Reply to Why Do So Many Strong Liberal Arts Colleges Not Have Supplemental Essays?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]they have a common app essay, grades, test scores, 3 LORs. getting a recycled 'why us' essay shouldn't move the needle.

But this is not unique to LACs. There are a few that don't require them, that's true. It's also true that CWRU doesn't have them. Nor Northeastern. Nor UConn or UVM. Not Tulane. Not Clemson, Alabama, LSU. Not Indiana, Iowa or Minnesota. Not Bing. Not Ohio State. [/quote]

I don't know about most of the others but UVM does have supplementals.

As for Northeastern, they set the example! Eliminate essays as a way to increase apps and decrease admissions rate, making yourself look more selective.

Also, most schools require 1 letter of recommendation. Or zero. Almost none require 2. Few even allow 3.

[b]"Why us" essays absolutely move the needle at SLACs. I have worked in admissions[/b].  [/quote]

then you're being played. kids - and their coaches and GPT - write these why us essays based on what the internet tells them to do. some colleges want you to find a teacher you've never heard of and shout them out (It's been a dream of mine to take Dr Feelgood's class Adventures in Physics since I was a toddler). some colleges want rizz. go online and find out what they want and serve it to them. that's not a great system [/quote]

Oy. I am not unaware of the strategies used to answer the question. I am saying that they move the needle. At large schools , students can choose different paths but at SLACs there are more limited options academically and culture-wise. Supplementals/Why Us essays are a way of ensuring that a student knows what she's getting into or that a student has done her homework. They are a way of neutralizing yield risks.  A clear-cut example is Colorado College which has an unusual block system. You need to show that you understand/accept/desire the block system and the only way to do that is in the supplemental essay.[/quote]

CC has one basic supp. And less than half submit test scores. And ED1 , ED2 etc  They don't require more info than Williams which has an "optional" academic paper. [/quote]

Sure. I am not saying Colorado College does it better, just that they take it very seriously. I consider Williams's "optional academic paper" in the same category - a required supplemental essay. Williams is a much more academic school than CC so the paper is great way to evaluate if the student is a good fit. [/quote]

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