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Timing is everything when it comes to adding an essay prompt at a university thousands and thousands want to attend. That explains some confusion in the last week among those hoping to enroll next year at the University of Texas at Austin.
UT unveiled its application this year on Aug. 1, and plenty of high school students want to start right away. When the application went live, there were three short essay questions. But sometime within the first 24 hours, an fourth short essay that hadn't been there at the launch also appeared.
The prompt: "Contribution to Learning Environment: At UT Austin, we value, embrace, and encourage a wide range of diverse experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and talents. This diversity strengthens our university and supports an open and supportive educational environment in which ideas are freely exchanged alongside thoughtful consideration of our differences. As you consider attending our university that values a learning environment enhanced by the diverse contributions, perspectives, and experiences of our students, please share how you believe you might contribute to our community of scholars."
Those who advise high school students in Texas watch the UT application for any changes, and so the arrival of a new essay question prompted many college counselors to rush to get out the word to their students.
But then a few days later, the new essay prompt disappeared, or disappeared from some -- but not all -- application platforms. On some platforms, it is still visible for those who started applications while the question was live, even though it is not being used.
Rachelle Hernandez, senior vice provost for enrollment management at UT, said that this is the second year the university has used short essays as part of its holistic admissions system.
Because the fourth essay wasn't present when some people started (and finished) applications, Texas decided it would be unfair to include it, she said. Some platforms lack an adequate "refresh" system, so the question is still visible, she said. UT plans to communicate to all potential applicants about what happened and to tell them they can ignore the fourth essay prompt.
"The next time we introduce a new question, however, we will do so in advance of the application being released, to ensure consistency for all students," Hernandez said.
One private counselor in Texas, who asked not to be identified as she did not want to offend anyone at UT, said via email on Friday that "students who had already submitted without the fourth question were very upset and then the ones who had everything ready to go and then had to write an additional question -- which many of my students did -- were pretty mad when I told them the essay had been dropped."
