Why [Insert College Name] Essay

[Anonymous]

These are ridiculous.

What are admissions offices looking for? How much genuine interest can a 17 year old have for a school they’ve only seen on a virtual tour and clicked around online to look at classes, professors, sports? What truly is there to say that would make such an essay stand out?

Unless you know the school personally because someone you know well went/goes there, or the schools has a highly specialized program in a particular area or in interest, what could a child honestly say about why College [Name]?

[Anonymous]

+1 It reminds me of the "What are your weaknesses?" question in a job interview.

[Anonymous]

The trick to these essays is saying what about your personality, accomplishments, background make you want to come here. It's not a "why this college" it's a "why me and how will I add/contribute to campus" prompt.

[Anonymous]

I actually think it makes a lot of sense for colleges to be asking this question. Especially for those that are looking to weed out kids who are just shotgunning to a bunch of schools without knowing anything about those schools.

From my understanding as long as you demonstrate interest and knowledge about the school, you should be set. No need to overthink.

[Anonymous]

Based on all the college tours we took before covid, I think they're looking to weed out kids who cut and paste from other college applications. So many presentations at the schools they tell you about how the kids misspell the name of their school as (insert name of some similar level school). EG, your "why Harvard" essay ends with and that's why Stanford is the perfect school for me. Not to mention every single college tour we took ended with the student tour guide telling us their why for their school.

[Anonymous]

Funny, I always found this the least ridiculous of the essays. If the kid understands the school there is a much higher chance he won’t be disappointed, right?

[Anonymous]

It's an easy way for them to weed out a bunch of applicants who don't proofread their essays and accidentally include "because UVA is the most special place on earth..."

...in their application to VaTech. It definitely happens.

[Anonymous]

OP - really? It's called DO YOUR RESEARCH. if you have an informed applicant who knows what is on offer in their possible major of choice then they will have an advantage over your kid who just doesn't know squat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - really? It's called DO YOUR RESEARCH. if you have an informed applicant who knows what is on offer in their possible major of choice then they will have an advantage over your kid who just doesn't know squat.

+1 and don't just skim the website. Read their press releases. Find a few faculty who teach in the program of interest and look at what research they are doing. Is there something there that aligns with your interests?. Follow social media for the specific school/dept/program of interest to see what they share about events, research, student activities. Read the alumni magazine. Is there some required first year seminar? If so, what were the topics this year?

If nothing in there gets the student excited about the school, I'd wonder if it's a good school for them.

[Anonymous]

It's how they weed out the boys who apply to women's colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes a lot of sense for colleges to be asking this question. Especially for those that are looking to weed out kids who are just shotgunning to a bunch of schools without knowing anything about those schools.

From my understanding as long as you demonstrate interest and knowledge about the school, you should be set. No need to overthink.

Completely disagree. Most kids need to "shotgun" a bunch of schools b/c the acceptance rates are so low and because it can be a crapshoot. I see this in the metrics but also, anecdotally, from many posts here. The high stats, seemingly perfect applicant rejected from schools that 20 years ago they would have been a lock for. It's shitty to have this the game that they have to play. And then make it even harder.

[Anonymous]

They're not ridiculous. A 17- or 18-year-old should be expected to think critically, to do some basic research, and to make a compelling argument for something they want. I'm on board with this question ... and if the kid doesn't want to do the work to answer it, they should just apply to schools that don't ask it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes a lot of sense for colleges to be asking this question. Especially for those that are looking to weed out kids who are just shotgunning to a bunch of schools without knowing anything about those schools.

From my understanding as long as you demonstrate interest and knowledge about the school, you should be set. No need to overthink.

Completely disagree. Most kids need to "shotgun" a bunch of schools b/c the acceptance rates are so low and because it can be a crapshoot...

That's really not a great approach. If your kid's interests are well defined, they should be narrowing in on a pretty good fit from the over 4,000 choices available. If they aren't well defined, then why would they scattershot across a bunch of schools that have a nice website? Those are perfect candidates for an in-state public university with lots of options across a varied curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think it makes a lot of sense for colleges to be asking this question. Especially for those that are looking to weed out kids who are just shotgunning to a bunch of schools without knowing anything about those schools.

From my understanding as long as you demonstrate interest and knowledge about the school, you should be set. No need to overthink.

Completely disagree. Most kids need to "shotgun" a bunch of schools b/c the acceptance rates are so low and because it can be a crapshoot. I see this in the metrics but also, anecdotally, from many posts here. The high stats, seemingly perfect applicant rejected from schools that 20 years ago they would have been a lock for. It's shitty to have this the game that they have to play. And then make it even harder.

schools like to pretend that you are choosing them because they are a perfect match for you and you'll contribute in tons of ways. The reality is you're applying to Colby because you can't or didn't get into Williams and Middlebury is your other big reach and Colby is interchangeable on your list with Bates and Bowdoin and maybe Hamilton and you don't really know that much about any of them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are ridiculous.

What are admissions offices looking for? How much genuine interest can a 17 year old have for a school they’ve only seen on a virtual tour and clicked around online to look at classes, professors, sports? What truly is there to say that would make such an essay stand out?

Unless you know the school personally because someone you know well went/goes there, or the schools has a highly specialized program in a particular area or in interest, what could a child honestly say about why College [Name]?

Then don't play the game. YOu don't have to apply