<p>In defense of essays, we served for many years on a scholarship committee that had to weed through hundreds of pages of apps to decide where that money and prestige went. You'd be amazed at how the top scores and top grades and glowing recs just blended together until everyone looked so similar. The essays gave us the most help of anything, though. The essay let us really meet, even for a few minutes, the students and get to know them. For me, I would <em>never</em> get rid of or try to standardize the essays. I do know that some kids got a lot of help, but here's the difference... the best essays, the wow, got to give it to this kid essays, were clearly their own work, their own voice and consistent with their records and resume and interests.</p>
<p>Recommendations are important and detailed, great recs can push an app over the top, but we have to take into account that sometimes the poverty of the recommendation reflects more on the writer than the student. I remember one recommendation which said all the right things - great, reliable, gifted kid - but the recommender wrote it in pencil on a piece of torn out legal pad with his grocery list on the back. How were we to take that??? It was sent directly by the recommender, the student never saw it. Was it a commentary on the student, or rather, proof that the recommender was clueless. We took it that way, but I don't know about the rest of the committee. What was most helpful in recs is when we'd seen recs written by the same recommender for different students over years - then you know what it means. </p>
<p>Enough commentary, time for bed :-)</p>