<p>I actually think being able to see other people’s essays is a good idea…if nothing else, because I think most people don’t get how informal and personal college essays can get. So many kids I’ve helped with essays are stuck in this idea that college essays have to be very formalized and proper and structured. Certainly, always be conscious that you are selling yourself (like how in analytical papers you are selling an idea), but the format is very free-form.</p>
<p>You might want to politely PM current class of 2011-ers and ask them to share their essays privately. Some might agree and some might not.</p>
<p>Honestly, a really good essay will be so intensely personal it will be very, very hard to steal it and make it look like your own.</p>