Not every applicant is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And for those the essays are a great data point.

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Apr 26, 2024
3:47:45pm

CrimWalCoug All-American in practice

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CrimWalCoug

Bio page: CrimWalCoug
Joined: Apr 7, 2016
Last login: Jun 2, 2024
Total posts: 17,652 (2,259 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Essays, essays, essays

Magneto

Apr 26, 7:23am

Hey must have really bombed the rest of the application

txblue

Apr 26, 7:26am

And recommendations. I think they matter

SaturdaySpecialDay

Apr 26, 7:31am

This. Having your bishop and or Stake Pres tell about your leadership means way

SoBlueitHurts

Apr 26, 12:01pm

There's nothing they can say other than I endorse or not.

jvquarterback

Apr 26, 12:19pm

I think that changed in the last decade then, because I believe that having a

SoBlueitHurts

Apr 26, 12:21pm

That's great. As of this year there is no where for a bishop to say anymore than

jvquarterback

Apr 26, 12:31pm

What letters of recommendation are available then? Do you just have to have

SoBlueitHurts

Apr 26, 12:37pm

He got rejected by MIT too, as well as apparently every other elite university

vagabonder

Apr 26, 7:33am

So KSL wants me to be outraged yet they completely omit his GPA from the article

Peter Venkman

Apr 26, 7:35am

It is because he says "lickety-split" in conversation

Turd Ferguson

Apr 26, 7:41am

That seems like a shoo-in to me

SoBlueitHurts

Apr 26, 12:01pm

BYU dodged a bullet. Good work, admissions team.

Ted Lasso

Apr 26, 7:46am

Perhaps if he could read defenses, run a 4.5 40, and spin the ol’ pigskin, that would have helped?

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 7:47am

Kid in my ward got a perfect on his act and didn’t get in to BYU either. He was

chitownboy

Apr 26, 7:53am

This is the dumbest aspect of BYU admissions. The dumbest.

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 8:03am

It’s really not. Too many kids are going to BYU in spite of what it stands for and not because of it.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 8:31am

So you think the parents and professional essay writers

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 9:03am

Can people cheat on the essays? Yes. Do they? Yes. Does that mean essays should be discounted? No.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 11:36am

You're comparing cheating on ACT and SAT tests to essays? Please tell me you

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 5:04pm

Just using your logic.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 5:36pm

How is that using my logic? It is WAY more difficult to cheat on

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 27, 3:00pm

Is there something to suggest that kids like this won't just lie?

CougarMandias

Apr 26, 9:32am

Letter of Rec may speak to how aptly an applicant fits at BYU's mission. Essays don't. At all. Anyone can say whatever

unctoothman

Apr 26, 11:00am

Essays are an additional data point in a holistic admissions process.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 11:39am

I didn't say they have no part. I said - in response to your stance that they are an important filter to help sift out

unctoothman

Apr 26, 3:30pm

Not every applicant is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And for those the essays are a great data point.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 3:47pm

Of course they aren't, but with the essays they can all put on sheep's clothing,

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 5:11pm

Do you believe BYU would further its mission more if it had no essays in the application process?

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 6:52pm

This is the weirdest conversation I think I've ever had. How does requiring

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 27, 3:04pm

I’ve helped 80+ people strategize on applying to top colleges across the country.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 27, 3:25pm

You've just proved our point

CougarMandias

Apr 27, 9:56pm

Nice try.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 27, 9:59pm

Not the point I was making, but I can see how it came across that way. Sorry.

CougarMandias

Apr 27, 10:07pm

I didn't suggest that. I said they should have a minor role. That is all. Ultimately BYU is an academic institution

unctoothman

Apr 27, 5:33pm

Totally agree, essays are the stupidest thing to have to waste time on as well.

Mitty

Apr 26, 8:33am

Many schools do in person interviews. Have alumni do the interviews out of area

NYC and Japan

Apr 26, 9:25am

You could do live essay writing

CougarMandias

Apr 26, 9:37am

You could have proctored essay writing, digitally

NYC and Japan

Apr 26, 10:55am

My daughter wrote her own essay. It was pretty good for a high school student.

tony

Apr 26, 8:45am

I love it. BYU wants students with life experience, goals, tenacity,

Rise Against

Apr 26, 10:22am

What does that have to do with essays? I don't disagree with any of that. But

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 10:48am

The essays specifically ask for those things. They are looking for those very

Rise Against

Apr 26, 10:57am

Not getting the point. If applicants fabricate it, or package it all in a more

LifeLongLakerFan

Apr 26, 5:15pm

The map is not the territory

CougarMandias

Apr 26, 10:15pm

I agree with that. But essays aren't the best way to adjudicate that. They are fluff pieces. They make McDonald's

unctoothman

Apr 26, 11:06am

If I were on the BYU admissions committee, I'd use the essays mostly to know if the 4.0 GPA/34 ACT kid agrees to

SaturdaySpecialDay

Apr 26, 11:20am

The content of the essays is more important than the style, structure, or grammar.

SaturdaySpecialDay

Apr 26, 10:41am

Essays are pass/fail for a kid with a median GPA and perfect ACT.

jvquarterback

Apr 26, 11:00am

Interviews would fix that.

VenomFarmer

Apr 26, 3:34pm

Seminary teacher recommendation

Parley

Apr 26, 11:38am

This would be a good data point, except seminary teachers are so inconsistent. Some are all in on the rec, some couldn't

unctoothman

Apr 26, 3:35pm

And that is why multiple data points are collected (including essays). Admissions can’t focus on a single thing.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 26, 3:49pm

GPA, ACT, EE (yes/no), seminary. Those are key from an academic and spiritual standpoint. Essays and LoRs and ECs

unctoothman

Apr 27, 5:52pm

The BOT views BYU as far more than just an academic institution.

CrimWalCoug

Apr 27, 6:24pm

Essays should be as crucial to the admissions process as diagramming sentences should be to earning a HS degree.

unctoothman

Apr 27, 10:38pm

RE: Essays, essays, essays

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