<p>It hit me this morning that part of my son’s problem is that he doesn’t really believe what he is writing. He didn’t really see AP Euro as a challenge; quite the opposite in fact, he loved the class. We never heard a negative word about the class. Maybe what he really needs is to believe something can be a challenge even if you love every minute of it.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions.</p>
<p>My kid wrote this essay on whore-mongering, and made parity between legalized prostitution and the adult film industry. It was a rather dry and technical discussion, but it was not boring because of the subject material. The colleges seemed to have enjoyed it well enough because he had a 60% hit ratio with acceptances. So, I guess it depends.</p>
<p>I would be much more concerned about the above essay than an essay about AP Euro…</p>
<p>Dry and boring essays are a problem. "Am I overreacting? " No, trust your instincts. The essay has to be in his “voice” - he has to reveal himself as passionate. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I don’t think an essay necessarily needs to reveal “passion” but I think it does need to reveal the kid to some extent. The topic can even be trivial. Think outside the box is overused, but that’s what these prompts are meant to do.</p>
<p>Instead of going to the school close to home, he chose to attend a magnet school farther away? Was there any challenge involved in that? I could see that being an interesting topic (away from friends, difficult classes, new environment, etc)</p>
<p>"The thing that really jumped out at me was that basically any kid that took AP Euro could have written the same essay " - Maybe. But not every kid heading to MIT or JHU etc will be writing about it. Perhaps it will be a nice break for the admission office to not be reading about FIRST Robotics and science projects. I suppose it could be a concern that it is dull. But if the writing is good, that is a plus.</p>
<p>Kids who write dry, boring essays become drug-addicted, homeless criminals. </p>
<p>(No one forces an admissions officer to read the whole essay, and, in reality, a dry, boring essay may not be fully read. If it is fully grammatical, nothing will be lost, except the opportunity to get a leg up if he is able to talk about how he managed to escape the attack of that man-eating lion while he was hobbling on two broken legs in Burkina Faso while providing pizza with anchovies for the poor.)</p>
<p>Tut, tut Mini…I’m sure there are kids in this country who actually manage to get through their teen years unscathed by any kind of adversity…not mine who had plenty of of fodder for the ubiquitous challenge essay but others…I’m sure. :-)</p>
<p>To bring out his personality, could you have him focus on something small ? One of my sons wrote about the challenge of learning how to tie his shoes…all the approaches he tried, all the strategies he used so his friends didn’t realize he couldn’t tie his shoes…it was hilarious, but it also showed his approach to obstacles in life.</p>
<p>“Tut, tut Mini…I’m sure there are kids in this country who actually manage to get through their teen years unscathed by any kind of adversity…”</p>
<p>How about the challenge of writing an essay about challenges when you’ve never had any. (Now THAT would be refreshing, and certainly catch an admissions officer’s eye. ;)) Or how about the challenge of impressing an overworked admissions officer?</p>
<p>Worst essay - ever - by a kid who was caught in the crossfire as a young expat teen during a terrorist attack. Man, here you have the chance of a lifetime (assuming you survive it :)) and it reads as dry as “The C Programming Language” by K&R…</p>
<p>I have tutored many students writing college essays and spend most of my time telling them to STOP trying so hard to sound unique, clever and creative. In fact, my main advice tends to be to pretend they are writing to a friend, and just write straightforwardly. </p>
<p>The transition from rote work to more mature work that he describes, is actually quite significant, if he articulated it.</p>
<p>So he may have written a good, authentic, sincere piece that would be a refreshing break for admissions.</p>
<p>When is this essay due? If soon, I would leave it alone. If there is more time, then he can sit on it and look at it again after a few days or weeks.</p>
<p>This is only one of five essays, and only a small part of the application. It probably won’t make or break the application, but will be sort of neutral.</p>
<p>Think about your relationship during this time, too: at some point that may be more important than the essay. It sounds like you are a great parent and get along well with him, but it also sounds like autonomy is important to him and honoring it will always be remembered.</p>
<p>I would assure your son that his essay is fine, but if he himself expresses that he wants help in consideingr other ideas, take him for a drive and talk, or have him look at photos of his life, or some other activity that will give his mind some nudges.</p>
