There is no rule saying I can’t post in the Parents Forum, requesting someone to read my scholarship essay. I would very much appreciate it. Just let me know! I am somewhat hesitant with parents that have lower post counts, however. Thanks!
At least you are considering who is reading your essay…I see your same request from others followed by replies from people with one or two posts and I think, I hope the OP knows he is sending his essay to another applicant! Good for you. It is easy to see who has been on for a long time, you can check profile history and post counts as you mentioned. I have one applying this year so wouldn’t feel comfortable, but you will get some takers.
Have you tried asking a teacher at your school?
I don’t think it’s such a good idea to share your essay on the Internet with a random stranger. First, soneone could plagiarize it. Second, some of the adults on this website do not use proper grammar themselves, so their edits could actually be incorrect. Your English teacher would be a better person to ask. Or, do your parents or your friends’ parents know an adult who is a good editor/proofreader? Ideally you want a creative perfectionist to review your essay.
Ask a trusted English teacher. It is a bad idea to send an essay to a person on a blog (who may or may not actually be a parent).
Very good points above.
I think there are some helpful parents on here who might agree to read it.
TBH, IDK how much faith I would put in your English teacher’s “review” of your essay… If you are a top student and not making glaring grammar mistakes, I’d beware if I were you…
Son wrote his essay(s) for an IVY, after which he asked me (mom) to go over them, … as he is a MUCH stronger (esp w/ grammar), writer than I am, I said ask your AP English teacher. Long story short, she tore up his essay, didn’t like it at all or the flow… suggested x changes…
He hated her changes. Said it changed the sound/ intent/point of his whole essay… didn’t want to incorporate any of her changes… because to him, they didn’t make sense.
I said “then keep your original essay, if X college doesn’t like it, and you feel strongly that this is your statement, you might not be a good fit…”
He kept his original essay, didn’t incorporate any of her changes… was accepted to the IVY. He was also contacted by the ivy as having one of the best essay(s) and recruited to their writing program…
Son was SO GLAD HE STUCK TO HIS ESSAY… I posted this on CC and was told by MANY that English teachers may be the worst to go to for college app essays…
Oh, and BTW,
The teacher was also applying to the same Ivy for a masters program… she was not accepted. Son said “I bet it was her essay” 
@runswimyoga , I think that is why @happy1 included the word “trusted” above. DS was fortunate to have had a wonderful English teacher who he had write his rec letters. He asked her to look over his essays and she told him she thought they really reflected a lot about who he was, but she did make a couple of small suggestions, they discussed it, and he made a couple of very small changes. He got into several schools and graduated last May from Columbia.
Unfortunately, this teacher retired the year he graduated HS, and D had the new teacher hired to replace her. She was not in the same league as her predecessor, so D asked her older brother and I to review her essays instead. She had her Latin teacher write her rec letter, and it was amazing.
OP may be wise to be careful about who he/she sends her essays to, for fear of other students plagiarizing, but I think it is wise to have someone else read them. There are an awful lot of students who have gotten great advice from parents here who know nothing about them - they are reading the essays the same way the admin officers get them, so they can critique them objectively.
I think yes, we all “can”. But will we? Should we? And are we the most reliable sources? Your first glaring mistake is asking “can” we. In a forum where written postings are in English, it is a fair assumption we can all read and write English. Remember, if we “can” do something it means we are able to do so. What the Op really means is “will” we do so.
Beyond that, I think others here have very politely answered why not, and have made suggestions on what person might do so. Good luck to Op.
Keep in mind - Essay Opinions are like noses…everybody’s got one.
I read my son’s essay - I hated it - and recommended major changes. He didn’t make any of the changes and was accepted ED to his top school. However, I agree with “younghoss” and all the people that suggest that you have a trusted English teacher read it over for grammar. Good Luck OP - You can do this!
When my kids asked for proofreading from their English teachers they politely made it clear that they were happy with the content of the essay and that they were looking for someone to check for any grammatical errors etc. Their teachers did not seem offended by that at all and provided a few helpful comments in both cases.
@happy1 Good advice. Grammar and spelling should be perfect in these college essays, but the teacher’s writing style otherwise might be very different from the student’s.
@nugraddad My son was similar. Both his AP English teacher and I offered written suggestions for improvement to his CA essay. The comments from the teacher were great - He’s a graduate of Williams College and an English PhD/ former professor from the Univ of Rochester.
Son ignored both of us.
He hated writing that main CA essay, and I think he just didn’t want spend any more time on it after it was written. (His first essay topic/draft had been rejected by his school college counselor, and I think he was offended and annoyed to have to come up with another essay.) I got a little frustrated, but then had to let it go because the first EA app was due…and because he was applying for engineering, so I told myself that maybe the expectations for creative essays might be lower for engineers…It was “good enough.”
Yes, I would be happy to - I’m a Mom. You can PM me.
I get what you all are saying about only using a “trusted” English teacher, as well as only using them for grammar. It’s just, IMO, hard for students to necessarily know whether an English teacher should be trusted or not.
Most students have never read any of their teacher’s writings and most students have “blind faith” in the fact that bc the teacher teaches AP English, they automatically can write well. Its very easy for an English teacher corrected paper to lose its voice as there are grey areas, especially in writing fiction, in regards to grammar rules where prescriptive grammar versus descriptive grammar isn’t always so clear cut…
My advice would be to see if your guidance counselor has the time to read it. I think they are more “in tune” to what colleges are looking for in these essays and most will catch grammar mistakes.
Son gave his essay to GC; she loved it. Her only suggestion was to not use contractions (ex. it’s spell out “it is” / and for won’t spell out “will not”) something his English teacher hadn’t mentioned…
If you can, I’d suggest trying to see if GC can read over it.
^^^^How does one know that a guidance counselor is good in grammar or even has strong writing skills? Both of my kids felt they had a good sense of their English teachers (in terms of who liked their writing style, whose comments they found helpful etc.) from the many many papers/essays that were graded during the class. For example my D asked her 10th grade English teacher to go over the paper with her instead of her 12th grade English teacher because she always appreciated that teacher’s thoughtfulness/helpfulness/clarity when he graded her papers. And again, my kids asked their teachers to read for grammar/clarity etc. and let the teachers knew they were looking for any small tweeks/corrections and not a rewrite.
But alas, we veer off topic.
Sometimes the natural flow and the personal voice of a writer is more important than grammar.