Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

So agree with this. One popular college counselor strongly advocates NOT writing about any extra curriculars or activities, food, exotic travel, COVID. My 17 year old has mostly studied and done ECs for the past few years (and count in the pandemic). What else can he write about? Esp. as part of immigrant family with no 'grandparent' story.

Anonymous wrote:I like how other countries do essays.

Like SAT, students have to write an essay on the spot in a given time.
They give you the topic at the testing place.

This will give you real ideas about kids' thought processes and writing skills.

US system is totally F'ed up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD's writing about how she unexpectedly found herself watching the Taylor Swift ERAs concert from the VIP tent.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Like a lead balloon, one would assume.

don't blame me

Anonymous wrote:

Ignore the essays at your peril unless you're absolutely sure to get in based on other criteria and you're not looking for merit aid.

I know my son was picked for a very selective program based on his essay. The instructions for that program actually said the essay of 1500 words was a very important consideration. If the college or uni tells you this, believe them. This was for the William & Mary International Relations joint degree programme with St Andrews. Only a handful of candidates are taken into this programme option every year.

I am also convinced that his other essays helped him get merit aid at other schools who might merely have given him an acceptance otherwise. One school specifically mentioned a point he'd made in his essay in the offer letter, so I know they not only read his essay, but that they appreciated it. They both gave him merit aid for all 4 years of undergrad (one tacked on an extra year, just in case).

Don't forget that you can tweak the personal statement even on the Common App. You copy and paste a version customized to one school, hit submit, then copy and paste another version customized to another school, and hit submit, etc. The Common App doesn't let you send off the same application to multiple colleges all at once (since they all ask for little extras that are different from each other)... so you might as well take advantage of that opportunity, if you believe you might need to stave off yield protection, or it's for a school that wants demonstrated interest, or you just want to express your deep motivation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

So agree with this. One popular college counselor strongly advocates NOT writing about any extra curriculars or activities, food, exotic travel, COVID. My 17 year old has mostly studied and done ECs for the past few years (and count in the pandemic). What else can he write about? Esp. as part of immigrant family with no 'grandparent' story.

Well ... he can write about the immigrant story!

Refuses to. Thinks it is cringe to write about 'brown people go back to your country' while growing up in a diverse big city and living a pretty affluent life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD's writing about how she unexpectedly found herself watching the Taylor Swift ERAs concert from the VIP tent.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Like a lead balloon, one would assume.

Anonymous wrote:DD's writing about how she unexpectedly found herself watching the Taylor Swift ERAs concert from the VIP tent.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1.

My spouse was at one point reviewing the application essays for a big state school.
Their flowchart was roughly this:
1. Did they write anything? If no, 0.
2. Check if this person needs a wellness/mental health visit (danger to themselves or others). If so, flag it.
3. Do they say in the essay that they're a URM that overcame obstacles? If so, 3 points.
4. Else, give 2 points and move on.

So perhaps people are overthinking the importance of essays?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

So agree with this. One popular college counselor strongly advocates NOT writing about any extra curriculars or activities, food, exotic travel, COVID. My 17 year old has mostly studied and done ECs for the past few years (and count in the pandemic). What else can he write about? Esp. as part of immigrant family with no 'grandparent' story.

Well ... he can write about the immigrant story!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

So agree with this. One popular college counselor strongly advocates NOT writing about any extra curriculars or activities, food, exotic travel, COVID. My 17 year old has mostly studied and done ECs for the past few years (and count in the pandemic). What else can he write about? Esp. as part of immigrant family with no 'grandparent' story.