Some kids are applying to tons of schools, others not so much. No doubt each application has at least one essay to complete. They all seems so different and some seem more fun than others to write. I think, that just as much as students can tell a school about themselves in their writing, schools can tell you a lot about themselves in the topics they offer.
It’s that time of year when students are wrapping up their applications (about 45 days to go people)! Wondering if we can share topics we’ve seen so far this year? I have heard students being given a choice to choose from a list and then others have mentioned the schools they are applying to give no choices (that has to be boring for the AO haha)?
On a side note, if you could design a topic, what would be your choice? Personally, I’d love to see something along the lines of, if you were the richest person in the world, what would you do with your wealth? It would lead students (hopefully) to define in their eyes what they consider wealth which says a great deal of character.
How about AI that writes full on papers/documents/etc? They are out there and used for student work every day!
Never understood the point behind various essays in an application when it is known that many aren’t actually written by the applicant themselves. Doctored a thousand times over by outside help (if not written entirely by someone else to start with), doesn’t say much for the applicant’s ability. Sadly the 20 minute writing portion on the SSAT probably says a lot more. Now Admissions will need to not just take into account the added help in concocting an essay but the possibility that AI wrote the entire thing, no different than a hired hand I suppose, though AI can continue to work for the student throughout their years at school, unlike a hired hand who writes application essays.
I know during our son’s round (2011), some schools were including a timed writing sample as part of the interview. Maybe this will become more standard if schools want to continue placing weight on authentic student writing.
Interesting thought. Personally I would say yes, unethical, simply based on the adage, “use your own words”. Plagerizing is plagerizing whether it comes from an 18th century author, your classmate, or AI. One may just be a bit harder to prove of those 3.
I was REALLY surprised to learn that the SSAT writing sample was only 20 minutes. That’s tough for anyone considering some kids need the time to brainstorm and plan. Many will revise their work if given a chance, too. It’s tough but it would definitely give an idea and certainly a broader picture of what is going on.
I’d rather the sample be done during testing like that so I wouldn’t have to wait around for my child on interview day even more than we already need to (plus so many interviews are still virtual). But it certainly is of value!
I suggested to my daughters that they use the story prompt for the SSAT writing section rather than the essay prompt. This way they could have a story arc in mind before taking the test and the prompts tend to be so simple that they could bend it in any direction they chose. “She looked out the window as the sky fell” can lead to just about any story that you might want to tell.
My son enjoyed the argumentative prompt. It was right up his alley. I forget the topic, but he got in the car and couldn’t wait to tell me about it. This, coming from a kid who hates to write Now whether it was good writing, well, that’s a different topic
My daughter wouldn’t say what her prompt was because she said they were told they couldn’t share anything about the test (writing topic, questions, etc) with anyone outside the room. She’s a stickler for rules and integrity, but I wish she would have shared!
Apparently YES! Just came from an in-person Exeter event and the head of admissions said to take care of the SSAT writing sample because it’s the only writing sample in the application that is totally the student’s (with no editing from grown-ups). and they probably use it to compare writing styles to the essays in the application.
PS- you can read the writing sample (like you view the SSAT score report). You can see the two prompts and read what they wrote.
Only one of my daughter’s schools had a writing supplement in addition to the main essays on the general/shared application. The additional questions were:
Please describe the courses of study you have enjoyed the most in the last two years and note why they have been of special interest to you. Include any recognition you have received.
List and briefly describe any activities that you have enjoyed during the last two years including sports, clubs, and leadership opportunities.
And then there was a longer essay (the questions above had word limits of 100) which gave a choice between topics and had a word limit of 500 words - minimum 250. I think I remember them all, but I could be missing one:
Who do you most admire and why?
Have you experienced an event that has significantly impacted your life? How did it change you and your way of thinking?
What would you describe as the most interesting thing about you?
Do you have a favorite place in the world? If so, where is it and why?
What does Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mean to you?
These remind me of the SAO long essay prompts from 2018-19 (also 250-500 words). I even remember choosing the first one—interesting that they’ve done that.
My daughter chose the favorite place in the world prompt. That is interesting that they are the same as the SAO prompts from a few years ago because it’s the same school that asked the parents in the parental essay supplement the same questions that were on the main SAO parent statement. Almost word for word the same. They said they were getting a lot of questions from parents about if they should just reduce the word count on their SAO response and then paste it into the school supplement. They said if you could think of other things to say, great, but if not, just recycle the same material. One of the questions was about a significant challenge your child has faced and how they dealt with it. I couldn’t come up with two significant challenges, so we just went with the one from the main parent statement and reduced it to fit in the school parent supplement.
Now whether it was good writing, well, that’s a different topic 
