Reply to What's worse -- no "optional" essay or a bad "optional" essay?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kid didn’t do any optional essays or “why X” essays for college or grad school. Accepted to 2 pretty significant reach schools for undergrad (and 6 of 7 colleges applied to) and also got into a few top 10 grad programs with same “no extra BS” approach.  To be honest, more surprised about the undergrad outcome than the grad outcome which included even more prestigious schools.   [/quote]

How many years ago was this, if they're already into grad school? At some point, if your kid's experience was pre-COVID, it's about as relevant as my experiences in the 1990s.[/quote]

+1 I can’t think of any prestigious college that doesn’t have a supplemental essay. Flippin Georgetown doesnt even take the common app, they have their own application altogether. I can only think of Northeastern in the top 50ish that doesn’t require an essay? And it’s obvious that they’ve chosen that route to game their rankings. [/quote]

How does not requiring an additional essay "game their rankings"?[/quote]

Anything that an admissions committee does to reduce the barrier to applying, potentially "games their rankings" because more kids apply and the admission rate drops by that alone. Eliminating application fees, going test optional, joining common app, reducing requirements (such as essays) have all increased many schools applicant pool -- lots of data proves this.  It is a cynical interpretation for sure, but I think that is what previous poster means.[/quote]

I know that's what the PP meant.

It also means they are wrong, as are you.

Admission rate is not used in USN calculations.  So simply getting more applicants has no effect on ranking.  None.

What it does is get applicants who not might otherwise apply, particularly higher-stats students looking for another match/safety.  it has nothing to do with rankings.[/quote]

I didn’t mean rankings so literally - I believe there is a hot college phenomenon:  if acceptances rates go down all the sudden a school some would have considered mediocre gets a second look.  Also, if it gets higher stats kids to apply or a wider range of kids or whatever - that can eventually move schools up actual rankings (while also adding to the hot college phenomenon too: suddenly it makes a school seem much more palatable and exciting if you get in).
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