<p>In Phillymag.com, in part citing the Chronicle of Higher Ed</p>
<p>Want</a> to Get Into Ivy League Penn? Your College Essay Might Not Matter at All | The Philly Post</p>
<p>I guess at bigger schools like Penn with >30,000 applications, it would be impossible to read all, just a little surprised that its so few.</p>
<p>That’s a ridiculous, misleading headline for this story. Eric Furda did NOT say that “Penn only bothers to consider 1 of 7 college essays submitted by applicants.” If you read the article, he was saying that the essays only made a real difference in about 14% of the decisions. Which I take to mean that things BESIDES the essays determined the outcomes of the other decisions – things like grades, test scores, athletic ability, other accomplishments, and recommendations. That’s hardly shocking news.</p>
<p>Plus, the article didn’t have Furda going into detail about what he meant. Based on what’s in the article, he could have meant that essays were significant in 14.3% of all decisions. For a school with an acceptance rate of about 11%, that could mean that essays were important to every positive decision. (But I don’t think that’s what he meant.) </p>
<p>Using the same words, he also could have meant that the essays were the definitive factor in admission or rejection 14.3% of the time. That seems more likely what he meant, but that hardly means that the essays aren’t considered in other cases. It means that in the other cases the essays mainly confirm what you would have thought from the transcript, test scores, and recommendations, but in one of seven cases it adds enough new information, positive or negative, to change the tentative decision, positively or negatively. That would make the essays pretty important and pretty valuable.</p>
<p>Yup, I think you are right JHS. The phillymag appears to have concocted an especially inflamatory by-line.</p>
<p>I found a Chronicle of Higher Ed blog where I believe the Furda quote originated. Doesn’t say any more than phillymag quoted, note especially the last line about the value of essays:
[We’d</a> Like to Know a Little Bit About You for Our Files - Head Count - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/wed-like-to-know-a-little-bit-about-you-for-our-files/33783]We’d”>http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/wed-like-to-know-a-little-bit-about-you-for-our-files/33783)</p>
<p>I could not access the main article the blog author wrote (to assess if anything else was said about Penn’s practice):
[Common</a> Application Adopts New Essay Prompts and a Longer Word Count - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Common-Application-Adopts-New/137017/]Common”>http://chronicle.com/article/Common-Application-Adopts-New/137017/)</p>
<p>To offer a counterpoint, I’d like to point out to a video link that was posted here a few weeks ago. It was taped at Lexington High School (MA) and had an extensive table presentations from admissions’ bosses from Boston, including Harvard, MIT, and Tufts, as well as UM at Amherst. While nothing really meaningful was offered --at least to the CC crowd-- Harvard’s Fitz spent much time discussing the PROCESS of evaluating the applications and the necessary readers who are involved. Fwiw, this group also spent much time answering the pointed and valid questions with the usual touring adcom drivel. </p>
<p>As far as the percentage discussed in this thread, I would not be surprised that the primary cut that separates the “maybes” from the “hell no” does NOT require an extensive look at the essays, or at least nothing more than a cursory (and probably bored) perusal.</p>
<p>As far as making a difference, based on the CC sample, I would be floored if 14 percent of the essays submitted are even worth reading. You got to feel for those poor readers!</p>
<p>I should be more careful in throwing general percentages around. Obviously, this must vary from school to school. </p>
<p>For instance, I do not doubt that the readers at Chicago believe that 100 percent of the uber-intellectual essays submitted are worth reading. Of course, there will always be a person who, based on the hand-picked selection of an essay by Nondorf, would think that the percentage is closer to … zero, if that essay was supposed to be a great one in the genre that makes Chicago swoon! Me, in that case! :)</p>
<p>Finally, an honest university. It’s probably that same at all the top universities. If you don’t have the courseload, grades and boards. I doubt if the essay or Ec’s ever get looked at.</p>
<p>Thanks xiggi. Haven’t watched it yet but here’s the CC thread with the video you mentioned, link in the thread.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1455145-what-colleges-really-want-video-panel-discussion-admissions-deans.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1455145-what-colleges-really-want-video-panel-discussion-admissions-deans.html</a></p>
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<p>Another way to look at this is that 86% of essays are essentially ‘good’. Not great, not bad, just ‘good’. (Perhaps the ‘good’ failed to read Harry Bauld’s or Michelle Hernandez books on essays!) OTH, the ‘great’ and ‘bad’ comprise the 14% where the essays come into play into the admissions decision, positively and negatively.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Tufts guy gave a specific example of how the quality and content of the essay allowed the kid with fewer APs to win out over the kid with more APs (similar stats otherwise). It was in response to the issue they were trying to address of kids taking too many APs.
