Editing Your College Child's Essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many high schools tell juniors to draft their essay over the summer, and then provide a brief consult (edit session) with an English teacher in the fall. Do you consider this (transparent guidance) cheating also?

My children's school requires students to meet with English teacher three times during first semester to go over their essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only parent who does not do this?

You're not alone. Cuz if you do, it's cheating.

[Anonymous]

Bah!

I don't care if my kid wrote her essays by herself, and others paid thousands to professional writers. My daughter and the other kids, they landed at the same colleges. DH was damn happy that he saved all that money. He actually bought her a new car with the saved money so my kid benefited too.

If people want to spend money on the essays then that is their prerogative. Essay is just one part of the total application package. GPA, SATs, AP scores, EC ...all these records matter a lot more.

[Anonymous]

There are several situations being discussed here.

1. Child does essay completely on own. No help whatsoever.

2. Child does essay drafts and shares with parents, who add a few commas and word changes.

3. Child does essay drafts and shares with parents, who brainstorm ideas, remove unnecessary words, make suggestions smoother transitions, guide them to focus on a particular aspect of the essay.

4. Child works with hired professional who does the same things as the parents in #3.

5. Child works with a hired professional who "edits" the essay to a point where it is not recognizable as the kid's own work.

As far as I am concerned, any parent who allows #1 to happen is stupid. At least set your eyes on it and make sure there are no spelling or grammar errors.

#2 through #4 are perfectly fine! Admissions folks expect this is happening. My DS attended a class where he got editing help from his teacher. We also gave input and we will likely float it by a friend who is a college admissions rep.

#5 is what I would consider "cheating"

Those who are calling all of the above cheating are just trolls or idiots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in process of helping DS with editing. Editing includes removing unnecessary words, suggestions on info to include, grammar, punctuation, etc. Nothing wrong with this, and any parent who does not engage only hurts their kid. I know one who was at top of class that should have been admitted to an ivy. Neither counselor or parents saw essay. Because he was valedictorian, he felt no need to put effort into essay. He was rejected from all top schools.

I hope the colleges are sending congratulatory letters to those parents since they've done so much writing, re-writing, and editing....er um cheating.

[Anonymous]

Both the counselors at our MCPS high school and several admissions counselors on college visits recommended more than 1 set of eyes on the essay. We gave our thoughts and a few commas to our son. I'd also guess many essays never get a read..paying for test prep is much more important to give your child an edge

[Anonymous]

Colleges should do away with essays, unless the applicants write them in a supervised testing session as was done years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Editing an essay, whether it’s done by a parent, a “professional,” or anyone else, constitutes cheating. It is totally unethical. And admissions offices are all well versed in the scam. They can readily spot an edited essay. If your child’s essay has been edited and he/she gets rejected, don’t be surprised.

PP, your post is ludicrous. "Editing an essay … constitutes cheating." You need to develop a better understanding of what cheating is and what editing actually constitutes. Until you've done that there really is nothing more for you to contribute. Admissions Officers expect that essays will be edited for clarity, grammar, punctuation and spelling. If you submit an essay without subjecting it to editing by someone else then that is a dumb thing to do.

Source? Find me a college admissions website that says they expect essays to be edited by a someone other than the student.

First one I looked at, because they said the same thing at the admissions info session:

Your application should be your own voice and ideas. Admissions staff are pretty good at distinguishing the writing of a 17-year-old from that of a 30- or 40-year-old.
Although it is a good idea to let your English teach or counselor read over your essay to check for errors or grammar, you should make sure that even after the 3rd draft, you essay is still your voice.
Have a friend read your final essay. If they can't tell it is your voice, then somewhere along the editing process, your originality was lost.

https://www.amherst.edu/admission/telementoring/resources/ttips#Essay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Editing an essay, whether it’s done by a parent, a “professional,” or anyone else, constitutes cheating. It is totally unethical. And admissions offices are all well versed in the scam. They can readily spot an edited essay. If your child’s essay has been edited and he/she gets rejected, don’t be surprised.

PP, your post is ludicrous. "Editing an essay … constitutes cheating." You need to develop a better understanding of what cheating is and what editing actually constitutes. Until you've done that there really is nothing more for you to contribute. Admissions Officers expect that essays will be edited for clarity, grammar, punctuation and spelling. If you submit an essay without subjecting it to editing by someone else then that is a dumb thing to do.

Source? Find me a college admissions website that says they expect essays to be edited by a someone other than the student.

First one I looked at, because they said the same thing at the admissions info session:

Your application should be your own voice and ideas. Admissions staff are pretty good at distinguishing the writing of a 17-year-old from that of a 30- or 40-year-old.
Although it is a good idea to let your English teach or counselor read over your essay to check for errors or grammar, you should make sure that even after the 3rd draft, you essay is still your voice.
Have a friend read your final essay. If they can't tell it is your voice, then somewhere along the editing process, your originality was lost.

https://www.amherst.edu/admission/telementoring/resources/ttips#Essay

Winner by knockout. We heard the same advice yesterday at a college tour. To paraphrase, find an editor you trust, eradicate the grammatical errors and typos, but make sure what you submit is your voice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges should do away with essays, unless the applicants write them in a supervised testing session as was done years ago.

Agree, because this thread makes apparent how many unethical people encourage their kids to cheat. Great role models.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges should do away with essays, unless the applicants write them in a supervised testing session as was done years ago.

Agree, because this thread makes apparent how many unethical people encourage their kids to cheat. Great role models.

Your version of cheating is called following the directions fir Amherst applications.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely NOT!

Will you also attend her classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely NOT!

Will you also attend her classes?

And yet you’re here on this site. If your kid is so self-sufficient what exactly do you need here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges should do away with essays, unless the applicants write them in a supervised testing session as was done years ago.

Agree, because this thread makes apparent how many unethical people encourage their kids to cheat. Great role models.

Your version of cheating is called following the directions for Amherst applications.

Spot on assessment. I think it is "following the directions" for most colleges or universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in process of helping DS with editing. Editing includes removing unnecessary words, suggestions on info to include, grammar, punctuation, etc. Nothing wrong with this, and any parent who does not engage only hurts their kid. I know one who was at top of class that should have been admitted to an ivy. Neither counselor or parents saw essay. Because he was valedictorian, he felt no need to put effort into essay. He was rejected from all top schools.

I hope the colleges are sending congratulatory letters to those parents since they've done so much writing, re-writing, and editing....er um cheating.

Are you also going to "edit" their papers while they're in college? Because it's the same unethical scummy conduct.