By Brett Samuels
Like most of my fellow seniors, I have been swamped with impending deadlines to finish my college application materials. From filling out personal information, to sending in transcripts, I go along with it all because it all seems relevant for a school to know. Through these steps, a college can learn my name, when I was born, how I’ve performed academically the last four years, and how to get in touch with me. I see the purpose in those informative aspects of the process, but what I don’t see the point of is the stress-inducing college essay.
There are several reasons universities give their applicants regarding why they require an essay. I’d like to look at the two most common reasons though:
- To get an feel for a student’s writing ability
- To get to know the student on a more personal level
The problem with the first explanation is that looking at a student’s grades in communication arts classes, or even just reading the rest of the application can easily answer any questions about that applicant’s writing ability. Most applications ask for an explanation of extra-curricular activities, and if there are serious gaps in the applicant’s abilities, it will be obvious. For example, a student who is able to articulate the activities they participated in, and for how long, will be clearly separated from those who write something like, “I do sports for years.” Well, you get the point. Admissions officers shouldn’t need an essay to weed out those who are unable to communicate from those who are.
Moving on to explanation number two, don’t tell me that by reading about one experience I consider to be a major event in my life, you can see the type of person I am. I’ve spent years in classrooms with several kids my age, and I still couldn’t tell an outsider the most basic things about them, from their favorite color to number of siblings. The written word can never replace actually meeting someone and talking to them face to face, so to say a college essay about someone who inspired me will let a university know how I will contribute to their campus just doesn’t make sense. A final thought that I dare to throw out is the possibility of falsifying experiences. I could just as easily write about the time I saved a small child from a burning 12-floor apartment to show a university how heroic and brave I am. They can’t call me and tell me that didn’t happen, because how can they possibly know that I didn’t do that. (That actually happened though. Or did it??)
These days’ colleges must consider every aspect of a student’s high school performance, because God forbid a student is admitted who isn’t good enough for such a prestigious institution. Well I say if a university is going to be choosy about who gets in, then don’t make an applicant put their soul on paper in an effort to “get to know them better,” only to reject them in the end.
