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

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[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]

I had meaningful thoughts as a 17-year-old. Did you not?

As another poster said, it's not the topic, it's what they write about it. Basically, what materials do they give the application reader to understand them better as an applicant? A basic sports essay (I overcame an injury, or I overcame a disappointment, or I pulled my team together) gives a little insight into the applicant. But I can imagine a sports essay with a typical "plot" in which the student makes unexpected and interesting connections, and that would strengthen their application more.

The experience doesn't have to be Meaningful with a capital M (e.g. I changed the life of a poor person, or I brought our team from the brink of defeat to winning the state championship). It can be meaningful to the student (e.g. I realized something small but interesting about myself, and I will bring this [b]insight[/b] with me to college.).[/quote]

You understand.[/quote]

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