I watched the whole video and the Harvard guy’s description of their process was pretty convoluted (and impressive) - seems like each application gets read by lots of people.</p>
<p>I am reading his original statement and I find the interpretation of his statement very misonstrued.</p>
<p>He is essentially stating that 1 out of 7 may have been admitted based on the essays. Frankly, I find that a bit too high. So someone could churn out some cool reads and get into Penn while the rest of the poor slobs have to work their rear ends off for whatever number of years to get in?</p>
<p>Or maybe it meant that only 1 out of 7 stood out either to get an otherwise likely-reject admitted, or to get an otherwise likely-admit rejected, while the other 6 out of 7 did not substantially change the decision?</p>
<p>It is likely that some of the 6 out of 7 were the obvious rejects due to too-low grades and test scores and the super-hook admits (big donor legacy, recruited athlete), whose essays would not have to be read; the rest could be those whose essays were read but did not change the decision from what it would have been otherwise.</p>
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<p>I would submit that what he is saying is that 1 out of 7 essays either tipped a possible WL (based on the numbers alone) into the admit pile (for an outstanding essay), or dropped someone from admit to reject (for a really bad essay).</p>
<p>And to me, that makes perfect sense. The essay is just 1 of 6/7 items in the college app, which includes: transcript (GPA+rigor), recs (teachers+GC), test scores (SAT/ACT+STs), ECs…</p>
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<p>Exactly. A 4.0/2350+outstanding recs (‘walks on water’) + cool ECs won’t need a phenomenal essay to get admitted. An ‘average’ essay will do.</p>
<p>Wow - CC navel-gazing at its finest. Is there any truly new information anywhere in this thread?</p>
<p>And yet I still chose to contribute…</p>
<p>“I would submit that what he is saying is that 1 out of 7 essays either tipped a possible WL (based on the numbers alone) into the admit pile (for an outstanding essay), or dropped someone from admit to reject (for a really bad essay).”</p>
<p>I was reading it as 1/7 of all positive outcomes but who knows. </p>
<p>“Wow - CC navel-gazing at its finest” I was definitely staring at the screen. Navelgazing takes a lot more effort.</p>
<p>Got to love Xiggi’s observation: “…the usual adcom drivel.” LOL</p>
<p>And I’m sure the students at Lexington High felt the same way. It’s not like the kids are uninitiated. For gosh sakes, more than a few Harvard professors live in Lexington.</p>
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I’m sort of with xiggi on this. Based on the college essays I have read, mainly by very good students, I think it’s likely that 80% or so of essays are essentially “bad”. Not awful, but not not-bad either. Just bad. Half of the rest may be truly awful. In many such cases, the authors will be disqualified by multiple factors, so the essays won’t make much of a difference; at a college with an 11% admission rate, it really doesn’t matter whether you are ranked in the middle quintile or the fourth quintile of applicants. And half of the rest will be strung out across the spectrum of “not bad” to “actually pretty great”.</p>
<p>No surprise here. If you don’t have the other qualifications, don’t expect that your essay alone will get you accepted to a selective college. There will always be clear admits, clear denials, and the well-qualified masses in the middle who need something like great essays to put them over the top.</p>
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<p>Except that he did not use any adjective. He just said “outcome”, so if we are to assume anything, we can only both pro and con outcomes.</p>
<p>Papa chicken - thanks for video. Watched entire video this morning. The harvard process seems extremely complicated especially for the volume they have.</p>
<p>“For instance, I do not doubt that the readers at Chicago believe that 100 percent of the uber-intellectual essays submitted are worth reading.”</p>
<p>No. No way. No one who reads dozens or hundreds of these things believes that 100 percent of them are worth reading.</p>
<p>“Based on the college essays I have read, mainly by very good students, I think it’s likely that 80% or so of essays are essentially “bad”.”</p>
<p>I’m with you. If anything, that’s generous. The vast majority are painful. As I tell my students, this is actually good news. Yours doesn’t need to be that good to stand out. If you can avoid the most obvious cliches, you’re already at the 80th percentile or so.</p>