By the UC system, that is…
A few weeks back, one of the parents of my college counseling students emailed me because her child had received a notice from the UC Admissions offices, asking for evidence for a “claim” he made in his application essay. The essay was completely factual and accurate, and his story quite extraordinary, but we all found it odd that he would be asked for documentation proving his claims.
Until, this great article in the Mercury News came out yesterday on the UC admission sleuths who go through applications and audit some essay claims – asking for factual documentation behind the homes you built, cancer you cured, or animals you rescued by single boat and oar.
I actually think this is great – because the fear of being audited (and your application being rejected) would hopefully deter some falsehoods being written and encourage students to write about their true selves. I think that sometimes students fear that they have nothing to write about, and that they need to make things up in order to look extraordinary. I believe that having confidence and faith in yourself can make writing about the seemingly ordinary actually quite extraordinary. I have had students write successful essays on being an only child, spending their dream day with friends, and their love for their car.
Now, my student’s essay was completely accurate, so the student has nothing to worry about (other than the annoyance of having to send in documentation). Students and parents, keep this in mind when those hours get long and the essay writing topics seem narrow – someone may be fact-checking!