What’s the REAL purpose of the essay?

That ethical dilemma question was tricky. I don’t think my son picked a good example. I actually read the essay of a kid who applied at the same time mine did, and when I said I thought his example wasn’t much of a dilemma he tweaked his essay in a very clever way, that I suspect came across very well. Luckily it wasn’t actually the best fit for my kid academically even though he felt really at home there.