PSA: Don't write your essay about building huts in Africa!

[Anonymous]

Reading this thread I still feel like I have no idea what they are supposed o write about or not write about. My kid spends a lot of time on a sport they are not very good at —- it was a lifeline during the covid shutdown and so they became very invested in that community. But I guess that’s terrible to write about? She does have interesting thoughts but like most teenagers, they are on pretty circumscribed topics — eg why Snapchat is bad, how HS should be different than what it is, political viewpoints, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you see the misunderstanding most posters are having regarding college app essay topics ?

If you do, then you know how ridiculous the PSA thread title is and how ridiculous the private school counselor's advice was regarding college application essay topics.

I wrote the above and I am trying to help.

Every single college application essay has the same topic. If you understand this, then you will understand how much misinformation is spread about college app essays even by private high school college counselors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread I still feel like I have no idea what they are supposed o write about or not write about. My kid spends a lot of time on a sport they are not very good at —- it was a lifeline during the covid shutdown and so they became very invested in that community. But I guess that’s terrible to write about? She does have interesting thoughts but like most teenagers, they are on pretty circumscribed topics — eg why Snapchat is bad, how HS should be different than what it is, political viewpoints, etc.

Writing about continuing to commit to a sport despite not being that good would be a far more interesting essay than winning (or losing) as team captain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't write about something that screams "privilege" because someone paid heftily for him to be there building huts. Definitely don't write about something that was enabled by your parents, write about something that you did or created by yourself without sponsorship...

+1000

That has always been the case for decades Pretty clueless that the nephew was not aware of this. Top schools want students who create their own volunteer experiences and ECs---not ones that any rich kid can just pay for. AO know the difference.

[Anonymous]

Every college application essay involves the same topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side, my kid wrote a sports essay (not about performance but what leadership on a team looks like) and was accepted early to his two top choices (one top 20 and 1 highly sought after OOS flagship).

I only say this bc I think some topics are not as taboo as they are said to be.

I also would probably not write about a pay to play service trip though.

It's all in how you write the essay. And yes, anything that is obviously "pay to play" should not be part of an essay---AO can see thru that and the privilege

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"how my sport changed my life."

My high stats (3.98 GPA/4.53 wGPA/35 ACT, full IB) class of 22 wrote an essay like this (and his sport really did change his life), which I thought was pretty good, and he did not get into most of the selective schools he applied to (Yale, Harvard, Williams (legacy, but didn't apply ED), Amherst, Duke, UVa, MIT). Obviously not getting in to any of those could just be luck of the draw, but I wonder if his essay ended up hurting him.

Unfortunately, I bet it did. In the case of my nephew though, we are talking about the top schools, but also schools a level below that, like Emory, Tulane, etc

Haaa...while those are "ranked a level below" they still have single digit or low teen acceptance rates (Emory: 13.4%, Tulane 9.6%). They are still REACH schools for everyone.

I would love to see a list of the school your nephew did not get into . I'm guessing he only applied to 1 safety and the rest were reaches and maybe 1-2 high targets. If so, the issue is not 100% the essay, but largely the fact applying to more reaches does not increase your chances of acceptances....it's still a lottery ticket

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"how my sport changed my life."

My high stats (3.98 GPA/4.53 wGPA/35 ACT, full IB) class of 22 wrote an essay like this (and his sport really did change his life), which I thought was pretty good, and he did not get into most of the selective schools he applied to (Yale, Harvard, Williams (legacy, but didn't apply ED), Amherst, Duke, UVa, MIT). Obviously not getting in to any of those could just be luck of the draw, but I wonder if his essay ended up hurting him.

Gen X Eph gang

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. The conventional wisdom on what topics to avoid changes every year. But this is a tough one to pull off without looking like a cliche. See also, "how the pandemic affected me" and "how my sport changed my life." There are ways to make these work, but the best idea is usually more personal and less expected.

So let’s take the kid in the OP - seems like he’s had a pretty secure and cozy upbringing. What was he supposed to write about?

Something meaningful in his life that he didn't "pay to play". And perhaps recognizing if he can't find that something, then maybe he's not "T20"/reach school material. Majority who do get into those schools have an extra"IT" going on---many are genuinely just "a step above with genuine work" than the majority that get denied admission

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whelp, since my teenager has to work as a lifeguard and camp counselor in order to have spending money for the year, I don't think he'll be writing about trips overseas of any kind, service or otherwise.

And he can easily write about those and find a way to make it look good/show how it's changed his perspective on life, guided him. That's what normal kids do---they work jobs and volunteer locally at something that interests them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the sports essays as the build-a-hut essays at all.

Sure, they probably get a million sports essays, but that's because it's a typical and healthy and appropriate experience that many, many high school kids had. It won't make them stand out, but I can't imagine it genuinely hurting.

