That may very well be what high school kids do when writing essays, but that is not the process for strong writing. No point in using a long or obscure word where a more common word means exactly the same. Rather, a good writer with a strong vocabulary will use the words that best convey specific meaning, tone or emotions.
And I don’t know about the source of the example essay for JHU (from the JHU site? or from some student who got accepted to JHU and thinks that is a good essay) — but in any case, that’s an example of meaningless technobabble rather than effective writing. A better version might be:
“I want to be a good engineer, and I also want to understand the social, political, cultural, and ethical issues that drive scientific developments. A HOST minor will help me reach that goal.”
Certainly, if I was a parent rewriting my kid’s college essays, that would be the end result – not the example quoted in post #100. (And, going back to the article that anchors this thread… “henceforth” may very well be the kind of “I’m trying to impress someone” word that I’d red pencil if a kid asked me to check their essay. )
The function of good writing is to communicate a message to the reader, not to obscure it.
I think many students get admitted to colleges in spite of weak essays rather than because of those essays – but then those poorly-worded essays get circulated as an example of an essay that won admission.