Esra Erdogan /Life! Editor
The University’s admission process contained the most minimal application I had to submit during my senior year of high school. I was secretly glad that I didn’t have to write another essay about the greatest lesson I had ever learned, but I remember being a little troubled that, to the admissions office at the University, I was nothing more than a name and an SAT score.
FIU accepted me without knowing a single thing about me, or the thousands of other students that are accepted to the University every round of applications.
The application to FIU is simple. There are a few forms to submit, which ask for a short summary of achievements, in addition to requests for high school transcripts, test scores, proof of residency and so forth.
Unlike the other major state schools, like University of Florida, Florida State University and University of Central Florida, ours is completely void of an essay.
The lack of personality in the application by way of a personal essay or a detailed list of extracurricular activities and achievements reveals the University for what it really is: a business.
It’s no secret that we, as students, are our school’s cash cows. However, as an incoming freshman who was drunk off the lofty ideal of academia, I wished it wasn’t that way.
I wanted the school to care about me and my personality, and I wanted to be assured that my qualities as a person would add to the well-being of the University.
This cannot be achieved through a form that does little to tell an admissions officer who I am or the quality of writing that I am capable of.
Students need to feel that they have earned their admission to the University. The acceptance rate to the University is 39.5 percent according to U.S. News, which is astronomically low when compared to other public universities in Florida.
UF’s acceptance rate is 43.22 percent, USF’s is 44.56 percent and FSU’s is a high 59.52 percent. Based on that factor alone, students should feel a sense of accomplishment when receiving their acceptance to the University.
Part of that accomplishment should come from knowing someone in the admissions office read their essay and decided they were good enough, not just because of test scores and grades, but because their character merited it.
The most important reason that our application should have an essay portion is so the admissions office can use it to determine whether an applicant’s writing skills are up to the University’s standards.
We know that our writing skills will be tested throughout our careers as undergraduates just by looking at the Undergraduate Core Curriculum, where all students are required to take two humanities with writing courses.
An essay on the application won’t determine whether a student is capable of passing these courses, but it will allow an admissions officer to see the level of sophistication a student is capable of. This could, over time, improve the overall quality of students attending the University.
As our school grows, we have to accept that there will be a lack of personal interaction between the University’s faculty and staff and students. This makes it all the more important that the application has an essay.
A personal essay written by an applicant can convey so much more than numbers and lists as seen in the current application. An essay shows admissions officers important qualities like creativity, morals and introspection.
By measuring applicants through a personal essay in addition to their application, freshmen will be proud to announce that they are attending FIU in the fall.
This pride will motivate students to do better, and not only will the University benefit from unique and intelligent individuals, but years later those students will become alumni who succeed in their communities with FIU at the top of their resumes.
-esra.erdogan@fiusm.com
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