[paloalto]

I hate to break it to you, but football and basketball transfer applicants (could be all sports, but these ones are confirmed) don't write essays... Only their grades are reviewed by admissions.

I am OK with that. IMO essays are a poor way to evaluate much about a student beyond their ability to use the English language. What the essay actually says is undoubtedly the student's best guess at what will get them admitted. How much of it is "true" in any sense is questionable. It is a polite way to roll the dice that can be justified as an "objective" process when it definitely is not. IMO essays should be removed from the admissions process. Of course, I am an engineer. The again, I have written more proposals than I care to count. Kind of the same idea. Convince the "customer" that you are the only possible choice :-).

When you have thousands and thousands of applicants (talking in general about all applications; not just transfers) all with essentially the same GPA and similar extracurricular activities, how do you differentiate?

I have read articles that say the essay is absolutely critical for admission to Stanford and can separate one from the masses. College prep companies stress the importance of the essay for Stanford and the Ivy League schools.

[paloalto]

I hate to break it to you, but football and basketball transfer applicants (could be all sports, but these ones are confirmed) don't write essays... Only their grades are reviewed by admissions.

I am OK with that. IMO essays are a poor way to evaluate much about a student beyond their ability to use the English language. What the essay actually says is undoubtedly the student's best guess at what will get them admitted. How much of it is "true" in any sense is questionable. It is a polite way to roll the dice that can be justified as an "objective" process when it definitely is not. IMO essays should be removed from the admissions process. Of course, I am an engineer. The again, I have written more proposals than I care to count. Kind of the same idea. Convince the "customer" that you are the only possible choice :-).

When you have thousands and thousands of applicants (talking in general about all applications; not just transfers) all with essentially the same GPA and similar extracurricular activities, how do you differentiate?

I have read articles that say the essay is absolutely critical for admission to Stanford and can separate one from the masses. College prep companies stress the importance of the essay for Stanford and the Ivy League schools.