Word: essayant
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Claire Beslow has read her fair share of application essays as a guidance counselor and former English teacher at Ramsey High School in New Jersey. One of the worst responses, she said, was to the University of Pennsylvania’s supplemental essay question asking students why they want to attend Penn...
This year, the University of Pennsylvania combined its “Why Penn” essay with a short answer asking applicants to discuss a professor with whom they would like to study. The new question now asks students how, specifically, they would contribute to the social and intellectual communities on campus...
Stuart Schmill, the Dean of Admissions, mentioned that MIT “wanted to remove that larger-than-life qualify to that one essay and take away a bit of the high-stakes nature of that one piece.” This is a worthy intention, but unfortunately, the move will be counterproductive. Students will now lose sleep over how to express themselves in three 200-word segments—in addition to fretting over crafting the perfect 500-word statement still required of other schools. College consultants who used to help write 500 word personal statements will not disappear...
MIT’s applicants will still bear the same stress that comes with a college application. Unfortunately, they may lose the ability to display their voice and writing skills with this new format. It was already a challenge for applicants to express themselves in a 500-word essay, but it is more difficult to do this in 200 words. Students will be forced to focus almost entirely on content, whereas in the traditional personal statement, they can display their true writing talent...
Verbal abilities are essential for all college students, whether they are aspiring scientists, programmers, or economists. Any scientist or researcher will struggle to be effective if she can’t advocate for her findings. By removing the essay, MIT sends a signal to high-school students that writing and expressive qualities are not as important as concrete achievements. They forget that many of their great alumni, from architect I.M. Pei to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, used their voice to help propel them to the top of their fields...