The big news about essay questions for application to the Class of 2016 is that there is no news. Last year, we reduced the number of essays from four to three, and increased the suggested word count in one of the essays. This worked really well, so essay questions are remaining the same as last year.
Bigger changes are taking place in the Letters of Reference requirements. We are streamlining the questions we ask your recommenders—merging two questions on the professional recommendation, and making the last of the four questions on the peer recommendation optional. We honed our questions to garner the most essential information needed to evaluate your application. This way, we ask only for what we need and your recommenders’ time is well spent.
One other small change to the application: Last year we added a “Just for Fun” question that asked what your favorite food is. We found this made the admission readers hungry, so this year we’re asking what your favorite place is instead.
The 2013-14 application will be available in early July. Fill out our Stay in Touch form to receive notification. We hope to read your application for the Class of 2016!