Yesterday an agency I had never worked with — I have no idea who referred them — contacted me out of nowhere asking me to fix a rush US master's program Data Science application package. The conclusion was immediate: the CV was a jumble, listing everything and anything with none of the required specifics; the Personal Statement was a Harvard template, opening with a self-introduction plus "I want to attend Harvard," followed by a dense block of experiences, closing with "I still want to attend Harvard." That was it.
Before I say more: if you are a student applying to top-10 US programs in DS from a state-school wildlife-rich border-adjacent university, in a dispute with your agency and unhappy with your counselor, with a surname that belongs to a classic Jin Yong martial arts school — you may recognize yourself here.
Then came the term "guimao" (literally "turtle fur" — apparently a Cantonese expression meaning something like "fussy" or "overly meticulous"). I am a northerner who keeps turtles and can confirm they do not grow fur, so the etymology confused me. From context, though, it did not sound complimentary. I responded by sending back an AI-detection report showing 97% AI-generated content, and that was that.
I have not touched US master's applications this year at all. I had not expected things in that space could be this egregious. I genuinely cannot imagine what kind of agency could operate this way and somehow still be in business. The whole encounter was baffling.