Yep they do. Wonder what the chances are for someone writing about their conservative viewpoint as opposed to the applicant writing about their struggles growing up in a racially segregated neighborhood?
> Wonder what the chances are for someone writing about their conservative viewpoint...
I'd imagine it is about the same! Why? Because they don't really care about the essays.
Applications are not reviewed by "admissions people". They hire temporary workers (grad students, retirees etc) to review applications, and give them 8min per application. And that's for the whole application, and they have barely any time to read your essay. See story about UW, which I am referencing here [1].
The reason for making you write essays is just to obfuscate the reason you were denied admission.
