Please leave ethical dilemmas and flaming OUT… this is purely a hypothetical!!
My cousin got into University of Chicago 5 years ago, due to what he thinks is just because of his amazing essay. (He had no ECs and had a 3.5 GPA.)
I was since talking to him about college essays and he offered me to potentially copy or paraphrase the entirety of his essay. Because his essay is so good, I was thinking of actually following through with this since a great college is one of the most important things to both my family and me. So my question is this: First, would University of Chicago have his essay on records and if I applied there would they be able to see my essay was not in fact original? If I paraphrased it would they still remember a random essay from 5 years ago? If the answer to both of these is yes, then what about other colleges; would colleges aside from the ones he applied to be able to see that it isn’t original?
Thank you for any and all responses, I really value this forum and wanted to post here since this question has been boggling my mind for some time.
Please don’t do this. It is unethical and cheating. It cheats kids who work hard on their own ideas and it cheats you because you will never be sure you got in on your own merits. And yes, I think they would notice that it wasn’t genuinely from you.
Apart from the whole ethical argument, UChicago is unique in how it’s become really competitive over the past couple of years. Even if your cousin got in 5 years ago with no ECs, I really doubt any applicant now would be able to do the same, no matter how good their essay is.
Two years ago my son had to write 3 essays to get into a fairly competitive school. He was very low on their acceptance bell curve.
His essays were about him and his passions. One showed that he had personal ambition and perseverance. Another showed how he was involved in not only his school but also in the community. And the third was about something he was passionate about that affects our entire world unfortunately-human trafficking and his involvement in a couple organizations that help prevent and rescue these indivduals.
Dig deep. I am sure you have a story deep down inside you.
Ditto the others. Don’t even paraphrase. The school wants to know you, not your cousin.
Oh forgot to say, my son had a 3.3 (weighted). The average GPA at the school he did indeed get into was 3.8. I am very confident his essays and involvement in issues beyond high school were the reason.
I agree with everyone above. Not only is it wrong, but you are taking a huge risk when there is little guarantee you will be accepted with that essay. If you need help coming up with an essay, I can help you brainstorm and edit your essay if you like. I’m assuming you’re a junior, so you have plenty of time over the summer to create your essays. I’m serious about helping you so you don’t do something you will regret.
If they somehow accepted you and then found out, they can kick you out, no problem. Which would surely be worse than going to a “lesser” school in the first place.
As long as you use that essay to apply to different colleges (not UChicago), I think you’ll be fine. There’s a pretty good chance UChicago won’t find out either but that’s too big of a risk imo
Thank you for all responses. I’d like to remind this was purely a hypothetical… I am not even a junior yet; I’m a freshman this topic just came up in conversation and I was curious. Don’t worry even if I wouldn’t have a risk I have decided it would be silly to copy his essay; I am a fantastic writer and am confident I could get into a good college on my own merits. I appreciate all the feedback.