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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

I understand your point but you would be surprised by how many applicants cut and paste their response to this type of essay and forget to proofread and/or customize their answers. I have seen this at the graduate level when I was a faculty member of a top 10 university and through friends that work in admissions at two top 20 schools who have repeatedly shared how often this happens. As some PP stated, this is an easy way to eliminate applicants, especially when many applicants have similar high stats and as you noted "shotgun" many schools because of low acceptance rates. It is a vicious cycle.

This happens when people apply for competitive jobs--the easiest way to reduce the resume pool is to eliminate poorly written or generic cover letters and resumes with typos. [/quote]

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