From today’s issue of the Crimson:
I dislike that headline. It helps promote the myth that a student can be accepted to Harvard (and other highly rejective colleges), based on their essay alone.
Are there some cases in which an applicant is selected over equally qualified applicants because of their essay? I’m certain there are. However, I find it difficult to believe that there more than a few individuals whose essay got them accepted despite being otherwise on the lower end of the qualifications that Harvard is using that admissions season. Moreover, any high school students who can write such an essay would almost certainly have a slew of literary achievements, and all that the essay would do would be to verify that those achievements are the student’s.
That being said, the article itself is worth a read.
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I hope people read this essay, or the title may give the wrong idea of the content. For me, the gist: The trauma and resilience narratives are well-worn at this point, and rather than exposing authentic vulnerabilities, instead increase pressure for a “pull yourself up from the bootstraps” mentality. These students wanted to rewrite, not for better quality in terms of admissions, but in order to be more honestly themselves and resist the pressure to be inspirational (and what they feel to be false) examples of overcoming challenges.
I thought it was a great article. Hoping some of the essay prompts might change.
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