Essays That Worked

Essays That Worked As I dug deeper into the history of college, I began to realize that different historical aspects were still present in the current college experience. Many colleges still put a strong emphasis on prestige; in fact, some colleges, such as Ivy League schools, have built their entire business model around the promise of prestige. Each student needs to be able to claim authentic ownership of their essays. Mom and Dad may be great help during the brainstorming process of generating essay topics. Parents may know other details about the student that they should include in the essay. Parents are also a great second pair of eyes for grammar and spelling errors. Many students do need help selecting a topic and organizing the essay. They should seek guidance from their counselors or teachers for this. The essay should be in the student’s voice and parent’s are not always the best advisors for this part of the application. The college is learning about you from what you write. Not what anyone else writes including your parent. While not everyone who does MUN makes it their main activity, many invest a considerable amount of their time and energy into it. Model United Nations is a large part of their personal growth as a high school student, and they can leverage their MUN experience to get into college. It takes more than good grades and strong test scores to get into competitive colleges like Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. High school students today have to stand out by excelling in their extracurricular activities. It’s also on full display at college commencement ceremonies in which students and faculty don elaborate outfits and accessories that signal importance. You absolutely should have a second and even third set of eyes help you edit and proofread your essay. Be sure to pick readers who have strong skills in grammar and usage. If your parents fit the bill, there’s no reason they shouldn’t help you polish your essay, but students often find it easier to work with a teacher, counselor or other adult. Parents can become emotionally involved and/or try to influence the content of the essay, which is something you DON’T want. But, if they start writing the essay know that the college may very well determine that the work was not yours. Is your parent going to write your essays that are assigned by professors while you are in college? While it is okay to have a parent proof an essay, they are not always the best option. Asking someone who is slightly more removed from the application process may be the wisest route to go. While parents mean well, any constructive feedback may be misinterpreted, creating conflict at what can already be a stressful time. Teachers, guidance counselors, even friends are viable candidates when looking for a second opinion on your writing. Since the admissions committee is reading hundreds of essays, it’s your job to move them, make them laugh, and force them to realize that they need you at their institution. No matter who helps to edit and proof your work, it’s essential that your writing remain your own. However, they should not write or re-write the essay. Essay’s should always been seen by someone else to look for grammatical and spelling errors. Many do this through sports, science, or the arts, but others join activities such as speech and debate, mock trial, and Model United Nations. And even Joan Didion herself wouldn’t get into college on her writing skills if she had lackluster grades or scores. In fact, if you’re reading this blog post as a junior or senior and you have a college essay to write, you can do something about that right now. Similarly, major themes such as social life and practical knowledge continue to be on full display at 4-year colleges. The college cares how you write not how your parent writes unless they are also applying to the same college as you. I recommend that students try to find an adult other than their parents to help with essay editing. Parents are blinded by love and perhaps perfection. I would still suggest that a English professional still read over the essay for expert editing purposes. However, parents should not try to change the voice of the student, which can be difficult to refrain from. The essay needs to be a reflection of the student’s creativity, writing ability and personality; not the parent.