this is a trend. Last year my rising 9th grader encountered preamble-laden questions in DMV private school applications.

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone want to apply here with questions like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the pretentious preamble that’s ridiculous.
The question itself is fine. And it would have sufficed to simply ask it without the other context.

+1 And apparently this is a trend. Last year my rising 9th grader encountered preamble-laden questions in DMV private school applications.

It’s a fad, I guess. A very bad one.

[Anonymous]

Y’all like to hang out on the college forum but seem to know nothing about the artifice students see daily. Every free response question has a preamble. Part of being responsive is parsing the question. Best case reading the excess hones attention to something more significant. Are you the same people that want the SAT to decide everything?

If *that* question is actually upsetting, consider it training for an eventual job interview. Odds are they’ll want lip service to cooperating with peers, too. Might need a cover story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that some are over the top, but this one seems reasonable. My 8th grader would have a rough idea of what to say (obviously not particularly sophisticated), so I would expect someone applying to Harvey Mudd would have something to say too. Obviously not a full fledged dissertation proposal, but I don't think that's expected. Essentially, what problems interest you and why.

I agree. I think this one lays out a little of what Mudd is about and asks the student to to the same and make some connections. Not exactly superfluous or arcane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The whole process is so skewed. Everyone is supposed to be a rock star !!! In most cases it is the parents or hired counselors writing the essays, whether they admit it or not. LIke the above poster said these are 17-18 year olds !!!! Give them a break...

Stop this. What you are trying to do is suggest that anything beyond your comprehension is "skewed" or done by "hired counselors" to either justify your own propensity for cheating or score some political point. Hired counselors certainly give affluent students a leg up, but they don't write for students,
they offer feedback. Maybe you spew this to justify cheating for your kid? I don't know. Just stop with the false assertions and hyperbole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, the last sentence alone would have been sufficient!

Yes. You can ignore the rest.