Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The writing teachers above are giving great advice.

My adorable and unique nephew plays the bag pipes and spent a summer with a master chocolatier in France. His essay was on being raised in a Catholic/Jewish/Buddhist home and was hysterically funny but so sweet and loving of his family at the same time. He got into two Ivies and the Claremont college he wanted. He had good grades and okay test scores (that he only took once) but neither would have gotten him accepted. It was his essay and unusual hobbies, I think.

When did your nephew apply to college?

Four years ago. He’s a senior now.

"Those even sound interesting. Kids need to find what makes them unique and what story they can tell most genuinely. Nothing is more boring or trite or overdone than the above essay topics, or what sports taught me, or that time I worked hard and won the spelling bee or robotics comp. it’s sad because the kids and parents, as OP and her kid are, spend ALL of high school focuses on sports, academics and volunteering and that is LEAST what colleges want to see them write about in their essay. But when they don’t DO anything else or have any identity outside of that they have nothing else to write."

This is OP. Where did I say my kid focuses on sports, academics and volunteering?

Anonymous wrote:The writing teachers above are giving great advice.

My adorable and unique nephew plays the bag pipes and spent a summer with a master chocolatier in France. His essay was on being raised in a Catholic/Jewish/Buddhist home and was hysterically funny but so sweet and loving of his family at the same time. He got into two Ivies and the Claremont college he wanted. He had good grades and okay test scores (that he only took once) but neither would have gotten him accepted. It was his essay and unusual hobbies, I think.

When did your nephew apply to college?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Those even sound interesting. Kids need to find what makes them unique and what story they can tell most genuinely. Nothing is more boring or trite or overdone than the above essay topics, or what sports taught me, or that time I worked hard and won the spelling bee or robotics comp. it’s sad because the kids and parents, as OP and her kid are, spend ALL of high school focuses on sports, academics and volunteering and that is LEAST what colleges want to see them write about in their essay. But when they don’t DO anything else or have any identity outside of that they have nothing else to write.

How about this one?

"I'm basically a slacker. I will do work if I have to, but mostly I just enjoy hanging out, enjoying life, and playing computer games?"

I mean if that’s what he’s got, that’s what he’s got. I’d suggest at least trying to make gaming a metaphor for actually succeeding at life and solving problems and challenges and what skills he’s learned while looking from the outside like a slacker.

Anonymous wrote:
Those even sound interesting. Kids need to find what makes them unique and what story they can tell most genuinely. Nothing is more boring or trite or overdone than the above essay topics, or what sports taught me, or that time I worked hard and won the spelling bee or robotics comp. it’s sad because the kids and parents, as OP and her kid are, spend ALL of high school focuses on sports, academics and volunteering and that is LEAST what colleges want to see them write about in their essay. But when they don’t DO anything else or have any identity outside of that they have nothing else to write.

How about this one?

"I'm basically a slacker. I will do work if I have to, but mostly I just enjoy hanging out, enjoying life, and playing computer games?"

The writing teachers above are giving great advice.

My adorable and unique nephew plays the bag pipes and spent a summer with a master chocolatier in France. His essay was on being raised in a Catholic/Jewish/Buddhist home and was hysterically funny but so sweet and loving of his family at the same time. He got into two Ivies and the Claremont college he wanted. He had good grades and okay test scores (that he only took once) but neither would have gotten him accepted. It was his essay and unusual hobbies, I think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC #2 has submitted 7 apps and already accepted to one (rolling admission). We learned our lesson with DC #1. The essay doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get the apps in.

I am the PP band parent. The essay has to be good enough. For some schools, draft essay is good enough; for others, a more refined essay is required. Basically, if you really want to go to a school (DD with William and Mary) and you are not in the 75% percent (DD is about the average SAT and GPA) get a good essay together. And good can be fun, at least that is what we are trying.

As a writing teacher I’d like to qualify “good.” Good for a college admissions essay is NOT:

How great I am for volunteering
An injury I overcame
A mission trip that taught me how fortunate I am
My academic achievements and why they make me super

All of you who are heavily invested in the application process- if your kid’s English teacher isn’t coaching them through this part, hire someone to assist. I see so many BAD college essays the kids and parents think are amazing. They are rife with cliches and very pat lessons that mostly reveal what a sheltered life the kid has had.

Excellent post!

Another teacher here and my two favorite college essays ever were: “my childhood as the daughter of a shrink” and “I’m the guy most likely to volunteer to pick you up at the airport or help you move”. Both were so well written and so poignant while being very funny.

Those even sound interesting. Kids need to find what makes them unique and what story they can tell most genuinely. Nothing is more boring or trite or overdone than the above essay topics, or what sports taught me, or that time I worked hard and won the spelling bee or robotics comp. it’s sad because the kids and parents, as OP and her kid are, spend ALL of high school focuses on sports, academics and volunteering and that is LEAST what colleges want to see them write about in their essay. But when they don’t DO anything else or have any identity outside of that they have nothing else to write.

Anonymous wrote:Do seniors need to push themselves this much now or is this self inflicted? When I was in HS, junior year was hardest. You had to show some drive on senior year but it was nothing like 4 APs etc. I took a half day schedule, had a low key internship, and only 2 of the 4 classes were AP. And I went to a top 25 school. Senior year was the best. I have younger kids and this is making me nervous.

I have a different band kid than PP. (Lot of them out there). For mine life is crazy right now. Just insane. He has two dates circled in red. 11/8 and 1/15. He needs to dig in for 3 more weeks. He’s also in Pitt. 5 applications go in 11/1. 2 are EA and he will hear by Christmas. The other 3 are RD, but have no supplement. They are gone to get them off his plate. Shortly after that is the end of the quarter, and he needs to keep an eye on his grades in case EA schools ask for them. The first full weekend in November is the end of band, and the most hectic part of every year is over. 11/8. Big sigh of relief. A lot of pressure gone. Band down. 2/3 of college apps gone. Decent first quarter grades banks (I hope).

