<p>I’ve read plenty of essays in the past for students at CC who asked for help – and I think that with the good essays, the voice of the students really shines through. I have to say that when end results were reported to me, I was not at all surprised – and that includes quite a few students who were admitted to Ivies or other elites. These essays tend to be quirky & different in some way. I’m not saying a student with a more mundane essay can’t get in – I’ve seen plenty of kids get accepted to top colleges with unremarkable essays as well. </p>
<p>But what people don’t seem to understand is that for the elite colleges, ALL (or substantially all) the applicants are strong. It’s not a matter of the college needing to use “more objective” criteria – by the time they get to the essay, the ad com has already looked at the objective stuff. If you wanted a system that was truly “objective” then a college like Harvard would screen out about 1/3 of its applications, and take the remaining 2/3 and put them in a bin and select at random from there – because every one they have in that pile is fully qualified to attend and do well. (And if the process was truly random, they’d probably end up with just as “interesting” class – but they prefer not to do it that way.)</p>
<p>The question for the applicant: once they are in the running, how can they make themselves stand out from a field of equally well qualified students. The essay is an opportunity to stand out, and that opportunity is squandered if the student submits an essay that does not let his/her voice come through or fails to make an impression. If that kid also happens to be a recruited athlete, or the daughter of a wealthy donor, or the ability to play the bassoon – then it might not matter, there are other reasons for the ad com to pick that application.</p>
<p>But the point is that the essay can help, and (as I noted in the post above), it is definitely wasted if the student is trying too hard to impress, simply because whatever impressive stuff exists should be reflected in other materials that have been submitted. It’s easer for the ad com to read a list of awards in the appropriate section of the application form, anyway – they don’t need to hear how the student won those awards all over again in the essay.</p>