Child Submitting Application Without You Seeing

[Anonymous]

Totally normal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the “land the helicopter” types — have you never in your life asked someone else to proofread a resume or a cover letter?

Having a second set of eyes on something important before it’s submitted is very useful, and building in time for that is a good life skill for students. No one is perfect, and every good editor knows proofing your own work is the most difficult.

Is it the end of the world if a kid doesn’t want anyone else to check their application? No, and congrats to them for their confidence and independence. A typo probably won’t ruin their chances, honestly. But having a parent or counselor or tutor or whoever look it over does not mean their are any helicopters involved, either, just smart people who recognize the importance of double-checking things.

+1

We don't know whether anyone else is proofreading OP's kid's app. And no one proofread my app 40 yrs ago. But that doesn't mean it's some sort of smart move, to submit with no one seeing it. In most cases, if the parent isn't reading the app - and I am referring to the whole thing, including the activity descriptions - then likely no one is, unless the family has a consultant. And a bunch of posters are patting themselves on the back as if that's so wise. Ok...

[Anonymous]

Normal, yes. Wise, not really, no.

[Anonymous]

I never saw any of DS's applications/essays/ Common App

[Anonymous]

I didn’t see any of my kids apps.

[Anonymous]

I helped my kid fill in the parent info on the common app, and that was the last I saw of the applications. It's excessively helicopter-ish to proofread every line of every application. If he's not good enough to fill out the application, he's not good enough for that school.
For the most part, I knew what schools he was applying to and gave him my card so he could pay the application fees. He did apply to one school I didn't know about (he had a fee waiver) and I didn't know about it until I started receiving recruitment emails from the school. In the end, that school didn't come out on top, but why should I care if he wants to apply to more schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone been in this situation? Our child think he will send in their ED app without us seeing it.

Don't let that happen.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of hands-off parents who post on this board. I find that interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of hands-off parents who post on this board. I find that interesting.

They say things they don’t actually do.

[Anonymous]

The hands-off parents need reassurance that they aren’t neglecting their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t look at any of my kid’s application when they submitted. I knew they were submitting only when they asked me for credit card information for the fee.

+1. Yup, same here.

[Anonymous]

I never saw any of my son’s applications. It is his college career, and his choices. I admit I was lucky to feel some he was capable of doing a good job. Also, he shared essays with trusted teachers for feedback, so I know he had feedback.
He got in to several good schools, didn’t get in to a few others, and is very happy and doing well at the place he needed up.
Only you know if you should trust your kid, but I encourage you to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the “land the helicopter” types — have you never in your life asked someone else to proofread a resume or a cover letter?

Having a second set of eyes on something important before it’s submitted is very useful, and building in time for that is a good life skill for students. No one is perfect, and every good editor knows proofing your own work is the most difficult.

Is it the end of the world if a kid doesn’t want anyone else to check their application? No, and congrats to them for their confidence and independence. A typo probably won’t ruin their chances, honestly. But having a parent or counselor or tutor or whoever look it over does not mean their are any helicopters involved, either, just smart people who recognize the importance of double-checking things.

You're arguing with a straw man. We're not saying it's wrong to ask someone else to look over your work. We're saying that if another person, an adult or soon to be adult, decides that they don't want another person to look at something that's a choice they're allowed to make. "Land the helicopter" is about mom and her feelings, not proofreading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the “land the helicopter” types — have you never in your life asked someone else to proofread a resume or a cover letter?

Having a second set of eyes on something important before it’s submitted is very useful, and building in time for that is a good life skill for students. No one is perfect, and every good editor knows proofing your own work is the most difficult.

Is it the end of the world if a kid doesn’t want anyone else to check their application? No, and congrats to them for their confidence and independence. A typo probably won’t ruin their chances, honestly. But having a parent or counselor or tutor or whoever look it over does not mean their are any helicopters involved, either, just smart people who recognize the importance of double-checking things.

You're arguing with a straw man. We're not saying it's wrong to ask someone else to look over your work. We're saying that if another person, an adult or soon to be adult, decides that they don't want another person to look at something that's a choice they're allowed to make. "Land the helicopter" is about mom and her feelings, not proofreading.

As long as they are willing to assume the financial aspect, I have no problem with that. Your kid paying for themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normal, yes. Wise, not really, no.

This 💯