<p>To be quite honest, my dislike for writing essays dictated my college list. I know that Brown fits my criteria perfectly ( I like it a lot , too). However, when I saw that loathsome supplement, I immediately took it off my list. I considered Stanford for a while, but I also omitted it from my list. I thought of adding UNC CH, but its supplement simply wasn’t friendly to international students. One of the questions was who is the most overrated superhero. That question is, to be quite blunt, extremely American ( I don’t mean this in a bad way). I don’t even know more than 2 superheroes. I dumped MIT because it wasn’t on the commonapp list, and UChicago because its supplement was too wacky for its own good (there’s a thin line between uniqueness and silliness). </p>
<p>Never in my life would have I considered Dartmouth if it weren’t for its beautiful supplement. No additional essays? Sign me up! I also added Harvard because I could just slap on my Huntsman essay in the topic-free-essay section. I added a few safety schools that didn’t require any essays. </p>
<p>Yes, I’m a lazy bum. Finally, I don’t regret my decisions.</p>
<p>My d dropped a school (Georgetown) that wasn’t on the Commonapp because it required yet another teacher form and recommend, and she felt like she had pestered her teachers enough for recs.</p>
<p>My son nearly dropped several universities for the yet-one-more short, medium, or long-answer required, but I helped talk him off the wall and just slog through. He did nearly drop Georgetown because it is NOT a Common App institution and it required MORE effort on the part of his teachers and counselors since they could not avail themselves of technology.</p>
<p>Funny about Brown. My son thought that although lengthy, the Brown application was the “smartest” one of all, asking the most insightful questions. He has an interview w/Brown in a few days and I am keeping my fingers crossed!</p>
<p>By far my favorite application to fill out was Yale. They had the right idea, short 25 word questions which allow you to be quirky without having to “analyze who you really are”</p>
<p>Seriously, I am 17 and as shallow as any teenager, I don’t want to analyze “If I was a ride at an amusement park, which ride would I be and what does that say about my outlook on life?”</p>
<p>I think it’s hilarious how many people dropped Wake because of the supplemental essays (they were truly ridiculous). I wasn’t super-interested in Wake and ALMOST dropped it, but forced myself to crank out three of the responses in one day (December 31st). I procrastinated hardcore, that app was terrible. Glad I’m not the only one who thought so.</p>
<p>I have not seen Wake’s application, but from the comments here I wonder if their admissions department feels they need additional essay input to make their selections since they became a test optional school.</p>
<p>I’m a parent, so my experience is extremely dated. I applied before there was a common ap and when you had to bang your application out on a manual typewriter. I did not consciously avoid applying to any school because of the required essays, but I do remember looking more seriously at and eventually applying to Georgia Tech as my safety because of the simplicity of their application (no essay at all) at the time.</p>
<p>I dropped Rice because they had 3 different essays that seemed too similar to each other: why Rice, why your department/major, and how you can contribute to Rice.
I hated the UNC short answers (favorite superhero…)
I thought for two weeks and couldn’t come up with a specific piece of advice that influenced me, so I didn’t apply to Grinnell. Now I regret not just making something up.
However, I first became interested in UChicago because of their creative prompts.</p>
<p>I dropped Rice because they had 3 different essays that seemed too similar to each other: why Rice, why your department/major, and how you can contribute to Rice.
I hated the UNC short answers (favorite superhero…)
I thought for two weeks and couldn’t come up with a specific piece of advice that influenced me, so I didn’t apply to Grinnell. Now I regret not just making something up.
