“Feel free to comment/criticize/question!”
I do not agree with most points. I think that the guidance is too wordy & unnecessarily confusing & misses the main point of a college application essay.
P.S. I would not comment in such a blunt fashion if I had not been invited to do so by OP’s prompt.
P.P.S. In support of my criticism, I encourage readers to read the essays highlighted in @hebegebe’s post #4 above (especially “The Voice of Many”).