As reported by the BBC, Winland Academy, an educational firm which specialises in helping Chinese students to study in the UK, has come under fire after posting an advert for a “university application writer” on LinkedIn.
The Academy is an “education administration program” and describes itself on LinkedIn as a “one-stop learning platform for Chinese students wishing to study in the UK.”
Winland caught hiring an “application writer”
The job advertisement said that the role would consist of “writing a personal statement and other original application documents for students’ university application, including foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate.”
Responsibilities also included adjusting your prose style to “match the voice of different students.”
“You will be an important part of the student’s academic application. You have to show your professionalism in writing unique content for different background students,” it stated.
According to the BBC, The Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, said that the advert raises “serious issues about fairness” as paid-for services to improve university applications are “particularly alarming” in terms of fair access to places.
UCAS responds to Winland’s job advert
Chief operating officer of UCAS, Sander Kristel, released a statement in response to the advert, where they wrote that it is “vital” that all applicants create their own personal statements.
“The personal statement of an applicant’s own values and aspirations helps them gain selection onto a course or institution that is a good fit for them. Ucas does not endorse anyone else creating these statements,” Kristel said.
Winland Academy removed the advert as they felt “the job title might look confusing.”
A spokesperson for Winland stated that it does not write personal statements for clients, but offers “a personalised proofreading service to help students, whose native language is not English.”
The UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities said that the advert “is a very worrying example of how university applications can be gamed by those who can afford to pay.”
After the news of the job advert broke, people took to Twitter to discuss the situation.
One person wrote: “Blatant but not unique. It’s sad because the ‘successful’ applicants are likely to struggle when at university, and paves the way for the now, thankfully, illegal essay mills.”
Meanwhile, another said: “Not at all surprised. I knew someone who’s father was paid to write dissertations.”