[vharish]

Can't essays be gamed? And if one is better at writing essays, it doesn't necessarily mean he is better at other stuff. MS admissions in particular have people applying from different countries, countries where English is not the primary language.

[panda88888]

IMO essay is easier games than the SAT. There is no guarantee on how much essay is actually written by the student compared to SAT, where it actually checks the ID. If anything, if I have the means I would have consultants work with my kid on choosing a topic, then heavily edited for impact while retaining the student’s writing style.

[nr2x]

To my point above, it’s easy to spot a “fake” essay. More so than fraudulent test scores actually.

[nr2x]

You learn to spot it pretty fast, especially b/c we did a video screen as well.