<p>But really, the essay is probably fine. Especially in the context of a kid like him.</p>
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<p>That would be the road trip my now 24 year old took at age 17 cross country and ran out of windshield fluid on I-80 in Nebraska during a dusk bug storm. The colors in the photo were spectacular but the chartreuse, red and yelllow smeared goo from the squashed bugs obscured the vision of the road and miles and miles before the next gas station…that would be yes…focusing on something small. yes, that was the challenge essay of my oldest. Not to dismiss a terrorist attack, but millions of small bugs squashing on your windshield…come on… :-)</p>
<p>How about the challenge of writing a decent essay when your parents, teachers, guidance counselor, and friends can’t agree about what constitutes a good one, and feel slighted when you refuse to take their advice? (I’d LOVE to read such an essay, done well.)</p>
<p>This type of thread is why I continue with CC, even though my two oldest are in Graduate School. I applaud each and every poster!</p>
<p>Is a dull essay a problem? Yes. Is it a problem that’s easy to correct? Absolutely not. Sixteen and seventeen year-olds lack the life experience to know how their essay will be read and interpreted. And they’re unlikely to trust that Dear Old Boring Dad is qualified to critique. So definitely trust your gut, and get a third party involved, even if it feels insulting. JMHO of course.</p>
<p>Patesq just about everything youve said about your son, I could say about mine. He thought the MIT essays would be the easiest because theyre supposed to be candid and unpolished, but his honest answers dont fit the word limitations, so hes had to cut and reword them to the point they no longer sound genuine! He had an obvious answer for the challenge essay (and hed already written about it for another school), but its not really unique, just honest. With one day left, hes still stumped on the world he comes from essay he cant get both parts of the question answered in 250 words.</p>
<p>The question hes trying to answer asks for the most significant challenge which they put in bold. My concern about using the challenge in Euro class isnt that its boring, but that hes telling them thats been his greatest challenge in life it shows little introspection, which is what I believe the question is really asking for. </p>
<p>Maybe he should try working backwards. Think about things that should be the most important in life, and do a little soul searching to see if hes ever encountered difficulties in those areas. When I think about my 17 year old self and what I had experienced to that point, a few challenges stand out relationships with family/friends, finding my place socially, balancing family/friends/work/school/ECs, living up to others expectations, getting comfortable in my own skin, becoming an assertive young adult, and so on.</p>
<p>DD1’s most significant challenge essay was putting up with her Elbonian born Dad and her Asian Tiger born Mom, all while growing up as an American. The culture clash theme proved a very interesting topic.</p>
<p>Urgh MommyDearest13 I feel the exact same way. At first I was terrified by the commonapps 500 word limit, but now that I’m actually writing the dang things it seems I can’t properly explain anything in less than 800 words! I’m trying to finish the MIT “short answers” but I can’t think of anything specific enough that it can be adequately covered in so few words. The 100 word prompts aren’t bad, the 500 word prompts from other schools are alright, but 250 words is just awkward! What is that, a paragraph? Two short paragraphs? I’ll be happy when I get this submitted already…</p>
<p>Normally, if the essay was the main common app essay, I would say do not make it boring, or it will likely just get scanned by adcoms.<br>
However, there are certain factors to consider here:
<p>That being said, if anyone could’ve written this essay, then basically, he’s “throwing” away the question. It would really neither hurt him nor help him. Who knows how much weight MIT places on an essay since he is a STEM kid. But if he really wants to maximize his chances for admission, he should consider rewriting the essay. </p>
<p>As you said, many kids do not have HUGE challenges that they have had to face. Adcoms know this; parents know this; the people who do not know this are the kid applicants. Thus, he must take a small challenge that he had to face. Small to him, but something that he remembers in vivid detail. He does not need to show how he “overcame” these challenges; it’s more interesting seeing what is really going thru someone’s mind, when faced with a challenge. (Do I dust or vacuum first). (Want to get to a friends house; does not have a ride.) (you said stuck thumb in car door, now how to hold a pencil?). At least it will be different than the 1000 other essays on AP Euro which will keep him remembered.</p>