Monday, August 17, 2020
How To Write The College Essay
How To Write The College Essay Spend most of the essay focusing on yourself and how your personality or choices have been shaped because of this person. In some cases, it depends how you frame the topic. It is, however, a good idea for the parents to help the student brainstorm ideas for the essay prior to writing it. If they read through and make light edits, grammatical and typos, yes. If the parent re-writes or writes the essay the answer is no. Yes, it is perfectly okay to have your parents edit your essays. If your essay is filled with lies and exaggerations, then youâve missed the point entirely. Itâs possible that college admissions officers may suspect youâre lying, which is a poor reflection on your ethics and morals. Even if they donât suspect youâre lying, youâve missed your chance to showcase the real reasons that youâre a good fit for this school. Sometimes, applicants write about obstacles theyâve overcome or illicit/illegal topics including arrest, sexual experiences, drugs, and alcohol. In a few cases, these topics have been addressed effectively. But for the most part, itâs better to avoid subjects that could reflect poorly on your judgment and morals. After all, you donât want colleges to think youâre someone theyâd rather not have on campus. If you do write about someone who influenced your life, make sure that you only briefly describe them. More than any other element of the application, the essay gives insight into who a student really is. So it should âsoundâ like the applicant, revealing personality, interests, quirks, personal style, and voice. Some parents can act as a sounding board without taking over the project, while others cannot. In fact, itâs important to write in your authentic voice and avoid using âfancyâ vocabulary just to impress admissions officers. Remember that the purpose of a college admissions essay is to help admissions officers get to know you. The danger there is that the essay starts sounding more like a forty something adult, instead of a high school senior. There is a certain âvoiceâ that defines a young person about to start college and if it is lacking in an essay, Admissions Directors will quickly pick it up. But resist the urge to rewrite everything in the way you might express it. The sooner the family treats this as a team effort it will be much easier for the 12th grader to feel as though they are not alone in this process. I think it is always best for a student to have an impartial person do the proofing. It is difficult for parents to remain unbiased and often it can cause a lot of added tension between the student and parent. For instance, if church was a major part of your upbringing and is very meaningful to you, you could mention this aspect of your identity in a college application essay. However, itâs important to do so without implying that your religion is better than others or attacking people who donât practice your religion. The reasons why you should go to college go beyond getting a solid education. Thatâs because the opportunities available inside and outside the classroom will help you take the important next steps into adulthood and your future career. CFNC.org has great tools to help parents and students explore college options. I hammered home the point that misrepresenting himself was wrong and an honor offense, and that colleges are interested in authenticity rather than heroism. I told him that any college admissions officer would detect instantly that the story was not genuine. Parents should always help their child in a positive way as long as they are not writing the ideas for the student. Editing is vastly different from original writing so this needs to be clarified first, as it has to be the voice and personal memories of the applicant not the parent. However, the key is to edit, not to write them for you. They can help with typos, grammatical errors, and help you to be clear, concise and compelling. They know you best, sometimes more than you know yourself so they may have good suggestions. However, you do want the essays to sound like you; it should be your voice. There should be some consistency between the essays and interviews. The emphasis must be on âhelpâ and not, âtake over.â Parents, with only the best intentions, will often offer lots of input and comments, which their child will gratefully accept.
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