For many students, the most agonizing part of a college application is the personal essay. A controversial new company in Boston is seeking to minimize that pain--and make a buck in the process. IvyEssays is using the world wide web to buy and sell compositions written by students admitted to top colleges and professional schools.
Launched six months ago, the company pays $25 to $75 to the authors of successful applications and has more than 1,000 essays in its library. (Sellers must produce a photocopy of a diploma, college ID, page of a student directory or other evidence that they've been admitted to one of 60 elite schools.) In turn, IvyEssays offers packages of five to 10 essays for $10 (undergraduate), $20 (law school) and up to $60 (business programs). The company has not yet turned a profit--but it has drawn considerable criticism from admissions officers, who say the business is immoral and encourages copycatting. Jon Reider, senior associate director of admission at Stanford, read an article about IvyEssays and fired off a caustic e-mail to its founder. "Good essays are the ones that students have written from their own souls," Reider says. "This is just another sleazy marketing device that corrupts the college admission process."
IvyEssays is expanding its services to include essay editing ($50 buys "tips for reorganizing and rewriting, assessment of grammatical and stylistic errors, and careful proofing" with a promised 24-hour turnaround) and a book on--what else?-- getting into college, law and business schools. The company claims its goal is to "level the playing field" by providing information to those who don't have access to college counselors or high-priced admission consultants. "People say we have a site that invites plagiarism," concedes Helen Lee, 27, the managing editor of the service. "But we don't want people to use this for ignoble means."
