What this Ivy League School Says about the Power of Admissions Essays
I have long argued that students' essays hold far more power on college applications than stats alone.
I know this because in 15+ years of admissions essay coaching, I have seen countless students with imperfect or misaligned stats get offers from schools because of the whole package they present—including their writing.
In fact, numerous students have heard direct feedback from universities and honors programs during their interview process that their essay stood out from the crowd and boosted their eligibility.
Moreover, despite prevalent rumors, most colleges are still using human beings to read the admissions essays—not A.I.
This is a good thing—it means the reader on the other side of your student's essay can be moved by and connect with their narrative.
(And just to debunk another rumor while we're at it, admissions officers are also not simply looking for magic keywords—which I have seen some admissions coaches claim to be the key to school admissions. Your teens needn't waste their time on this approach; it's a sales technique, not an authentic writing strategy.)
The fact is that for most schools, there is no one main reason students will gain entry—but the admissions essay is a tremendous part of it.
Ultimately, written narratives still hold the power to impact and move their readers—and the power to reveal a young person's individuality, creativity, and humanity.
A recent Brown Daily Herald article (which you can read here) confirmed the power of the admissions essay:
“Both [admissions officers] favorite part of the application to review is the supplemental [essay] question that asks students to write about something that brings them joy. According to Berman, the supplement speaks to the University’s ‘human-centered approach to admissions.’”
I'll share more insight and strategies to demystify (and "de-stressify") the college essay process in my upcoming April event, Unlocking the Best College Essays: a Parent Workshop at Parents League of New York.
You can register for FREE here.