Interesting read about essays
See the first topic" The biggest lie in college admissions" Totally agree with the writer.
Essays are nonsense, and schools know it, but none dares to get singled out…Its a Delusion to show “holistic” process.
I don’t think they put any more time and effort into it, except to get excerpts for a “feel good & special” response to applicants who they select (So the applicant feels a binding/loyalty to the college). None matter as far as the core of admission process is concerned, which purely by the logistics of it, needs to be numbers based.