Universities across the country have asked students to describe themselves in 140 characters or less–roughly the size of this sentence.

But Eastern’s Director of Admissions Brenda Major said Eastern will not adopt this new method because they want students to be able to express themselves without restrictions.

University of Iowa and other universities are using this new method of Twitter answers expecting they will get responses that are more creative than traditional essays.

Lania Knight, an assistant English professor, said a more concise application requirement might inspire students.

“The fewer words you have, the more precise you have to be,” Knight said. “It’s a form of self-expression that’s very different from the traditional essay. Just because it’s short doesn’t mean it’s inferior.”

Roxane Gay, an English professor, said people write in short form every day and while it is possible to properly express and sway an admissions committee in 140 characters, it may prove difficult for some.

Gay also said using Twitter could send the wrong message to prospective students.

Eastern actually has expanded the length of space on admission applications the in past year.

Major said the length is subjective because one student may view three paragraphs as three sentences while another views it as three sentences per paragraph.

Eastern’s admission committee does not want to limit self-expression, Major said.

The Eastern admission application suggests two to three paragraphs for the essay; although, the admissions office has accepted applications with essays anywhere from zero words to 1,000 words.

“It’s time consuming, but I think it’s important,” Major said. “Many of us enjoy reading the essays. For me, it provides a lot more insight into the student than what we can gleam from the transcript.”

Essays can reveal whether a prospective students can write effectively at the college level, are self-conscious of their writing, if they are comfortable sharing, and if they can follow directions on the application.

“If a student just blows that off or writes one sentence or two words, to me that says something about them,” Major said. “They don’t want to do this, they don’t care anyway, no one is going to read this, but we’re reading it.”

The Twitter answers may not appeal to all students.

Some students at Eastern are admitted from the Gateway Program, an alternative admissions program in which students must meet one of the criteria listed to be accepted.

The criteria is a student must: be the first generation to attend college, reside and attend school in an economically-depressed area, live in a low-income household or be a member of an under-represented ethnic group.

If they do not have a smart phone with a data plan or a computer with Internet access, they probably do not use Twitter, Gay said, and Eastern does not want people to think that an education comes with a large price tag.

Major said she understands University of Iowa accepting Twitter answers because of the large number of applications.

But she does not see Eastern following the trend.

“We rarely get just a standard, boring essay. But maybe that says a lot about the student that’s applying to Eastern,” she said.

Amanda Wilkinson can be reached at 581-2812 or akwilkinson@eiu.edu.