<p>I am not underestimating or anything negative about adcoms or anyone.
Please answer the following with any emotional attachment, prejudice or anything.</p>
<p>Let us say, there is a philosophy or literature prodigy applying to Yale. For colleges like Yale, or other IVYs, that is not something extraordinary. "I am NOT AT ANY COST implying to me". </p>
<p>If the prodigy writes an essay that is so extraordinary that it not just stands out among a bunch of applicants but even stands among great philosophical and literary pieces. That will with high probability be experimental.</p>
<p>Are adcoms qualified enough to be able to analyze the essay philosophically or rhetorically?</p>
<p>In such a case, would not a typical college graduate be unqualified?</p>
<p>One option that adcoms have and sometimes use is to refer specialized essays or performances to qualified faculty members. But the problem khittee describes shouldn’t come up with the main college essay if applicants understand that their goal is to make a persuasive case for admission and that their audience is bright, college-educated generalists (who probably dont publish regularly in specialized academic journals). A key to good writing is knowing your purpose and audience.</p>
<p>Many Admissions Directors have been reading essays for years. Marcia Landesman, in the above video, has read tens of thousands of application essays. The Yale Dean of Admissions, Jeffrey Brenzell, has his Ph.d in Philosophy and continues to teach Philosophy courses at Yale. Harvard’s Dean of Admissions, William Fitzsimmons, has been reading application essays since 1968. Most of the Ivy League Ad Coms are more than qualified to judge any essay submitted.</p>
<p>A college essay is supposed to give admissions officers a small snapshot of who the applicant is. That’s it. If the reader has to break down complicated philosophical or rhetorical arguments to get the message, the essay is not doing its job.</p>
<p>If I am mistaken, do correct me, but… @Opensecret
that is only for arts/research supplements, right? @gibby
There are different tiers, and they will only lay hands on the finalists right?<br>
again do correct me if I am wrong. @wjb
The HYPOTHETICAL PRODIGY could include a certain form of narration like surrealistic or a certain form of monologue while describing oneself, right? That sure can happen more than often on the quest of standing out, right?
His/Her ideals of life could be different and unique too. Are ADCOMS open to such elements?</p>
<p>Do the lower tier adcom members send the essays to more qualified ones, deans for example, if they cant make anything out of the essay? Or do they just throw it into the bin considering it completely obscure?</p>
<p>Again, as well described by wjb, this is not a research paper. Your readers are all “qualified” to critically read a 500 word personal statement. If your writing is so difficult to understand that a college educated reader can’t make anything out of the essay, then you have failed and will justifiably be tossed into the proverbial bin of which you speak. They want to see that you have some writing ability and can tell them something about yourself not conveyed by the test numbers and transcript. It is not the place to try to prove some experimental philosophy theorem.</p>
<p>All the posters are right, IME.<br>
It wouldn’t be just the essay that went to faculty, it would be the whole package- and the prof would review based on whether or not this student was compelling and someone who would fit and thrive in his/her dept- not just the intellectual attributes. Adcoms make final decisions. Whether or not a prof has sufficent pull is a matter of the major- usually counts more in STEM, which all schools are hot on now.</p>
<p>Think of it this way: adcoms are savvy, highly educated, know kids- what they are capable of and where they fail. They want to like you and feel certain you will thrive in and out of the classroom. Sending something more appropriate for an academic journal will not make them like you or trust that you understand the app process and your place at the school.</p>
<p>I sense that the OP has no idea how basically terrible most college application essays are. It doesn’t take genius to stand out in the college essay pile. And if you ARE a genius, but you have nothing to prove that but your college essay, you are in trouble. A supergenius like the ones the OP describes should have grades to match and breathless teacher recommendations; the role of the essay is only to confirm that the recommending teachers weren’t on drugs.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, no system is perfect, but the young adcoms I know (none of them at Yale currently, but same idea) are pretty darn smart and well-educated. I wouldn’t make them the committee to award the Nobel Prize, but I would trust them to recognize an interesting, well-written 500-word essay. If it were highly technical, they would also know to ask for help from someone competent – but anyone who writes a highly technical college application essay to Yale or one of its peers probably deserves to be rejected on that basis alone. (But I’m sure he or she wouldn’t be rejected on that basis alone.)</p>
<p>khittee: Have you shown the essay to your English teachers or guidance counselor? If not, you should – as they, knowing you best, can judge whether your essay is accessible to the average college reader.</p>
<p>No. They throw the application into the deny pile. And leave the arrogance at the door please; many Yale admissions officers are Yale alumni.</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand the purpose of a college essay, OP. I suggest that you buy a good book on college admissions to learn about the process. An excellent choice is Admissions Matters, by Springer, Reider, and Franck.</p>
<p>You don’t send every technical or department-specific essay to faculty. You save profs for the kids you think are super qualified, in toto, but you’re not sure just how appealing the kid will be to the dept. Just a handful.</p>
<p>Remember, each decent app (not the dreamers) gets reviewed by multiple readers, who want to like each app, but are not afraid to comment negatively. Readers are qualified to review, in a number of ways- usually, all pretty darned smart.</p>
<p>My favorite essays are the ones where you can see that the kid “gets it.” He or she shows perspective, energy, maturity, flexibility and more- personal traits shown through the choice of topic and delivery. Personal strengths that will work well at that college.</p>
<p>This sort of hs genius should simply note in Addl Info where this oeuvre has been peer-reviewed (by the big boys)and published and have corresponding LoRs that rave, awards, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with the responses above. I will say that I had a few professors along the way who were really brilliant, but wrote in a very dense style (Roberto Unger comes to mind). I wonder what their college admissions essays were like?</p>