Reply to PSA: Don't write your essay about building huts in Africa!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These essays are such a joke. My BIL wrote his daughter's (he won't admit it but it's obvious) and she got into a school she had no business going to. I have to assume this happens all the time. How do you expect a 17 year old to write anything meaningful? They're all told what "good" beliefs are, and haven't had the experiences that will lead them to anything authentic. And then they're told to avoid writing about genuinely meaningful experiences because they show privilege. For all the people saying "don't write about this"--well, that's probably what their experience is. So we're asking them to lie and second guess themselves. It's just nasty, like everything else in higher ed. Burn it all down and go back to admits on quantifiable, non-cheatable ability only.[/quote]

+1.

My spouse was at one point reviewing the application essays for a big state school.
Their flowchart was roughly this:
1. Did they write anything?  If no, 0.
2. Check if this person needs a wellness/mental health visit (danger to themselves or others). If so, flag it.
3. Do they say in the essay that they're a URM that overcame obstacles?  If so, 3 points.
4. Else, give 2 points and move on.

So perhaps people are overthinking the importance of essays?[/quote]

If it's a big state school with 50%+ acceptance rate, then yes I believe that.  But I do think essays get reviewed at the private institutions, especially the highly selective ones.  [b]I know at several in the 30-60 range my kid got accepted and had "comments about their essay" in the acceptance letter, so yes the essays were actually read.[/b] [/quote]

Same with my DD.

Also, DS is at Virginia Tech where the only things they look at are transcript, test scores if submitted, and their own short-answer questions. No recommendations, no common app essay. They were clear in info sessions that they read and strongly consider the short-answer questions. Given the huge number of apps, I would assume the file has to clear some minimum GPA/test score first to make it to readers but after that it's really the only other info they have.

It also seems to me that if a college puts the thought into creating supplemental essay questions, then they care about those and I'd expect them to be a lot more important than the more generic common app essay.[/quote]

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