Essay writing is a waste of time. The biggest waste of time is the essays students turn out for college admissions. I mean really - think back to when you were 17-19 yrs old. What exactly was going through your mind - how you plan to change the world or where you want to hang out and what your next adventure is going to be?
For me it was the latter. Luckily, where I grew up in India the bogeyman was entrance exams. They are bad but in a way better than essays because you have a very clear expectation of success.
Either way, I hope GenAI finally makes essay writing obsolete so that we may move on to other better methods of assessing students. For those in flux as this situation rolls through - my sympathies. Educators have been lazy and you're paying the price.