HS Magnet essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year HS magnet essay is limited to 200 words (at least according to description.)
Are they going to enforce it?
My child is now forced to pay attention to word count vs. meaning.
Original quite good essay was over 400 words.
200 words version looks ridiculous.
Did anybody call central office or school to find out about this strange 200 words requirement?

OP,

My kid is also working on her applications and says there is a statement that students have to sign acknowledging that no one other than the applicant has handled the application. You should not have read or given feedback on the application at all.

That is funny. Or they would put them to prison?
Are college applications also have such statements?
Should they also put it after every HW, to make sure that nobody worked with tutor?


Is this because there is no more essay during actual test?

I think the common ap also includes a statement about the students own work..though we know there is a whole industry built on college essay "consulting" and I heard many admissions counselors remind kids to have at least one other person read their essay before submitting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have your every wrote essay under 200 words? That is two small paragraphs.
Try to write 12 sentences. You will get 200 words in no time (if you count the, a, and etc.)
Now write 3-4 paragraph essay in 12 short sentences. You get very crappy essay.

Yes, it's much harder to write a good 200-word essay than a good 1,000-word essay. Is your child up to the task?

200 words is not really an "essay" it is 10-15 sentences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have your every wrote essay under 200 words? That is two small paragraphs.
Try to write 12 sentences. You will get 200 words in no time (if you count the, a, and etc.)
Now write 3-4 paragraph essay in 12 short sentences. You get very crappy essay.

Yes, it's much harder to write a good 200-word essay than a good 1,000-word essay. Is your child up to the task?

200 words is not really an "essay" it is 10-15 sentences.

How many sentences do there need to be for it to be an essay, in your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Seems a lot better than the 4 essays my current 9th grader had to write when he was applying to MS magnets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year HS magnet essay is limited to 200 words (at least according to description.)
Are they going to enforce it?
My child is now forced to pay attention to word count vs. meaning.
Original quite good essay was over 400 words.
200 words version looks ridiculous.
Did anybody call central office or school to find out about this strange 200 words requirement?

It has to fit in the space given. If it doesn't fit, how is she going to submit it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year HS magnet essay is limited to 200 words (at least according to description.)
Are they going to enforce it?
My child is now forced to pay attention to word count vs. meaning.
Original quite good essay was over 400 words.
200 words version looks ridiculous.
Did anybody call central office or school to find out about this strange 200 words requirement?

It has to fit in the space given. If it doesn't fit, how is she going to submit it?

The above comment is for CAP Magnet - there is no word count, but "CAP students pursue a rigorous humanities curriculum with an interdisciplinary connection
among English, social studies, communication, and visual/fine arts. So that we are able to both preview your writing capabilities and learn more about you, please respond to the following quote as it applies to you and your life experience. Be specific and choose your words carefully. Your response must fit in the space below. Please, no creative writing (e.g. stories, poems, mock interviews, etc.)."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year HS magnet essay is limited to 200 words (at least according to description.)
Are they going to enforce it?
My child is now forced to pay attention to word count vs. meaning.
Original quite good essay was over 400 words.
200 words version looks ridiculous.
Did anybody call central office or school to find out about this strange 200 words requirement?

It has to fit in the space given. If it doesn't fit, how is she going to submit it?

The above comment is for CAP Magnet - there is no word count, but "CAP students pursue a rigorous humanities curriculum with an interdisciplinary connection
among English, social studies, communication, and visual/fine arts. So that we are able to both preview your writing capabilities and learn more about you, please respond to the following quote as it applies to you and your life experience. Be specific and choose your words carefully. Your response must fit in the space below. Please, no creative writing (e.g. stories, poems, mock interviews, etc.)."

My child did not got to portal yet for submission. But cover for magnet states up to 200 words.
Here is the link:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/applications/HS%20Magnet%20App%20Non(1).pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year HS magnet essay is limited to 200 words (at least according to description.)
Are they going to enforce it?
My child is now forced to pay attention to word count vs. meaning.
Original quite good essay was over 400 words.
200 words version looks ridiculous.
Did anybody call central office or school to find out about this strange 200 words requirement?

It has to fit in the space given. If it doesn't fit, how is she going to submit it?

The above comment is for CAP Magnet - there is no word count, but "CAP students pursue a rigorous humanities curriculum with an interdisciplinary connection
among English, social studies, communication, and visual/fine arts. So that we are able to both preview your writing capabilities and learn more about you, please respond to the following quote as it applies to you and your life experience. Be specific and choose your words carefully. Your response must fit in the space below. Please, no creative writing (e.g. stories, poems, mock interviews, etc.)."

My child did not got to portal yet for submission. But cover for magnet states up to 200 words.
Here is the link:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/admissions/applications/HS%20Magnet%20App%20Non(1).pdf

I would recommend going to the portal, then. It will have the most accurate information.

[Anonymous]

^^ but you cannot have two different requirements.
One - do it under 200 words. Another - make it fit.
Then you get two different sets of essays. You cannot compare ones with 200 words with the others that have 400.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ but you cannot have two different requirements.
One - do it under 200 words. Another - make it fit.
Then you get two different sets of essays. You cannot compare ones with 200 words with the others that have 400.

No - you don't have two different essays or sets of requirements - you go to the portal and fill out the electronic application as required. That application is for ALL students to that program - thus ALL children must make it fit (whatever the limitation). I think our miscommunication here is that CAP appears to have a different written application than IB or STEM, with a different prompt, and the space for response is about 250 words more or less. I highly recommend that your student look at the actual application to make sure that he/she is aware of both the word and space constraints of the application.

[Anonymous]

If he can't follow instructions, he won't get into the magnet. Stick to the 200 word limit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have your every wrote essay under 200 words? That is two small paragraphs.
Try to write 12 sentences. You will get 200 words in no time (if you count the, a, and etc.)
Now write 3-4 paragraph essay in 12 short sentences. You get very crappy essay.

You have very crappy English. Hopefully, your child's command of the language is better than yours and she'll make it work.

[Anonymous]

My kid's essay turned out great. But boy it took some editing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have your every wrote essay under 200 words? That is two small paragraphs.
Try to write 12 sentences. You will get 200 words in no time (if you count the, a, and etc.)
Now write 3-4 paragraph essay in 12 short sentences. You get very crappy essay.

You have very crappy English. Hopefully, your child's command of the language is better than yours and she'll make it work.

PP also doesn't grok word count, so hopefully no one is swapping out with extra long words.

[Anonymous]

The application essays are compared with the essay the student writes for the admission test. If someone else helps to write the application essay, it is very evident to the admission committee. The instructions always stated that the essays should be written by the student without any help. This is not a new thing, this was always the expectation.