It will be a busy couple of weeks over here too!
Recommendations are half in, but I feel like no reminders can happen over the holidays, and I am confident that folks will get them done next week when the holiday is over. (But it does stress me out a bit!)
Essays – DD is getting there!
Things that felt small so we pushed off but now realize we need to handle:
graded essay, character snapshot, and parent statements.
thx for the nudge!
We have LDS options, so we are only applying to top schools with substantial FA: PA, PEA, Groton, Choate, Hotchkiss, Deerfield, SPS, Thacher, Lawrenceville. DD with 4.0 GPA, 99% SSAT.
I know it’s been asked a ton of times, but curious for this 2024 class, what is the balance you are striking between student’s application essays being entirely their own and having editing/input? So far, we’ve been leaning towards asking questions of our child, but letting the writing be student’s, so authenticity comes through. I believe that school AO’s have a good sense of fit and as bright and capable as our kiddo is, I want the right fit. I don’t want the essays so polished that kiddo is accepted somewhere that is the right fit. But on the other hand, don’t want to give kiddo an unfair disadvantage if other applicants will all have heavily edited pieces. We’re not applying to any of the big name schools, but do have our eye (and heart set, no matter how dangerous) on a particular gem of a school (LPS is good option).
I think most parents help edit at least for spelling and commas. Some parents likely write the whole thing and some parents never even see the essays. Just as I would read my kids essay when it’s finished for clarity and grammar, I would also help them with BS entrance essays. Yes, the voice needs to be their own. But honestly, some kids are very sophisticated writers and some are not. My kid has been accusing me of dumbing down the essays since the sentences seem a bit complex. My other kid had a really hard time making the ideas flow (ideas were great but there were gaps in thinking). Also, parents can tell kids if their funny essay isn’t funny. Or if something maybe reads differently than intended.
I don’t see basic editing as being an issue, what’s an issue is when the parent/advisor actually writes the essays. I’m sure this happens. And I would seriously doubt the AO can catch them all.
We never saw any of our kid’s essays. His GC was heavily involved in making sure all her charges had their essay topics and writing approved, reviewed, and submitted on time. I thought that was what we were paying for. 
I know that Choate did not want parents involved to any great degree (at all?) in this step. The essays and the voice belong to the applicant. The school made sure the topics, mechanics, and voice were valid, correct, and authentic. There was nothing we could have added that would have been a positive.
I also know that the GC spent a lot of time drawing out the essays from her charges before even beginning to write. The approach was to “converse” the whole way through a topic, fleshing out ideas, and verbally pulling the listener/reader in by telling a compelling story from beginning to end before putting fingers to keyboard. In several e-mails along the way, she let us know that our son’s essays were coming along and, in her opinion, were quite good. So, we didn’t feel any need to interfere.
Also remember that the GC knows what other students are writing and, over time, which topics are better or worse than others, and how to coax out the best story and writing. They also have an ear for humor.
So sorry! My bad. I didn’t realize this thread is asking about BS admissions essays, not college. Too late to delete. Carry on. Getting old.
@ChoatieMom 
That’s right, the OTHER class of 2024! I’ve appreciated so many of your posts from over the years. Glad you’re still on CC.
@swparenting I wondered too. I wonder if anyone knows how much help admissions consultants give? I would think it would be fair for a parent to give similar (albeit perhaps less savvy) editing help?
Where we landed:
We helped discuss the general direction of the essays — and helped her decide which of her ideas and experiences were most compelling.
DD wrote the drafts completely alone in her room based on those discussions.
I read them and corrected errors (what is with this generation and run-on sentences?) and made suggestions for which sections to cut to fit into word length.
DD made another round of her own edits alone.
We will do final proofing.
I guess what I’m saying is we came in at the beginning and then again at the end. But let the words be her voice…even if I confess I was dying to add my own little layer or nuance to some essays, so I had to bite my tongue.
General editing yes. Complete rewrite nope. I know kids whose parents did complete rewrites, it’s entirely anecdotal and they weren’t strong candidates (hence the parental rewrite) but they did not get admitted to any of the schools they applied to except one.
I definitely think it’s best to let the school see the actual student.
I honestly don’t think the school can tell who wrote the essay. We have a friend that hired an advisor for their kid. They have been working on essays over several weekends. I’d bet there’s a couple of voices in those essays.
Wonder how much the essays matter? Honestly, after all the visits I think the interview counts a lot and the essays are pretty minor unless they are superb or terrible.
Funny I’m doing a “look over” of DDs essays right now. My approach is similar to @Calliemomofgirls … DD wrote first draft by herself. I read it and pointed out what didn’t make sense (did not make suggestions) and errors in grammar.
