It is the bane of college admissions officers: the highly polished, professionally edited personal essay that barely reflects the thinking or writing, let alone the personality, of a 17-year-old high school student.
“If it sounds like it was written by a 42-year-old attorney, chances are it was written by a 42-year-old attorney,” said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.
Now colleges have a new tool to help them discern how much help students are getting on their applications: the SAT.
Since March, the SAT has included a 25-minute essay section. When reviewing an application, colleges can easily download the test essay from the College Board, obtaining a sample of the student’s unedited writing. Many colleges say they plan to do so, at least in cases where there are questions about a student’s writing aptitude.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/nyregion/detecting-tutors-hand-in-applicants-essay.html?smid=pl-share