Crazy College Admission Stories

The ridiculous admissions essay Hugh Gallagher submitted to New York University in 1989 not only got him admitted, but also scored him an agent at William Morris, freelance writing assignments and even meetings in Hollywood. The essay, titled “The Wonder Years,” was published in Harper's, read on National Public Radio and has become an Internet sensation. In response to a prompt on life-shaping experiences, Hugh wrote a long list of insane and inflated happenings, like treading water for three days in a row,wooing women with his godlike trombone playing and designing beautiful corduroy evening wear. Read the now-humorist’s entire essay here.

Photo via YouTube

Rick Clark, director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech says the biggest current trend in unwise admission attempts is helicopter parents who harass the school via email and phone on their child’s behalf, or worse, posing as their child. The most shocking case he can recall involves an email from the parent of a prospective student. According to the mother, her son was confident that he wanted to pursue a career in electrical engineering. While he was leaning toward The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the school’s unresponsiveness to her inquiries had turned them off. They were now considering Georgia Tech instead and she wanted to know how she could best prepare her son for admission. The catch? This woman’s son was in second grade.

Shortly after sending out the rejection notices, a Dartmouth admissions representative received a call from a father complaining that his son hadn’t been accepted. The angry dad said he was an advisor on several movies and TV shows, including Beverly Hills, 90210. The rep admitted that 90210 was her favorite show. The next day, a massive package arrived at her desk filled with original scripts, autographs and videos from the show. She called to thank him for the awesome gift … and also to tell him that his son had no chance of getting into the esteemed Ivy League school. Dad could buy her gratitude, but not her integrity.

One brave—or maybe brash—student applying to Pomona College in California cut his admissions essay into puzzle pieces before sending it off in the envelope. While many schools would send such an application directly into the trash, the admissions officers at Pomona actually liked piecing together the essay and saw the very risky move as super creative. They stressed, however, that the student also had very strong grades, which was the primary reason they decided to admit the cheeky youngster.

In 2010, Tufts University began accepting short YouTube videos from perspective students to supplement their applications. The school has received slick stop-motion films, sports highlight reels and even raps. However, our favorite submission comes from Evan Renaud, who used the one-minute clip to show off his advanced fire twirling skills. Evan, who also enjoys glow-sticking, thought demonstrating his unique talent was a good way to stand out from the crowd. While we can’t confirm whether Evan was accepted to Tufts, we sincerely hope he’s now flinging fire for Cirque De Soleil.

Photo via YouTube

Evan Renaud isn’t the only kid who used fiery circus skills in an attempt to impress admissions officers. Duncan C. Murdoch, the one time vice president for external relations and enrollment at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, remembers meeting a student who insisted that they spend a few minutes talking outside of the Seattle hotel where Murdoch was interviewing applicants. Once in the parking lot, the teen lit two tiki torches on fire and began juggling them while reciting his personal biography. Though Murdoch was more annoyed than impressed, the student was admitted … for his academic skills, not juggling skills.

Photo via Wikipedia

Liz H. Woyczynski, director of undergraduate admissions at Case Western Reserve University, has seen many bizarre attempts by students to stand out. Her favorite, however, involves a student seeking admission into a special undergraduate program. Then teen showed up at an all-day open house with a deck of cards. Every time he met an admissions staff member he insisted on performing a trick. Woyczynski and her colleagues found the ploy over the top,especially since the same student had already submitted a 45-page resume with a three-page table of contents to the school. While the magician was accepted to the university, he was not admitted to the special program.

Photo via The Manchester Gazette

Humor is often a sign of intelligence. But used in the wrong context, it’s also a sign of immaturity. One University of Pennsylvania candidate learned this lesson the hard way. When asked why he wanted to go to Penn during an interview, he said that attending the university would fulfill his personal goal of never having to do his own laundry; since his aunt lived nearby he could dump all his dirty clothes on her. While he was joking, his female interviewer didn’t laugh. While the teen thought his comment might affect him negatively, he didn’t realize just how detrimental it was until his cousin, who has the same last name and was also interviewing at the school, was asked by an admissions representative if he was related to the funny man and if he also refused to do his own laundry. The jokester was ultimately rejected.

In another crazy admissions story from Pomona College, Bruce J. Poch, vice president and dean of admissions, says he once received a letter of recommendation with extremely negative commentary on another wise very strong applicant. Since the letter wasn’t consistent with everything else the student submitted, Poch became suspicious and called the applicant’s high school. The teacher who supposedly submitted the recommendation denied writing the letter. Poch believes that the mother of another applicant from the same school wrote and sent the letter in an attempt to destroy the strong student’s chances and increase her own kid’s prospects of being accepted. The malicious mom’s child was not admitted; the student she’s suspected of sabotaging was.

Guidance counselors often tell students that having a “hook” is helpful when applying to colleges. One student took that literally when applying to Bates College in Maine. Assistant Dean of Admission Mark Hatch was reading an intriguing essay about fishing when he turned the page and felt a sharp sting: the student had attached an actual fish hook to his essay! Mr.Hatch headed to the emergency room where he was given several stitches. Instead of tossing the creative but reckless essay in the trash upon his return to the office, he continued reading and actually decided to accept the student. Currently a vice president at Colorado College, he has a scar to prove that having a “hook” often helps the student … and sometimes hurts the admissions rep.