Reply to What tips an AO's decision for a cusp candidate

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think there is a lot more to algorithms and scoring (fake standardization) of subjective items like essays and ECs, along with factors affecting yield that may weigh more heavily in the algorithm, than about being "compelling." And yes, I would assume that institutional priorities would be very heavy factors in said algorithm.

I think being "compelling" goes only to the subjectively scored factors and makes AOs feel like they're doing a good job, but the algorithm is the actual decider. Somewhere on that Slate application view, there will be numerical scores.[/quote]

I just spent 30 min down the reddit rabbit hole and read that former AO's (Aggravating_Humor) year old post on "Essays and how they're read at top schools" and the original link above:

Some good intel there:
- the tone/feel/sophistication of the personal essay should MATCH the rest of the application (sometimes when people get help with the personal essay but not all the supplements, or even the activities, the mismatch in quality shows, and if you are not FGLI or under-resourced, it will be held against you).
Sometimes, strong, cohesive candidates are fully supported by the regional AO and initial readers with clearly strong ratings and later rejected by the senior AO or director or dean because they've already filled all of the slots for that profile in the class (this often happens in RD for oversubscribed majors), assuming the applicant fills no other buckets (institutional priorities).
- Cohesive applications are very important, especially if coming from a well-resourced (educated and income) family and high school
- Shotgunning can work if the apps are well planned out and tailored
- If you are in a pool of applicants from the same school, your LOR is compared to the others that teacher wrote that year (what was student's personality in class, how a student is intellectually) a
- A Why US essay is always trying to determine "fit"
 - if they haven't taken students from a school in a "long time" or ever, they will at MOST accept maybe 1 student that year. Never more.[/quote]

They all sound reasonable and make sense. But none of this is true for colleges outside of T15.

AO's are spending 4 minutes to scan an application at colleges outside of T15. They are not looking for tone in main essay to match with supplemental essay and activities while at the same time also keeping in mind, the school profile, the student background, other students from that school, etc. They are also reading recommendation letters and spending time on the transcript. Not happening. Just humanly not possible.

As long as the application is not disjointed, it is ok.

Counselors like to make the admissions process seem complicated with lots of gotchas, to market their services. [/quote]

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