@PentaDad Oh yea I see loads of people write that they have incredible essays and I just think “well if in your essay you came off how you’re coming across now…”
Yea, them reading essays only once is what makes me think that it’s less about the content in it as much as it is about the feel it gives off. Because they won’t remember every little tiny fact you wrote, but if you have a consistent style of voice throughout, they’ll remember that.
I’m actually from the UK! And a lot of countries in Europe admit solely by test scores. In the UK you technically have a “personal statement” but honestly as long as your grades meet the requirements you will most likely be given an offer (though this isn’t the same for more competitive things like medicine). I sent my UK application in at 3pm on a Tuesday and received two offers Wednesday morning! So it’s hard to imagine they did little more than glance at my grades and give me the green light.
If the growing issue is there are more and more students with top scores then (might get hated for this 
) they might need to change the testing system. Maybe not necessarily harder, but change the way they’re graded. In the UK our A levels aren’t necessarily graded on which % of the questions you got correct. The grade boundaries change depending on how everyone did on the test as a whole. For example, you may only get 85% on your exam, but you were in the top 90% of the country so you get 90%.
I dunno though, I’m just a student, I’m not an expert on these things.
I feel like I’ve typed too much now.