Losing the Essay

MIT’s decision to remove the 500-word personal statement from their college application eliminates a crucial piece of the college evaluation and admission process. The decision will make it more challenging for MIT to evaluate its applicants’ writing skills, shifting the burden of expression to three shorter 200-word response essays.

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 either, but rather quickly shift their assistance to the short essays.

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.

MIT is nobly trying to remove some of the pressure from students to produce a memorable personal statement, but in the process, it is losing an essential way to evaluate its applicants. A college application is a reflection of the identity of an applicant, an identity that short lists of achievements cannot begin to encapsulate.