<p>I am a class of 2011 er, and i want to share some genuine information with all of you. well yes, this is my first post, but i am a frequent CCer, and created this id for anonymity reasons</p>
<p>I was speaking to an adcom the other day.I asked her a question about the emergence of instituitions such as IvySuccess, or such, where they counsel you and help you to get into premier elite colleges. Primarily they help you with essays. </p>
<p>She told me, that yes while the existence of such instuitions do disturb the admission offices of top schools, that admission officers, are able to weed out such applicants as sometimes is it is pretty obvious form the lack of consistency in the applications. for example, your english grade could be a C and your essay could be pulitzer worthy. in such cases its easy. but most of the times it becomes difficult- for ex when the applicant is academically good, and you find a wonderful essay. </p>
<p>So what is the solution which is full proof where you can distinguish between a genuine and " helped" applicant? there is no full proof method.
therefore, she told me that colleges are not going to weigh the essay section as much as they used to anymore. expect a steady decline in their importance. for sure. A great essay sure would help, but is not going to get you in.</p>
<p>An amazing essay will still get you in. I know a kid who's going to Brown now who's admissions officer called our college counselor to say that he had written one of the most amazing things she's ever seen.</p>
<p>And most of the kids who want to use IvySuccess aren't that interesting to begin with. That's why they need it.</p>
<p>Brown admissions, from what I've heard, tell you what got you in after you get in. My friend got a call saying her "humility" did the trick. I'm not sure where you see humility on an application other than an essay and an interview.</p>
<p>1) she was not just any adcom. she was the director of admissions</p>
<p>2)the university that she represented was not a univ which chose a lot based on scores etcc. the univ was a top class one, top notch (maybe even ivy i am not saying anything) , where the distinction is often made on how good your essay is , because all applicants are similar in everything else.</p>
<p>I disagree. When there are so many similar applicants that have 2200s SATs/700 + SAT 2s with a top5% rank, the best way to distinguish applicants are unique EC's and a solid essay</p>
<p>The OP's position makes sense. I am therefore inclined to take it at face value. A lousy essay could certainly disqualify you but it is hard to imagine a sensible adcom putting enormous value on an essay that seems unusually good given the students other data.</p>
<p>while i appreciate comments such as i agree /disagree i would like to impress upon all of you that it is WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. its truth fact statement. wether you like it or not.</p>
<p>My GC told me the same thing, that most schools that see these packaged essays, with a ribbon on them, clearly not from the SAT essay written on SAT day, or the ACT with writing section, the red flag does go up.</p>
<p>Why are people debating this? It's not like whether if you win or loose this arguement, it's going to have any effect on what actually happens. Essays are a factor; how much of a factor really depends on the school, the applicant, the adcom, et hoc genus omne. Leave it at that.</p>
<p>How about this point? It can be agreed that schools need to discount someone who has used an essay-boosting service. BUT, what about the middle class, rural or inner-city kid who, 98% likelihood, DIDN't use one? If he/she has an amazing essay, it will stand out all the more, won't it? The colleges know the relative backgrounds of most applicants, certainly their high schools.</p>
<p>This may actually boost the less-well connected kids with outstanding essays, I would think.</p>
<p>Well, I'm not going to argue for or against the OP's position; I don't have any evidence to prove or disprove it. What I will say is that it is true that admissions offices are becoming increasing aware of and troubled by the use of expensive admissions counseling that only the well off can afford. It is indeed a rather unfair practice in my opinion. </p>
<p>With that said, with current top-tier school admissions processes, the essay is still one of the two methods in which personality can be inferred from and thus will still be of some importance. Whether it be become less important and if so, what will replace it, I don't know.</p>
<p>I'm fine with that statement if you shove in a "PROBABLY" between "IS" and "GOING." You heard this from ONE adcom. Unless you're talking indefinite future (in which case yes, at some point between now and eternity essay worth will decrease) then you have no proof. WAY too much speculation in my opinion. Stop trying to make it sound so... set in stone. It ain't over 'til it's over. Can't be sure of anything.</p>
<p>Otherwise... you heard it from ONE adcom. I mean, c'mon. Some schools are still going to value the essay highly. How else will the discriminate? Will they just take all the students who are qualified in terms of ECs, SATs, GPA, etc. and throw them into a bag and draw randomly? The essay will still be used to gauge personality and distinguish between two otherwise very similar applicants.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"She told me, that yes while the existence of such instuitions do disturb the admission offices of top schools, that admission officers, are able to weed out such applicants as sometimes is it is pretty obvious form the lack of consistency in the applications. for example, your english grade could be a C and your essay could be pulitzer worthy. in such cases its easy. but most of the times it becomes difficult- for ex when the applicant is academically good, and you find a wonderful essay."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>mm. about the inconsistency part--i disagree as well. a student may have failed the final exam in that english class, but may still be a wonderful writer and have a story to tell in their essay that makes them a great candidate for college X.</p>
<p>i feel that essays are still as important, if not more important. for many students whose grades and test scores are set in stone (and thus unchangeable), essays allow them to speak out for themselves. essays allow them to communicate some of the most important things about themselves that grades and SAT scores just can't do.</p>
<p>There is something flawed about the essay system as it currently stands. Prospective students pour out thousands upon thousands for SAT prep; in the same vein, buying essays is not a rare phenomenon. There is virtually no way to tell if the applicant paid 500 dollars for this amazing essay, or whether he wrote it himself. This is assuming that the grades and SAT writing scores were decent, but not necessarily stellar. </p>
<p>I don't see any way to amend this problem. As admissions become more and more competitive, this will become more and more prevalent. What can they do?</p>
<p>"unique EC's Ivysucess cannot help you with, but essays they certainly can."</p>
<p>That statement is of course not completely true. Many young applicants are being 'prepped' by these counselors on what activities to join, what hobbies to pursue etc. The package is whole; it's not just essay help, but EVERYTHING. Simply ignoring the essay (or decreasing its importance) doesn't completely help admissions people figure out whether you were helped by some admissions service or not. Remember Kaavya Viswanathan?</p>