<p>
[quote]
honestly i think that when a kid writes an essay to get into college it should be 100% their work.. i see so many kids posting their essays on here, asking for input, asking for a critique.. and many of them seem to practically rewrite their essays afterwords.. I don't know, i just think that's not their work.. when you apply to school you should be giving what you think, using your own writing styles.. not your style mixed with comments from 50 other people..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>fendergirl,</p>
<p>Despite the fact that it may (or may not) put a student at a distinct disadvantage, I agree with you completely. My son did his own essays. I was the only other person who saw them. After his getting rejected from Yale, I pm'ed them to marite who was very generous to critique them for him, but in the end, he didn't rewrite the essays but rather chose to complete a new ones on different topics. </p>
<p>While it may be that good writing is often a collaborative effort, I feel that COLLEGE ESSAY WRITING should be the students' own work. Call me old fashioned, but I feel like anything else is sort of "gaming the system". And yes, I found myself a bit bitter when my son was rejected EA from Yale while others, whose essays had been commented on and reworked so many times that they were virtually unrecognizable as the students' own work in the end, got in to other elite colleges. </p>
<p>fender, I have admired you and the values that you seem to hold many times on this forum. This subject is no exception. </p>
<p>Respectfully, ~berurah</p>