<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>