College Essays Are An Important Factor

[Anonymous]

I've noticed several posters very concerned about getting that extra point on a standardized test. The essay can make, break, or give you that edge over that extra test point. Every college fair we attended, it was reiterated how extremely important the essays were. DC took full advantage with numerous rewrites and read other essays to get a 'feel' for college app style. DC changed the essay to reflect personal experience with humor. It worked well for DC. The opening sentence captured the attention and went from there.

I am NOT discounting grades and/or scores but those essays give kids a chance to stand out and make their case.

https://www.ivycoach.com/in-the-press/the-importance-of-the-essay-in-gaining-admission-to-a-highly-selective-college/

[Anonymous]

Essay only matters when and if your DC is in the competitive pool. Your message of "essay" trumps all is very mis-leading and "dangerous" to families starting college search.

[Anonymous]

This is true, but the word is out.
That's why an insipid essay like Why I love Pappa John's pizza can get you into Yale,
or simply writing #BLM over and over to fill up a whole page can get you nto Stanford.
Go ahead and try to come up with that "clever opening" that grabs the admission committee's attention -this is an arms race.
previously it was "passion" they wanted, now that's old hat, the conventional wisdom is now it's a clever essay.
Next year, probably something else.

[Anonymous]

I think you're right OP, as far as they are important for the colleges which deem them so.

If your child applies some of the top universities in Canada, they are not interested in essays or even extracurriculars, only grades - GPA + sat and act. That's it and they say so on their websites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Essay only matters when and if your DC is in the competitive pool. Your message of "essay" trumps all is very mis-leading and "dangerous" to families starting college search.

OP here. Give me a break. There is absolutely nothing in my comment that says you should forego grades in lieu of the essay. Dangerous? How silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Essay only matters when and if your DC is in the competitive pool. Your message of "essay" trumps all is very mis-leading and "dangerous" to families starting college search.

I trust the admissions and college counselors who stress the importance of a good essay. Their message carries more weight.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the public service message.
However, my DC, a rising high school senior, came home from prep school with a book "On Writing the College Application Essay," by Harry Bauld.
It is very informative, but DC says every kid in the class has read it. So that is what your kids are up against.

[Anonymous]

Obviously, the more elite school, admission is probably reading the essays. Big state school? Not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the public service message.
However, my DC, a rising high school senior, came home from prep school with a book "On Writing the College Application Essay," by Harry Bauld.
It is very informative, but DC says every kid in the class has read it. So that is what your kids are up against.

It's one book. Imagination?

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much Jeff for heading off a hijacking to this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the public service message.
However, my DC, a rising high school senior, came home from prep school with a book "On Writing the College Application Essay," by Harry Bauld.
It is very informative, but DC says every kid in the class has read it. So that is what your kids are up against.

It's one book. Imagination?

Imagination is important, all the many prep classes will tell you that. Along with tone, style, word choice, grammar

[Anonymous]

Also when you write about papa johns make sure to make lots of grammatical mistakes. Admit comms appear to love that!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also when you write about papa johns make sure to make lots of grammatical mistakes. Admit comms appear to love that!!!

Isn't there another forum you can haunt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also when you write about papa johns make sure to make lots of grammatical mistakes. Admit comms appear to love that!!!

well at least the admit comms can assume with those grammatical mistakes that she wrote the essay herself. Bonus points there.
Otherwise how will they know who wrote it?
I imagine they are tired of high school kids sounding like professional writers or reading essays that sound like something Ph.D.'s wrote.

[Anonymous]

I am sure we'll soon hear how somebody included their pint rest page instead of an essay and got into Harvard. And it was of Obama and Trump photos facing each other... Or some other copy and paste "contemporary art." College admission is becoming enchanted with nonsensical just as our society is today.