College application essays for undergraduate degrees vary a lot by country.

The UK UCAS admission system used for all undergraduate admissions requires an application text. It is much freer in its form than how I understand the US system with a very specific prompt.

As for Norway, to pick another random example, there is no requirement to submit any piece of writing to explain your motivation. Your grades do all the talking for you, so to speak.

The difference between UCAS and US system is that UCAS is universal essay whereas US “common app” has both universal and school specific essays.

Honestly i much prefer the US system to my exposure to the british system, much easier to apply to multiple schools in the US

> much easier to apply to multiple schools in the US

I think discouraging blanket applications to multiple universities is the point of the UCAS system in the UK

I think it is common everywhere to require essays during the college evaluation process, but I don't understand well enough what is the US's "college application essay" to compare.

In the US you write an essay to send to the college with your application, about why you should be accepted. I don’t know of anywhere else that has anything like it.

Edit: examples https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019...

Wow, no, I have never seen anything like that before.

Is it really a literary resume for people that didn't have the time to accomplish anything yet? I just found a niche for chatGPT!

Oxford certainly has it when i applied.

And my college in the US didn't require one, and I didn't write one. It was optional.

I thought the gaokao was all that mattered

Chinese colleges have sports majors that use athletic performance as part of their admissions.