I saw an ad in The New Yorker for someone who will help your high-school student to write that dreaded college admissions essay

With that in mind, here from my own school’s alumni magazine is an Admissions Department insider’s view of that genre.

I wonder why they admitted me, though. As I recall, I wrote part of an essay, became frustrated, cut it off abruptly, and made up the balance by including some of my “brilliant” high-school poetry. Maybe they had a “rebellious poet” slot open.