Anonymous wrote:A few years back, our kid, wrote her essays in a week and applied to two colleges for EA. Got into both and then was done. We found out that some of the people we knew had payed around 25K for the whole college counseling thing and that primarily included getting essays written for their children.

What was amazing to us was that they were actually boasting about it "Look at us. We can afford to pay 25K to cheat."

Wut???

Wow. You really are so great! /s

Looking for an essay coach who will review 3 drafts of personal essay and tell which one is strongest and give comments on that draft.

Who would you suggest?

I had my junior meet with a Varsity Tutor for a few sessions.

Anonymous wrote:We're not getting an college counselor. I think it's foolish. You're setting your kid up to fail if he gets into a school that expects a certain level of writing that he can't handle.

I'm not advocation getting a college essay coach, but it's not an issue of not being at the required writing level. College essays are unique in what is expected. They are not typical of what's required in high school or college.

We're not getting an college counselor. I think it's foolish. You're setting your kid up to fail if he gets into a school that expects a certain level of writing that he can't handle.

Try *not* to drive herself crazy!

Be realistic. Someone spends 2 minutes reading the essay. One in a thousand kids may stand out, but you have no way of knowing what will stand out at that moment for that individual reader who’s assigned your kid’s application. The vast majority of kids are not going to write themselves in or out of college. Your kid should write essays that reflect who they are, not agonize about what some hive mind “wants,” and try to drive herself crazy.
-Just went through this with HS senior, essays were nothing special, she got in ED.

DC is a good writer but is stuck because of uncertainty about what colleges want from the essays. She is a passionate advocate and writes well in that context, and also does a great job with analyzing books, etc. She is convinced colleges want creative, witty, quirky essays and is having writers block because she's more of an analytical person as opposed to a creative/funny/witty writer. I tell DC to just write what she's passionate about and not worry about it. I honestly don't know what colleges want because I went to a school back in the day that didn't require essays, so I'm totally useless. I think kids with essay coaches have an advantage because they can have guidance on what colleges are looking for in the essays. I can afford an essay coach but I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. This process has been very eye opening as far as how much people spend on SAT prep, college essay coaches, college consultants for applications....DC has the GPA, SAT and ECs to be competitive at top schools so I'm guessing the essay might actually be a tipping point factor. I think the SAT essay section would be a better admissions tool because kids would be on a more level playing field but that's obviously not what we have right now.

A few years back, our kid, wrote her essays in a week and applied to two colleges for EA. Got into both and then was done. We found out that some of the people we knew had payed around 25K for the whole college counseling thing and that primarily included getting essays written for their children.

What was amazing to us was that they were actually boasting about it "Look at us. We can afford to pay 25K to cheat."

Wut???

Anonymous wrote:Assuming the colleges know many affluent kids are getting far more assistance than others, what is the purpose of the essay? Seems irrelevant to writing ability unless it’s bad. But I suppose in some cases it may tell a story of who the applicant is? Do the essays matter? Needed as part of the holistic process?

Totally agree. IMO, they should have kept the writing portion of the SAT/ACT. That's the only way to see how well (or poorly) a student actually writes, with no assistance.

Anonymous wrote:For the parent who used Blue Pencil, which service did you use? thanks.

They helped with brainstorming and multiple drafts.

Still disappointed that I never got to see or read my two kids college essays….honestly I have no idea what they wrote and submitted. One is now a successful software developer in Boston and the other starts a PhD in biomedical engineering. Both my husband and I were left out of this parenting experience….

Assuming the colleges know many affluent kids are getting far more assistance than others, what is the purpose of the essay? Seems irrelevant to writing ability unless it’s bad. But I suppose in some cases it may tell a story of who the applicant is? Do the essays matter? Needed as part of the holistic process?

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s an interesting topic of how much assistance is appropriate. Is there any guidance anywhere? In my day, no one read my essay even to proofread and I’m sure it was full of errors. But coming from the DMV, I feel like colleges expect the essays to at least be proofread. And I’m sure they know many kids from this area have assistance from at least their parents. Any thoughts?

For our family the. benefit is in having a non-family member force the student to sit down and focus on the questions and possible topics during the summer before senior year.
There are so many things to nag the poor kids about at this point - this removes one of them. Good for the procrastinators and easily distracted!

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone make a recommendation that is moderately priced? Looking for someone to help revise DS' essays for t20s and ivies.

Becky Claster - https://clastereducation.com/