On the other hand, I first became interested in UChicago because of their creative prompts.</p>
<p>Pitzer required SAT optional applicants to submit an analytical writing sample from a humanities or social science course, AND one mathematics examination, preferably a final or end-of-semester exam in the most advanced mathematics course possible (at least at the algebra II level). The samples must include the teacher’s comments, grades and the assignment.</p>
<p>The problem was the math final requirement. My schools math final is multiple choice and they wouldn’t accept it. She told most students math finals are free response. We do have math performance finals, but the teachers are not allowed to give it back. She then said I could just submit a couple of tests, but I threw away all my tests from last year. And I didn’t even get A’s on a math test that current semester until later in the semester. So, it was just way too much work so I just didn’t apply to Pitzer. I also had a phone interview with an admission rep who forgot my appointment. I honestly didn’t get a good vibe either, so oh well. It was the only school on the west coast and it just made me more certain that the midwest/northeast was more for me. I live in Georgia now.</p>
<p>After working so hard and so long to finish my Common App, UMBC supplement, and Maryland(College Park) essays I hated personal statements and essays so much that I almost didn’t get my supplement essay for St. Mary’s Honors College done in time. I still haven’t submitted my app for Temple because of the essay alone.</p>
<p>I had wanted my son to apply to Lehigh but we had not visited. The application has probably 5 questions asking what Lehigh events, meetings, visits etc you had done and the prompt was something like after looking at other programs what made you decide to apply to Lehigh. </p>
<p>I refused to push him to apply to a school that needed so much “tell us why you love us” constantly and I had read here on cc that if you didn’t visit to “show interest” you were not likely to get in.</p>
<p>I feel like if a student is deterred enough by the essays to drop that college as an option, it means they were probably just lukewarm about that college to begin with and it was probably a good move, because applying to a school they didn’t really want to attend would be a waste of time and money.
I dropped BU because, after putting it off till the last minute, I just didn’t feel obligated enough to finish doing the essays and apply. I couldn’t come up with a real, valid reason for wanting to be there beyond what I’d built it up to be in my head, and took that to mean that if I couldn’t figure out why I wanted to be there, I didn’t want to be there. I feel no regret, though for most of my college search, BU was my top choice.</p>
<p>I wanted to drop UGA; it wasn’t my top choice, and their short answer prompts were just strange. How much can a college really tell about you from your music collection, after all? But my parents were insistent that I apply there, even though it was never even on my personal list. I finished the application the day it was due, and it was far from my best work.</p>
<p>I have to say, I love that prompt. I and three friends almost applied to Emory because of how much we liked that question (we all independently decided it wasn’t for us, for other reasons), and another friend, who did apply, also loved that prompt.</p>
<p>Edit: apparently quoting isn’t functioning correctly. This was supposed to be in response to this statement:
" Seriously, I am 17 and as shallow as any teenager, I don’t want to analyze “If I was a ride at an amusement park, which ride would I be and what does that say about my outlook on life?” "</p>
<p>Every single honors college (within colleges) that required extra essays. Not that I had much intent to be in them in the first place, except maybe at my safeties.</p>
<p>Besides that, Tufts. It was a high reach in the first place, so I knew that unless I really nailed all of my essays (including the optional one), I would’ve never had a shot. I hadn’t visited and really didn’t know enough about the school to write about it. </p>
<p>I liked how USC did it- 10 weird questions (favorite food, favorite role model, etc), and then a short (3500 char) supplement about usc. That was one reach I applied to because it was easy and painless.</p>
<p>Williams and UChicago. They were both a little quirky in a way that would have been fun if I didn’t have so much school work. As it was, they just annoyed me.</p>
<p>I think the quirky/uncommon essays are much better for supplements. If you really want to go to the school, then you’ll complete the supplement. Some of these top universities don’t want to waste their time with people just applying for the prestige. They want people who really want to go there and will fit in.</p>
<p>Essays on academics and extracurriculars are pointless. They see these things on your transcript, on your resume, and in the required section of the common app where it asks you to “write about an extracurricular activity”. </p>
<p>Frankly, there are too many well-rounded, excellent students applying to the best universities to distinguish a select few without asking stranger, creative questions. It’s there that you begin to see a student’s personality and that’s what gets you in.</p>
<p>I agree. My D applied to Duke, UNC, UVA, USC and Centre. She also completed applications for National Merit Finalist, Morehead-Cain, Robertson and Jefferson. By far the USC Honors college was the most complex! Duke and Centre were by far the easiest!</p>
<p>Yeah, popcharlie93, in retrospect I agree. Neither school was ever my top choice; they were sort of meant to be possible options if my SCEA (and favorite) didn’t work out. If I had been seriously interested in either school I think I would have been happy or at least willing to work on the supplements. So I guess the essays made me realize how ill-suited I am for Williams and UChicago and not waist time/money applying or possibly take up a spot. :)</p>