Parental Involvement in Apps

[Anonymous]

My kid is a college junior now. To this day, I have not seen DCs Common App essay or any supplements. My involvement consisted of answering random questions when asked and paying any fees.

I will provide feedback for DC#2 next year if she requests it, but that will be limited to basic grammar/spelling correction and broad suggestions the same as any editor would do. I won’t be rewriting anything.

[Anonymous]

I did absolutely nothing for both of my older kids. Literally nothing. No clue how to even log in. I knew where they were applying but never physically saw the common app for either kid. But I was also very hands off with schoolwork as well. One is now a junior and one is a freshman.

I envision I’m going to have to be a lot more hands on with #3 due to some learning disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mostly me.

After personal statement done I did most of the t25 supplements using the 6-7 diff intro paras kid wrote to mix and match.

Then kid went back to put his spin on it.

Saved time.

Finished with everything incl regular decision

How long did it take ?

[Anonymous]

I plan to do as much as I can except the essays (and will help with those). Mine are so busy between school and activities I don't know when they'd find the time without our help.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you are getting representative answers. Most parents see the essays. Most well off parents pay for help. But the ones who don’t, will be the ones who respond.

[Anonymous]

DC#1 - would not let me see essays. Did well with outcomes.

DC#2 - going through process now. He wants me involved. Collaborative editing done. It’s been a long few days lately.

[Anonymous]

I started the non-profit so aren’t I the best one to write about it. Just kidding my kids are tok young

[Anonymous]

It truly depends on the kid. Some kids are private or do more because their parents aren’t helpful. Some kids can do it but they have parents who help. And then there are those who can’t and really need their parents to do it for them.

Let’s not be judgdemental of which kid is better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you are getting representative answers. Most parents see the essays. Most well off parents pay for help. But the ones who don’t, will be the ones who respond.

“well off” parent here. Little to zero involvement for both kids. Top 10 school for the first , second working on apps now. Beyond conversation about which schools they are targeting and questions about deadlines - I’ve done nothing. They both prepped for ACT on own and wrote essays which I’ve yet to see(despite asking ). I guess this is how I handled the process as a kid too. They do have college counselors at their high school school and meet regularly. So there is that.

[Anonymous]

I revised directly. I used to be a high school English teacher. Then we went over my revisions to make sure they were ok with them. No regrets. This process sucks.

[Anonymous]

My kid submitted 11 apps EA or rolling. He worked with an essay coach over the summer, best decision ever. She helped with the Common App essay, but he did the supplementals himself. I helped him put a resume together. He had never seen one before, and it was required by 2 colleges.

[Anonymous]

It’s bizarre to me that “zero involvement” seems to be a sort of badge of honor for some posters. This is a huge step in a kids life and most need support of some kind. It’s less surprising that some people full on write/do everything (good luck to those kids, yikes).

We helped keep our kids on track with reminders about scheduling—they came up with the actual schedule for working on essays themselves, but needed help with thinking forward. We reviewed essays and made suggestions for edits, some of which they took, some they rejected. Reviewed the final draft just to check for grammar, punctuation etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you are getting representative answers. Most parents see the essays. Most well off parents pay for help. But the ones who don’t, will be the ones who respond.

“well off” parent here. Little to zero involvement for both kids. Top 10 school for the first , second working on apps now. Beyond conversation about which schools they are targeting and questions about deadlines - I’ve done nothing. They both prepped for ACT on own and wrote essays which I’ve yet to see(despite asking ). I guess this is how I handled the process as a kid too. They do have college counselors at their high school school and meet regularly. So there is that.

Sending them to private school is heavy involvement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s bizarre to me that “zero involvement” seems to be a sort of badge of honor for some posters. This is a huge step in a kids life and most need support of some kind. It’s less surprising that some people full on write/do everything (good luck to those kids, yikes).

We helped keep our kids on track with reminders about scheduling—they came up with the actual schedule for working on essays themselves, but needed help with thinking forward. We reviewed essays and made suggestions for edits, some of which they took, some they rejected. Reviewed the final draft just to check for grammar, punctuation etc.

It’s a badge of honor in this cesspool of DCUM parental helicoptering. My DD did it all by herself (only asked for help filling in what degrees DH and I have because she wasn’t sure). Her essay was edited in her English class, but DH and I saw not one part of the application. I’m very proud. She was just accepted at her top choice with merit aid. For me, it’s absolutely a badge of honor.

What really surprises me is that it’s mostly the kids who want T20 that “need” all the help. That doesn’t compute to me.

[Anonymous]

I read all essays and suggested edits, which son sometimes incorporated and sometimes didn't. Read through activities list and found one mistake/typo.

I did not feel super involved - no brainstorming or helping until everything was put together; also, son took a lot longer to ask for a read through than I would have in his shoes - but it sounds like comparatively I was more involved than other parents.