Been following this thread as I’ve helped numerous kids over the years with their essays. If the kid is on board, it becomes a fun mission. Lots of idea bouncing, lots of drafts, lots of edits. You can write a brilliant essay about nothing or a mundane essay about something extraordinary. It’s all in the details and in the telling. Many kids have told me after all is said and done that they became better writers through the process. In the end, it should be an essay that no one but that student could have written.
My daughter refused to let us get her help. In retrospective it was the best decision. We read some of her friends essays after everything was submitted ones. The consultant polished ones are just that and you can see that immediately so I guess admissions officers do even quicker.
Daughter got into university of chicago so I guess it was the best thing to do was brainstorm as a family and get some friends you trust and who know the kid to help
Happy to help your child if it helps…just dm me and will be happy to set up a time.
@bam777, thank you for your offer. I am very grateful to several cc parents who read my daughter’s essays earlier in the year, shared their time and wisdom. What worries me is that most of that feedback was pretty positive. On the other hand, I showed these same essays to a couple of professional consultants (also here on cc) as an example if my daughter’s writing. Both of them had similar comments on one of the essays: while calling it witty and well-written, one mentioned it had over-achieving vibe to it, the other one said it sounded like the writer is “extremely intelligent and knows it.” Translation - the essay may well appear to be arrogant to someone who doesn’t know my daughter personally and who has experience with hundreds if not thousands of essays. It might be a slight hint, an undertone, but an AO would pick up on it and it could cost my daughter her admission. Her English/History/Seminar teacher, on the other hand, might never see those same undertones or see absolutely opposite undertones, because knowing her personally, they already see her in a different, positive light.
For an “average excellent” kid without major hooks, AO’s aren’t looking for reasons to accept, but rather reasons to deny, because there are so many other kids who are just as good, interesting, and… easily replaceable. That’s why I think it’s always good to have the essay reviewed by a stranger, especially a stranger not willing to give a benefit of a doubt or willing to put an AO’s “mean hat” on. Again, just my personal opinion
As a lot of the above comments suggest, it really depends on the consultant. Our child had advice from a number of third parties on his essays - both consultants and teachers - and, in combination, they were very helpful. Our kids are at the age where they may take advice, particularly critical advice, more readily from someone who is not their parent. Half the trick with the essays is to come up with the right ideas, meaning things that are responsive to the question, meaningful to the student and (hopefully) interesting to the AOs. It is an intimidating task and it’s pretty easy to fall into the trap of writing what the consultants imagine the AOs may want to hear. That can almost never be interesting or effective, I believe. In the end, our son benefited from all the advice and suggestions but he wrote in his own voice, and I think it was actually a very good exercise for him - it made him focus on who he is and what he is looking for. He also had a lot of fun with some of the short-answer essays, like the one from Oxy that asks you what you would name your food truck!