Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:18     Subject: Robotic AI essays
My kid is at Princeton and they shared college essays their first few months of schools. It started when seniors back in HS asked my kid about his essay and he asked his roommates, etc.

Long story short - they were all pretty meh. Sizzling rice w grandma. Commutes from poor neighborhood to rich one.. The books on my bookcase spanning diary of a wimpy kid to Cervantes. Tutoring this immigrant taught me about linguistics

This stuff doesn't matter as much as people think
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:16     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Wow those seem cringe. Is that what top colleges really want to see - some sort of metaphor for life, deep thinking type of creative writing exercise? My kid just wrote about their hobbies and interests and how they’re going to contribute to the campus community…but doing the standard reach/target/safety thing.


Yes, a lot of them are extended metaphors.
Didn't you see the Romanian cooking essay posted here?
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:15     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Wow those seem cringe. Is that what top colleges really want to see - some sort of metaphor for life, deep thinking type of creative writing exercise? My kid just wrote about their hobbies and interests and how they’re going to contribute to the campus community…but doing the standard reach/target/safety thing.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:14     Subject: Robotic AI essays
To be fair the sizzling ingredients / grandma thing has been around for several years - there were a bunch of food essays like that on the "essays that worked" sites. I'm sure that's what AI trained on...
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:14     Subject: Re:Robotic AI essays
Huh. I would have 100% written about my Asian grandma and her cooking!
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:10     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:I’m an IEC.

I’ve read the same variation of 3 essays in more than two dozen apps on the last week and a half (cooking and ingredients as metaphor for how kid approaches life; Asian grandma cooking & sizzling rice imagery; neighborhoods walks revealing one’s values).

Kids do not realize how obviously AI they are and now they all follow the same exact format. It’s awful.

I don’t care how beautiful the writing is… The format of the essay is exactly the same and how the layers are revealed.

If your kid gets rejected or deferred from their early choice, please have them redo their personal essays. These are all red flags.


You are not a counselor.

The first thing about an essay is authenticity. Asian grandma and cooking is not authentic at all. How is it realted to one's passion, interest, and motivation? Didn't they say don't talk about race in essays?
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:08     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Who are these kids? Are they the kids for whom you were hired to work as their counselor? If so, shouldn't you be advising them and telling them what to write about and what to avoid because the topics are cliche?

I don't understand why you would come on dcum on the due date for EA/ED apps and make a blanket statement like this when you could have helped your own students do better.


Fear mongering is what they are doing.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:07     Subject: Robotic AI essays
The problem with AI is that its likely pulling from the same source? So the Asian grandma and sizzling rice probably came from here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOKmfNMiGNI
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:04     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Who are these kids? Are they the kids for whom you were hired to work as their counselor? If so, shouldn't you be advising them and telling them what to write about and what to avoid because the topics are cliche?

I don't understand why you would come on dcum on the due date for EA/ED apps and make a blanket statement like this when you could have helped your own students do better.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:01     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Essays are stupid. So many ridiculous unwritten rules about what to write about and what not to write about. At this point the process of writing and reviewing essays seems to be little more than fancy random number generator, except that a lottery would feel fair while this process seems designed to stress kids out and make them feel bad.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 11:00     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the heads up. What’s an IEC?


I think = independent education consultant or college counselor
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 10:57     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Some will get in despite bad essays because their academics are strong.


Not at the top schools.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 10:56     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Some will get in despite bad essays because their academics are strong.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 10:55     Subject: Robotic AI essays
Thanks for the heads up. What’s an IEC?
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2025 10:53     Subject: Robotic AI essays
I’m an IEC.

I’ve read the same variation of 3 essays in more than two dozen apps on the last week and a half (cooking and ingredients as metaphor for how kid approaches life; Asian grandma cooking & sizzling rice imagery; neighborhoods walks revealing one’s values).

Kids do not realize how obviously AI they are and now they all follow the same exact format. It’s awful.

I don’t care how beautiful the writing is… The format of the essay is exactly the same and how the layers are revealed.

If your kid gets rejected or deferred from their early choice, please have them redo their personal essays. These are all red flags.