College Essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love how we tell students that the personal essay is to be authentic and about what is important to them..
but NOT this and NOT that.. and not anything that actually is important to them.
That's why this whole process sucks.

This.

My poor DS has been brainstorming and writing his essay for about 3 months. Then someone told him not to write about an item on his activity list and he tried to scrap the whole thing. I told him to block out all the noise and write what he wanted. It's the most authentic writing he'll produce. The fakest was his attempt to write about something random.

[Anonymous]

We just went to an admissions thing with AOs from a selective school and there was a portion about the essay. They said that there are a lot of myths/incorrect info about the essay and that there is no prize for an original topic. They showed us various essays that applicants submitted this past year to the school and one of them was about sports (kid got in). Topic doesn’t matter but showing your personality and character does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just went to an admissions thing with AOs from a selective school and there was a portion about the essay. They said that there are a lot of myths/incorrect info about the essay and that there is no prize for an original topic. They showed us various essays that applicants submitted this past year to the school and one of them was about sports (kid got in). Topic doesn’t matter but showing your personality and character does.

Right but this specific college says “tell me something that’s not already in your application so we can learn more about you”.

[Anonymous]

But just because it’s in the common app activities section doesn’t mean it was described in any way, certainly not what you’re describing as an obstacle that was overcome. I don’t see an issue with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD's first choice college specifically says "don't write your essay about something that is elsewhere in your application." Let's say for example she has a Varsity sport or another activity listed in her activities. if her college essay is 650 words about a time she faced an obstacle related to one of these activities, do you think she is going against the college's specific instructions?

No. This is fine. I cannot think of a good example so I am making up an average example.

Lets say that your DD is a gymnast and she won first place in a state level competition, and her activity list says "1st place in parallel bar, gymnastics, State, 2021", then her essay certainly should not be about how great it was to win the state medal or how she got honor or accolades for her school etc.

However, she can write a compelling story about how she has a fear of heights because she has a ruptured eardrum and so for a long time she has lived with vertigo. Then one day she saw the gymnastic coverage on TV and wanted to become a gymnast. . But then she knew that she could not do it because of her balance problem as well as the fact that she had not started the training when she was young. She decided to get up every day at 4 pm and do the special exercises so that she could mentally and physically overcome her vertigo problem. This enabled her to train for the sport and inspite of starting late in the sport, she got to enjoy and compete in the sport she liked.
Of course, written better than this and with hooks etc.

So you can allude to your accolades but your story is not about your accolades but the journey and what motivates you.

Perfect example. I think the advice to avoid sports as a topic is trash, anyway. This is a great example of telling an unseen side of the story.

[Anonymous]

View "don't write your essay about something that is elsewhere in your application" as a suggestion not to squander the opportunity to highlight other facets of your life. The essay is an opportunity to convey non-quantifiable information about who you are (qualities, motivations, etc) or who you want to become. But the subject doesn't matter. If your DD thinks her athletics is foundational or important to who explaining who she is or she can convey important information not provided elsewhere, she can and probably should write about it. My DS wrote about athletics and was happy with the reaction from schools (though to be honest who knows whether that was because of or in spite of his essay(s)). (He was not a recruited athlete)

[Anonymous]

I help HS seniors with their essays and what I tell them is that the essay is a/often the only way for colleges to get a sense of their personalities. A million kids play high level lacrosse/piano/do a ton of clubs/volunteer, right? But in an essay, the schools get to hear their “voice”. Quirky is good if you are quirky. If you’re not, just wrote a straightforward essay about something you care about! The most important thing it seems to me is letting your child’s personality shine through- authenticity. Even if that means it’s a little awkward or not perfect.

[Anonymous]

With the massive uptick in applications, isn't it true that the essays matter less and less? I agree with the PP who suggests that the essay is a prime opportunity for the kid's voice to shine through. But, my question is: is anyone really listening for that anymore? Seems admissions are more about demographic and numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the massive uptick in applications, isn't it true that the essays matter less and less? I agree with the PP who suggests that the essay is a prime opportunity for the kid's voice to shine through. But, my question is: is anyone really listening for that anymore? Seems admissions are more about demographic and numbers.

If your kid’s application meets certain cut offs, then yes they do read the essay. I think I read this somewhere. At small schools they read every single one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the massive uptick in applications, isn't it true that the essays matter less and less? I agree with the PP who suggests that the essay is a prime opportunity for the kid's voice to shine through. But, my question is: is anyone really listening for that anymore? Seems admissions are more about demographic and numbers.

If your kid’s application meets certain cut offs, then yes they do read the essay. I think I read this somewhere. At small schools they read every single one.

They matter less and less now.

[Anonymous]

I thought if your school was on the Common App you can just answer a prompt but looking at a number of schools, they want a 650 word personal essay that tells "information not shared elsewhere".