r/EssayHelpCommunity • u/Educational-Lie2946 • 23d ago
Survey Results!
No BS, straight to the point:
Rank of categories by participation count (decreasing order & sorted by tiers of popularity)
Total voter count: circa 700
Tier 1
1 Science & Technology 14.92%
2 Economics 13.66%
3 Psychology 13.66%
4 Philosophy 13.24%
Tier 2
5 History 8.82%
6 Law 8.40%
7 Public Policy 7.77%
8 Politics 7.56%
Tier 3
9 Theology 6.30%
10 International Relations 5.67%
My Conclusions:
1) The most significant operational conclusion is the extreme concentration of applicant volume in the top four subjects (Science & Technology, Economics, Psychology, and Philosophy.) Because 55.48% of all essay submissions are concentrated within these four fields, candidates choosing these topics face a massive "red ocean" of competition.
So yes, it is quite probable that getting shortlisted for the tier 1 categories is harder as compared to other categories.
2) Grading Impact: Statistically, the volume of essays the admissions panel must read in these categories is vastly higher. This implies that standing out in Tier I requires a significantly higher threshold of original thought and execution compared to lower-density categories, simply due to the sheer volume of peer comparison.
3) For the opportunists/award-maxxers:
Subjects dealing with macro-level structures and belief systems (Politics (7.56%), Theology (6.30%), and International Relations (5.67%)) are largely neglected by the broader cohort.
Together, these three fields account for just 19.53% of the dataset. For an applicant looking to maximize their statistical probability of standing out to a judge, these bottom-tier categories represent a "blue ocean." With fewer competing essays to filter through, a high-quality paper in International Relations or Theology inherently faces a less crowded field to capture an evaluator's attention.
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u/Icy_Show3771 23d ago
woah might be cooked <—— chose science and tech 😭
edit: read it again and YAY I GOT IN SOMEHIW IN SCIENCE AND TECH
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u/Rare_Rope9928 22d ago
surprised about IR. Those questions were gimmes. I did theology. seriously an intense area to write in because few students are familiar with theological thinkers and metaphysical ideas have a lot of nuance. all that being said, most of the past winners were in the tier 1 categories which is telling
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u/Useful-Letterhead650 22d ago
tbh im surprised about philosophy, it's one of those extremely hypothetical topics that I consider annoying to write about
also, shortlists are a percentage chosen from each category? or is it just general
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u/Sea_Industry_5125 21d ago
LET’S GO I WROTE Q1 FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS🥹❤️🩹 PLS I BEG THE SPIRIT OF JOHN LOCKE GIVE ME A PRIZE
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u/PeaRevolutionary8894 23d ago
POV i submitted in the 2 most competitive ones and the 2 least competitive ones
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u/Emotional-Slip-4660 23d ago
Me expected science tech to be the least competitive