DD has about 15 to write and even though we were able to recycle about 4/5 they still needed work due to length and customizing to school. A LOT of work and we applied to ‘only’ 5 schools.
All 4 but one are via gateway…
…oh well back to essays.
Happy writing kiddos!
Ps IMHO parents writing/rewriting essays is plain dishonest and I shudder to think of the example they’re setting for their kids.
Hopefully AO are seasoned enough to detect this, I hear they compare it to the SSAT essay.
When DS applied, we were told that the essays were compared to the writing section of the SSAT in part to gauge who had written the essays. Not sure to what extent that happens, but I suspect there is a kernel of truth in there.
^^yes! Totally forgot about that. Wow. Only a year ago and I can’t remember what’s on the ssat. I was also told that. It was conventional cc wisdom last year that AOs could actually tell if essays were written by parents. I must say, most adults, aren’t great at editing/writing in a 14 year olds voice. I know I’m not. I always get told “mom, I’d never use that word.”
The essays importance. I know kids who no way wrote good essays. I think for them, they had other things going for them and their essays checked a box of “done.” If you don’t have a compelling story otherwise then the essay can be your shot at hooking an ao. Just my opinion.
I think that kids vary. My oldest writes poorly under pressure yet won the English award. SSAT sample was ok not great. Essays were much stronger. Kid applying in this cycle is a more fluent writer so SSAT was a stronger sample. But this kid doesn’t explore ideas in the same depth. Both use words atypical of an 8th grader ( but SSAT scores reflected this).
I think the most important aspect of the essay is that it not be bland or have obvious errors.
Also does the essay match the English score? A kid with 60 writing a clear and concise essay might be examined more closely. A kid with 90’s is not going to be questioned as much, as it’s likely that kid has mastered the basics and reads a lot.
Writing a memorable essay is a definite plus. This is difficult as kids just want to finish. Sometimes there are a couple of good ones and some dull ones
IMO, They are looking for more information in the essays not using an essay to replace low scores, grades or recommendations.
My kid writes better than me. So I just give her the main ideas and let her go.
I read somewhere (that I trust, but can’t recall now) that BS essays are less about showcasing writing skills and more about making sure you communicate who you are. I agree, and I take comfort in that because as I hinted at above, there are some elements of my DD’s essays that make me want to grab my red pen (nay – my computer!) and start adding in some rich, nuanced language. I don’t, obviously. But I want to. I laugh at the idea of the AO comparing what a writer with half a century of experience could construct compared to the run-on-sentence-fest that is the middle schooler’s essay.
As I review her essays, I keep coming back to: this sounds like who she is in an interview. Slightly more organized and formal, because it’s written word not conversation. (And I pointed out any run-on sentences so that those get edited). But she is getting across who she is. That’s the job here IMO… Bring the element of an interview to the AO’s who weren’t there for your actual interview. Obviously, if she were painting herself as a candidate who has published a book of short stories, or as an award-winning writer, then her essays better reflect that level. But the content is more important than form for most of the kiddos I believe, assuming a threshold level of competency.
She has taken advanced english her whole life and has gotten A’s. I trust that the essays she is writing are in line with what other A-students are writing at the age of 13. She will surely cringe in a year or two reading them and say to herself “how in heck did I get in with this essay?” But that just means that education is doing its job. She should be a much better writer at 15 than she is at 13.
For those applying to Hotchkiss we just got word that decision is 5pm on M10 ?. They’re actually going to let us stew all day.
I thought schools released early with some even at midnight (Taft?)
Thanks to all who weighed in on student essay editing. Here we are in the last weekend for (most) applications; good luck to all! And once the application deadline has passed, may we all enjoy the next two months without too much preoccupation!
Hello class of 2024! I have two daughters; one who graduated BS in 2016 and a younger daughter who graduates this Wednesday (a story for another time). I agree with the parents here who are advising you to keep your mitts off of the essays as much as possible. My daughters are both very strong writers and I’m an editor so believe me I felt the temptation to “improve” for both their BS and college essays, however, as one of our BS CCs put it “If you are a Honda expert and you have evaluated 1000s of Honda engines and someone sticks a Volvo part in there, you are going to notice.” I followed this advice, and I still got a call from one boarding school who flat out asked me if I had written my youngest’s essay. I didn’t! I just did a very light proofread and fixed mostly punctuation. Thank goodness they believed me. I think the essay becomes important when it is either much better than the norm, or much worse than the norm, but I suspect for the majority of candidates, it is just another data point. Use it to paint a fuller picture and/or possibly highlight a different aspect of the student that isn’t obvious from the rest of the application and might be a hidden strength.