Colleges should just get rid of the application essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who says they put a lot of weight on it?

Why not also toss out GPA (maybe they had a tutor) or SAT/ACT scores because they may have prepped?

Admissions departments aren't grading them the way a teacher would, they are looking to see what the student can reveal about him or herself or how they think.

If your essay was slapped together quickly, with or without help, it will show.

The difference is basically no one's kid is getting tutored for every subject through all four years of high school. And even SAT tutoring can only really raise a score by so much. But it is entirely possible for someone else to completely write an applicant's essay without a college knowing about it. And for what it's worth, when my husband was in college, he wrote an essay for his girlfriend who was still in HS, and she got into UVA with it, so I'm not really buying this idea that colleges can really tell that the essays weren't written by the students.

That's essentially what private school is.

A private school class is not the same as being individually tutored, and it seems to be becoming more and more evident that attending private school tends to be a hindrance for kids when it comes time to apply for college.

[Anonymous]

This scandal proves that SAT scores can be rigged and can’t be trusted. And eliminate the essays. We all know is gpa’s are too varied to be particularly helpful. So college should be open to all comers. And free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This scandal proves that SAT scores can be rigged and can’t be trusted. And eliminate the essays. We all know is gpa’s are too varied to be particularly helpful. So college should be open to all comers. And free.

Not really. This guy actually bribed college board official into changing kids answers. I can't imagine that there is much of that going on. The employees doing this were taking a huge risk, that most people would not be willing to take, and most people wouldn't have the balls to offer a bribe to these people in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This scandal proves that SAT scores can be rigged and can’t be trusted. And eliminate the essays. We all know is gpa’s are too varied to be particularly helpful. So college should be open to all comers. And free.

Not really. This guy actually bribed college board official into changing kids answers. I can't imagine that there is much of that going on. The employees doing this were taking a huge risk, that most people would not be willing to take, and most people wouldn't have the balls to offer a bribe to these people in the first place.

+1. And to pull it off, the student had to be approved to test separately and alone. That is exceedingly rare, and probably should be banned altogether. It is virtually impossible to get someone to change or improve your answers if you are taking the exam at your high school with everyone else.

I do think it's easier in some international locations, where there is less oversight. I would imagine that colleges probably discount those applicants scores knowing that there has been pretty rampant cheating in parts of China, for example.

[Anonymous]

I have been the interviewer for postgrad positions and trained university students in how to interview well.

The essay is best used as a step-off for the interview. You ask students more details about situations they referenced, ask them to expand on the connections they drew, and the like. It is obvious pretty quickly which essays were written with passion from the heart, and which ones the supposed writers were barely familiar with.

You can definitely still rig it. There are people who know to study their own essays and prepare. But it's hard to get that to hold up for repeated questions, especially if you dig down into the meat of it.

[Anonymous]

Regarding the kid who had a tutor for every class and summer school. That is a HIGH motivated child. Very rare for that age group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This scandal proves that SAT scores can be rigged and can’t be trusted. And eliminate the essays. We all know is gpa’s are too varied to be particularly helpful. So college should be open to all comers. And free.

Not really. This guy actually bribed college board official into changing kids answers. I can't imagine that there is much of that going on. The employees doing this were taking a huge risk, that most people would not be willing to take, and most people wouldn't have the balls to offer a bribe to these people in the first place.

Ok but add to that all the evidence that proves or strongly suggests that test prep advantages absolutely go to the wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Essays are good. I read an essay from a girl in my clasroom. She was so proud of it, and thought it was the best thing in the world. It was proper grammar and all. And a full on photocopy of Miley Cyrus' climbing the mountain and examining every rock on the way. Girl is a known bully, so no wonder she had nothing insightful to say.... I am pretty sure college panel members can read into what these kids and even their parents and tutors are projecting and onto them from the first or second sentence.

[Anonymous]

I would be glad for the essays to go. It is just a big exercise in projecting and parroting back what one thinks admissions wants to hear. It also bugs me that the woe-is-me-type-essay seems to do so well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be glad for the essays to go. It is just a big exercise in projecting and parroting back what one thinks admissions wants to hear. It also bugs me that the woe-is-me-type-essay seems to do so well.

That bugs me too, but my understanding is that it's a myth. (That type of essay topic is not usually recommended by consultants.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be glad for the essays to go. It is just a big exercise in projecting and parroting back what one thinks admissions wants to hear. It also bugs me that the woe-is-me-type-essay seems to do so well.

Advantage, rich.

[Anonymous]

Oxbridge makes you submit a graded essay from actual school coursework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who says they put a lot of weight on it?

Why not also toss out GPA (maybe they had a tutor) or SAT/ACT scores because they may have prepped?

Admissions departments aren't grading them the way a teacher would, they are looking to see what the student can reveal about him or herself or how they think.

If your essay was slapped together quickly, with or without help, it will show.

The difference is basically no one's kid is getting tutored for every subject through all four years of high school. And even SAT tutoring can only really raise a score by so much. But it is entirely possible for someone else to completely write an applicant's essay without a college knowing about it. And for what it's worth, when my husband was in college, he wrote an essay for his girlfriend who was still in HS, and she got into UVA with it, so I'm not really buying this idea that colleges can really tell that the essays weren't written by the students.

Um, my child goes to private and there are kids there that have daily tutors for all subjects. When you have $, you can do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be glad for the essays to go. It is just a big exercise in projecting and parroting back what one thinks admissions wants to hear. It also bugs me that the woe-is-me-type-essay seems to do so well.

Advantage, rich.

Advantage, purported victim status, wrapped in appraochable yet modestly edgy (but not too edgy as to be possibly troublesome) narrative.

[Anonymous]

Nah.

My kid's essay was sweet. He sounded like a kid and he described his oddball hobby and how it matters to him.

I think it helped his application. Why should the quirky lose the one bit of individuality?

It is the beyond-reason test prep that is the bigger worry.