Wait, never mind. It is referring to the fact that 6/7 essays typically did not add anything to the application
I think all that the article meant was that the essays only make a big difference for 1 out of 7 people (most likely people they are on the fence about)
that seems reasonable
The essay topic was so terrible that it does not really surprise me.
That’s what I took from it too… but while it seems to suggest there may be some benchmarks, perhaps EC’s play a larger role in looking for fit at Penn than just hitting a score, GPA or a creative out of the box essay… just a thought
For my common app I choose to talk about how I have family all over the world and what interacting with them has taught me. It was kinda cool and I tied it back to one extracurricular a little but it was kinda a totally different side than my app. idk, i how that makes it a little different than everyone elses
I believe that the Penn essay is much much more important than the Common App essay, and I believe that is the one that they are referring to in the article. I think what they are getting at is that a lot of students that get in are the ones for which their essay significantly adds to their application. The question was terribly worded though, so it does not surprise me that the number of well-written essays is so small
I believe (and also hope for my sake) that the thing about “high-interest applicants” getting interviews first as mentioned by @toffys is false. Athletic recruits probably do get priority for interviews, as well as dual-degree applicants, but otherwise i believe it is a toss-up. As of yet, I have seen anybody IN the NYC Metro Area mentioning that they got an interview nor has anybody in my school mentioned it. So if that were true, then that would mean that nobody in NYC is high interest for Penn…
I have an interview at London this Friday. The theory of high-interest applicants is probably nonsense. Not even Penn can have the necessary sorting power to sieve through applicants who are deemed “high interest”.
On a side note, I think what most of us must realise is that Penn is simply oversubscribed. When admissions become a lottery (among equally qualified candidates), someone has to lose. What’cya say?
The article is in opposition to the idea of “holistic” admission. Because if essays don’t matter, they have to rely heavily on GPA and Standardized testing, which means they are looking for bookworms with no creative ideas or thought process. So, bottom-line question: What is “holistic”?
Personally, I think these schools are so great because they don’t follow or preach the standard ways of thinking - rather they break your understanding and build new foundations by what I call as non linear thinking - this brings creativity and innovation.
If Penn doesn’t care much (highly doubted) about essays, wonder if they take recommendations seriously? What else adds to a holistic view of “successful” applicant?
@TheWaffleMan149 I actually disagree. I believe that the Common App essay is much more important and can show a lot more about you than the Penn essay. They have the opportunity to delve into your personality with the common app essay, whereas the Penn one, while important that you can answer fully, is more generic. I do think both are important, though.
To clarify for everyone, what the article is saying is that for 1 out of 7 applicants, the essay (and I believe that when they say that they are either referring to just the Common App essay or both of them) is the deciding factor in the decision.
@runswimyoga I certainly hope ec’s do not play a more important role than the essays. The fact of the matter that people can easily lie and even more easily embellish on their ec’s, which is immoral, but it’s reality. I know that for most things, a college can easily check whether an applicant is lying, but does anyone actually think they take the time to do that? My hope is that Penn and other colleges look at ec’s and simply check that an applicant has a passion and does something other than homework and sleep outside of school.
An essay, on the other hand, is secure. No one has the balls to go out and deliberately plagiarize.
@ShaunakK98 If you are having sleepless nights over waiting for your Penn decision, you are wasting your time. Worrying about it does not change anything.
@ComputerAge Completely agree with you 100%. I live in a Boston suburb. 9 people from my school are applying to Penn ED. 2 have received interviews, and both are dual-degree applicants (one is LSM. Another is M&T.) I applied weeks before either of them, and I still have not been offered one. There is a good reason that is happening. I’m applying to CAS by the way.
@shivaya It is not in opposition to holistic admissions. 1 in 7 is still technically holistic. That just means it may not be considered as much as we would like it to be. And those numbers don’t say whether or not the essay may have been positive or negative overall, just that 1 in 7 directly affect the decision.
@VaishS For my Common App essay, I chose to talk about how I had nightmares about death (necrophobia) after my grandfather passed away back in 8th grade inspired my passion for philosophy, which in turn sparked my interest in Mock Trial/law (political and legal philosophy and ethics), FBLA (business ethics and philosophy of economics), and a philosophical inquiry club (contemporary moral and political issues affecting modern society) I helped start junior year.
For my Penn essay, I talked about my fit specifically within Penn’s interdisciplinary style of academics and in particular my intended major (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) (I have ec’s related to each of these subfields so hopefully that helps), as well as my interest in ancient history and archaeology and how I intend to pursue work study/volunteer/research opportunities at the Penn museum as well as participate in study abroad in Rome working on field projects and archaeological digs. I also talked about the fact that Penn allows you to take classes at the graduate level for Law at the Law school, which appeals to me as an aspiring, you guessed it, lawyer. I also talked about Penn’s Mock Trial Team, their philosophical societies, and their undergraduate philosophical journal, as well as potential outreach to Philadelphia high schools teaching philosophy.
The most important thing with the Penn essay is to convey why you are a good fit. If you did that, then it should be good.
My hope is that essays count for a good amount, and that perhaps good essays can make up for average/decent (but not fantastic) ec’s (captain of Mock Trial, Vice president of FBLA, founding member of philosophy club, Jazz piano for 9 years, philosophy and history college-level courses, and a bit of volunteering) and average test scores (1500/2220 SAT superscore). I think my essays are the strongest part of my application, but I would be surprised to see them count for that much, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
@jarrett211 I believe that the 1/7 stems not from the Common App essay, but from the Penn essay. The question is worded in a way that there are questions there they want you to answer that are not explicitly stated in the prompt. I believe that a large portion of applicants miss these questions, and that is why the number is so low. I may be completely wrong in this though
@TheWaffleMan149 Well, maybe. If it were the Penn essay, then it may explain the 1 in 7 (I consider that low as well). I still think the common app essay is valued more.
Folks:
ED acceptance rate about 23%. 1 out 7 is 14%. This means essays make or break for about 14% of the accepted applicants. If that’s true, essays are very VERY important.
I also truly hope that essays do count a LOT in the decision making!
No, we know that the essays MAKE it for at least 14%. That is not counting the ones that were rejected or deferred as a result of their essays not being able to contribute sufficiently to their application
@shivaya But then why say it still isn’t holistic?
Deleted.
@jarrett211 - I stand corrected. 14% is a lot. In combination of all criteria like GPA, Scores, Recommendations, Common app essay, ECs, and ESSAYs, essays do look like to major contributor.
Each of the criteria is about a 16% contributor to selecting 23% of ED applicants.
If 14% of the decisive makers come from Essays, that seems like a huge maker or breaker :-*
In some colleges like University of Chicago, Harvard, Stanford - the essay questions are phenomenal - I just love those non-linear thinking ideas and concepts.
But @shivaya how do you know that some parts aren’t weighted more than others? I would think that after GPA and scores, it would look like Penn essay >(slightly) Common App essay > EC’s > Recs
I think, first of all, that your GPA and scores matter only logarithmically. Secondly, this is all speculation and hearsay, and you’re all making me so nervous that I actually ceased the lurking I’ve been doing for the past week to post this. So, hi, everyone!
Hi @MrPres !