A friend of mine went to an Engineering Expo in Westchester County, NY where colleges exhibited, had booths, and hosted panels on admissions. She shared with me that they said to NOT write the essay about rollercoasters, love or interest in building them.
Well, son wrote about literally building one in our yard. He wrote about using the power tools, budget constraints, design challenges and how he overcame them. He didn’t just use a computer simulator. He built one with his bare hands with no help from anyone. Yes, it’s very small, and not too very exciting, but it qualifies as a coaster.
Not that I doubt my friend, but maybe she misunderstood what they meant. Is she right?
He got into about half of where he applied to, has been waitlisted for the more competitive schools and rejected from a small percentage of them.
Among his acceptances, he did get into Stevens with stats not in line with what they are looking for. Lower grades and lower SAT, but he still got in. We live an hour away. Not sure if it was the essay that rounded out his application, or if they are hedging their bets on him considering a commute since we’re close and that is why he got in.
Any insight would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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Celebrate the acceptances. There is zero value in trying to ascertain the reason for an admissions decision, whether acceptance, rejection, or waitlist. You will never know.
In terms of the essay, in general, it’s rarely the topic that is good or bad. Many topics, including building XYZ in the backyard, are not unique. But the successful essays are the ones that tell the reader about the writer, regardless of topic. The unsuccessful essays are the ones that tell the reader nothing about the writer and (likely) show no originality in an often used topic.
Regardless, getting back to the first part - congratulations and spend the time selecting which offer to accept
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1000%agree. Celebrate the acceptances. It’s also not what you write about but how you write it that counts. Congratulations to your child.
I have understood that the roller coaster essay is one to avoid because it is so common. There is always an exception to every rule, so your son’s specific experience and essay may well be that exception.
It sounds like he had a wonderful, balanced college list and has had great success in a super-competitive environment. Essays are only one small part of an overall package. In some situations, they may matter very little and in other situations they make the razor thin difference. Given his success, it sounds like it served him perfectly well. Don’t overthink it now!
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