UnnecessarySuperhero

speaking as a student at a "most selective" university, not an admissions counselor, but the problem with most "funny" essays is that they tend to just be offensive. Most people who try to be funny in their essays don't execute it well and it often falls in on itself. That said, wit is usually universal, and a well-crafted, clever and witty essay should always give points to the applicant.

The whole point is that the school is selecting for the student more than their for the writing style, the essay just helps better capture who the student is. A light-hearted, clever essay should usually embody that much more than a serious one, if the student is that type of person.

If your nephew can write a witty or clever essay, and it doesn't come across as offensive or trying too hard, then tell him to go for it, otherwise it will backfire.

Serious question: when I was working on the Tufts application, I ended up scrapping a very carefully refined (the word "airbrushed" comes to mind) piece of the application that was what i think well-organized but completely shallow, in favor for something a bit grittier, unrefined, but looking back, more indicative of who I was.

So my question is this: how much do admissions counselors take risk into play when grading an essay (or in Tufts' case, a video)? If something is obviously a better answer for the question "who are you," even if it shows something a little controversial, does that play as a net positive, or does the admissions counselor take into consideration the possibility of a possible future smear on the university?

That question was a little verbose. So in lay terms: How well is risk taken when the university still needs to cover its own ass?

Star Wars, Star Trek, or Battlestar Gallactica?

The fate of the universe hangs on your response.