Build-a-hut essays, though, scream privilege and a lack of self-awareness.

And the sports can be used---it's just how you use it.

My own kid used a performing art/sport (dance) for a supplemental essay. Except the essay could be an actual piece of art or a video. Kid figured most AO would rather watch a dance video/see a piece of art along with a short essay than read yet another basic essay. Something different will get their attention---also helps as an engineering major to show the "other side" especially at a school that prides themselves on having students with many interests (including the performing arts) and many who pursue them as minors or 2nd majors. Worked for my kid at a target school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side, my kid wrote a sports essay (not about performance but what leadership on a team looks like) and was accepted early to his two top choices (one top 20 and 1 highly sought after OOS flagship).

I only say this bc I think some topics are not as taboo as they are said to be.

I also would probably not write about a pay to play service trip though.

It's all in how you write the essay. And yes, anything that is obviously "pay to play" should not be part of an essay---AO can see thru that and the privilege

+1 the essay is about who you are. Most topics can work but the "no pay-to-play" experiences seems to be pretty universal advice.

One of DS's best supplemental essays was about community service but specifically about how he liked doing one small job at a regular monthly event because it was the one job where he could talk with and get to know the people being served, seeing the same people every month and building relationships. That one was done fairly late in the process and it would have been great if he'd written it sooner because I think it would have made a much better common app essay (with some expansion) than the IMO pretty generic "first job" essay he did. [tip if you are stuck on essay topics -- early on look at the supplements you'll need to write, they are often more specific in topic request and can provide a jumping off point]

DD's common app essay is hard to describe but touched on her creative writing and art and using her imagination to build worlds and then tied that to her love of natural places and preserving those worlds. IMO it did a good job of explaining her two passions, was very unique, and definitely very much her. In brainstorming, that topic came from thinking about objects that are important to her -- her art/writing notebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, our private school college counselor told us decades ago in the nineties that we were not allowed to write "When I stepped off the plane in Third World Country X" essays. Or community service essays. There was a third essay on the list we weren't allowed to write either but I can't remember what it was.

One can write an essay about tying a shoelace if it is done well. And a successful college application essay can be about tying one's shoelace in a third world country or in a closet if it is done well.

Understand that high school college counselors are not the brightest bulbs in the lamp--even with respect to their own profession. Your college counselor offered "backyard fence" type gossip parading as experienced, knowledgeable insight.

Yup!

My kid wrote about their community service in various supplementals. But it was genuine, meaningful community service. Two years of being a camp counselor at camp for disabled kids for week. It genuinely did change my kid's perspective on life---they loved it. Continued to do it summers during college and is disappointed that once out of college didn't have enough vacation days to continue being a counselor. It was hard rewarding work. But really challenging for a kid who had never babysat or changed a diaper on a baby/toddler ever. Then in first 1 hour at camp were changing blowout diapers on a 10 year old and learning to laugh with the camper about it. My kid was a magnet for some of the most "difficult " behavior wise campers and had one who always wanted them and often peed on my kid multiple times per day. My kid had many stories about their growth and perspective on life from these weeks and it made for great essays.
Couple that with their sport of karate black belt and it's genuine strengths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't write about something that screams "privilege" because someone paid heftily for him to be there building huts. Definitely don't write about something that was enabled by your parents, write about something that you did or created by yourself without sponsorship...

+1000

That has always been the case for decades Pretty clueless that the nephew was not aware of this. Top schools want students who create their own volunteer experiences and ECs---not ones that any rich kid can just pay for. AO know the difference.

+1 Colleges are also aware that there are real ethical problems with these trips. A short list: the work done by these untrained privileged youth is often sub-par, but they simultaneously steal jobs from local laborers; the assumption that Western youth are qualified is offensive; trips that focus on orphanage visits are often damaging to the institutionalized youth; and the whole exercise reeks of neo-colonialism and paternalism.

As colleges engage with their own racist and colonial histories, trips like these become less and less attractive (to the point of hurting applications).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doubt that any essay is going to be make or break for selective college admissions if you are "standard suburban white kid" - even a wealthy one.

They're not going to notice anything that's not a URM "overcoming tremendous obstacles" essay.

It doesn't make or break unless you write one of the top 50 essays they read that season (that maybe goes on the website as an example of a great admitted student essay). My own view is you just want the essay to be different such that the AO at least wants to read it because it is a topic that nobody else is writing about. You then weave in your life story in a nuanced way...but you never write directly about an activity, sport, etc.

Absolutely incorrect backyard fence gossip.

Thanks for your backyard fence comeback...maybe add something to the discussion? My own kid took this approach and is attending a Top 5 in the Fall. Maybe the essay had zero bearing on anything...or maybe it did.