Then, he keep his eye on mid January. He has three colleges with supplemental essays. Two will take a couple hours each (up to 150 words on why this school). One is more involved, but not bad. We are going away for Thanksgiving, and the goal is for him to take a day away from everything and finish, and hit submit of 3 RD. Then, he needs to keep his grades up, because RD schools consider first semester.

By mid January, that’s it. He needs to attend school and not get Cs. They won’t be factored into college decisions. It’s been a marathon. He can take it slow the last few miles.

His academic load is about the same as junior year. But he’s more able to handle it and the teachers are really easy on seniors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The truth is when your kids get to high school, they’re probably going to want to be in classes with their friends, the “smart kids”.

I teach academic level and honors. The popular kids are in academic level as well.

Not popular, smart!

Yes but PP’s comment made it sound as if only the smart kids have a peer group which is not true. Plenty of academic level kids have tons of friends in their classes.

No I didn't mean that. I meant that the super smart kids would mostly congregate in the hardest classes, and in my experience that's where the other super smart kids wanted to be -- with their academic peer group. Not that the kids in the next level down academically weren't perfectly nice kids. Although in our school, there tended to be less interesting instruction and more disruptive behavior in the non honors or non AP classes, but that might just be because of our school.

Anonymous wrote:Do seniors need to push themselves this much now or is this self inflicted? When I was in HS, junior year was hardest. You had to show some drive on senior year but it was nothing like 4 APs etc. I took a half day schedule, had a low key internship, and only 2 of the 4 classes were AP. And I went to a top 25 school. Senior year was the best. I have younger kids and this is making me nervous.

If you are able to pay for college, or happy to take out loans, I think there are plenty of schools for every student.

If you are chasing merit aid and scholarships, it is a different story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC #2 has submitted 7 apps and already accepted to one (rolling admission). We learned our lesson with DC #1. The essay doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get the apps in.

I am the PP band parent. The essay has to be good enough. For some schools, draft essay is good enough; for others, a more refined essay is required. Basically, if you really want to go to a school (DD with William and Mary) and you are not in the 75% percent (DD is about the average SAT and GPA) get a good essay together. And good can be fun, at least that is what we are trying.

As a writing teacher I’d like to qualify “good.” Good for a college admissions essay is NOT:

How great I am for volunteering
An injury I overcame
A mission trip that taught me how fortunate I am
My academic achievements and why they make me super

All of you who are heavily invested in the application process- if your kid’s English teacher isn’t coaching them through this part, hire someone to assist. I see so many BAD college essays the kids and parents think are amazing. They are rife with cliches and very pat lessons that mostly reveal what a sheltered life the kid has had.

Excellent post!

Another teacher here and my two favorite college essays ever were: “my childhood as the daughter of a shrink” and “I’m the guy most likely to volunteer to pick you up at the airport or help you move”. Both were so well written and so poignant while being very funny.

Anonymous wrote:Or you could let her miss half day of school to finish the essay.

It's senior year. Apps are going in, it's fine to miss a little in order to stay up on everything.

Best advice. Pick a day and let her stay home. I don’t care if I get flamed but I would help her write And edit it as much as possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC #2 has submitted 7 apps and already accepted to one (rolling admission). We learned our lesson with DC #1. The essay doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get the apps in.

I am the PP band parent. The essay has to be good enough. For some schools, draft essay is good enough; for others, a more refined essay is required. Basically, if you really want to go to a school (DD with William and Mary) and you are not in the 75% percent (DD is about the average SAT and GPA) get a good essay together. And good can be fun, at least that is what we are trying.

As a writing teacher I’d like to qualify “good.” Good for a college admissions essay is NOT:

How great I am for volunteering
An injury I overcame
A mission trip that taught me how fortunate I am
My academic achievements and why they make me super

All of you who are heavily invested in the application process- if your kid’s English teacher isn’t coaching them through this part, hire someone to assist. I see so many BAD college essays the kids and parents think are amazing. They are rife with cliches and very pat lessons that mostly reveal what a sheltered life the kid has had.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The truth is when your kids get to high school, they’re probably going to want to be in classes with their friends, the “smart kids”.

I teach academic level and honors. The popular kids are in academic level as well.

Not popular, smart!

Yes but PP’s comment made it sound as if only the smart kids have a peer group which is not true. Plenty of academic level kids have tons of friends in their classes.

Disagree. I read a board where there is a mom who works in university admissions at a highly ranked school. They want at least 8 APS, preferably more, meaningful and high level ECs and the kid to have a "passion" that they sell to the admissions people. Sorry but it is true now.

But not everyone wants or needs to go to a highly ranked school. The student should drive their own course selection. I feel like too many parents believe that their kids have to take as many APs as possible to even go to college at all.

Even though they might not have felt like they wanted to be pushed to do more work in the advanced classes, the truth was that all their friends and the so called "smart kids" were taking the advanced classes. The peer group was all taking the harder classes. The regular classes were not the kids they considered their academic peers and there were much lower expectations for behavior as well.

Do teenagers really sit around contemplating who is and is not an academic peer and judging people based on whether they were in AAP in middle school? My DC took some regular, some honors and some AP classes in HS and didn't have trouble relating to his classmates in any class, probably because he had never been labeled as gifted. He did fine with college admissions with a "medium rigor" transcript and pretty high test scores and he never felt overloaded with homework.