A Reply to ‘The New Way to Game Elite College Applications’

American Thinker ^ | 07/17/2025 | M. Walter

[SeekAndFind]

A Harvard sophomore, Alex Bronzini-Vender, had a NYT op-ed published Tuesday morning lamenting the changing fashions in college application essay questions.  Even though he’s already in, young Mr. Bronzini-Vender has evidently heard from incoming freshmen what they had to endure to get in.  What changed?  Well, evidently the essay question is no longer on DEI, which he, a self-described “white” kid, apparently knew how to “game.” (His word.)  Now?  Now the essay question is to describe a conflict you once had and how you resolved it.

It’s known as the disagreement question, and since the student encampments of spring 2024 and the American right’s attacks on universities, a growing number of elite colleges have added it to their applications.

Note his assessment of “the American right.”  From context, where he paired two events — “the student encampments of spring 2024 and the American right’s attacks on universities” — it seems he’s describing it an “attack” that the Trump administration insists that non-Jewish students not harass, intimidate, or terrorize Jewish students.  He used the multiple — “attacks” — so it’s also possible he is referring to the anti-DEI measures the administration has taken, but either way,  those pro-Palestine mobs, those “encampments,” were the furthest thing from “civil,” and  “civility” will be a very important word in a moment.  He goes on:

The trouble is that the disagreement question — like much of the application process — isn’t built for honesty. Just as I once scrambled to demonstrate my fluency in D.E.I., students now scramble to script the ideal disagreement, one that manages to be intriguing without being dangerous.

And what’s our young squire’s solution to this vexing “disagreement” question?  Just get rid of it.  Scrap it entirely.  Why does he say to scrap the question?  Because he believes it’s unproductive...

[TexasFreeper2009]

All essay’s are BS.

Just look at their records and be done with it.

Anything else is just DEI bs.

[PGR88]

The kid learned to copy the patronizing tone and social-critique style of a New Yorker article. Urban elites eat this sh** up.

Learning how to “game” stuff (institutions, finance, especially government regulations, and politics) is at the heart of what Ivy League is all about.

Even though the kid is white - he’s still meeting their most important requirements.

[Honorary Serb]

.....Now the essay question is to describe a conflict you once had and how you resolved it........

When I was a high school senior (age 17), I had had no such conflict, and could not have answered the question!

However, as a real science nerd, I was admitted to MIT—probably under the “Arizona quota”!

[Jacquerie]

I’d start by asking Grok for advice.

[1Old Pro]

The actual process for college admissions is more secret than the recipe for Coca Cola.

[Organic Panic]

That would be so easy to game those essays. Just have AI create a run on sentence using every progressive commie buzz word uttered by “The Squad” and sit back. Example:

“In our inclusive, sustainable, and equitable safe space, we prioritize intersectional empowerment, amplify marginalized voices, and foster allyship to dismantle systemic inequities and champion transformative justice.”