Hi All,
My kid is finishing highschool junior year and will be applying to college.
The schools we are looking at are Ivy’s and couple other top schools.
Wonder if we need to seek professional help to review essays and if there’s someone you know who has track-record of working with kids applying for top ranked schools
Any and all suggestions and sharing contact info is welcome
He can get essay help here if he likes. The most valid reason for hiring someone, I think, is to mediate between parent and child. Otherwise the help here may be adequate. (I can help, so can others.)
Beware of adult help messing with a teenager’s authentic “voice.”
You mention Ivies and other top schools. Assuming he also has some matches and safeties.
If you have someone review your son’s essays, make sure that they understand what the most competitive schools seek in an applicant.
Many who offer to review essays can do more harm than good.
as a rising senior myself, this is what I’ve learned so far from consulting many rising college freshmen and applying to questbridge which has given me a taste of applying to college. although it is not quite the same, I think it will be at least a little similar.
i’m thinking that mostly, you should trust your child. their experiences are key to their college apps. most adults, I think, tend to drown out the voice that us as students have. oftentimes, it is not a paid essay writer that is the most helpful. in my process I found that the best resources were free. i am a relatively good writer so it’s not hard for me to express what I think quickly and rather eloquently. i depended on my friends who were equally good writers (EIC of the school newspaper, taken honors + AP English courses with me, etc), my ap lang teacher, and my debate coach who knew me quite well. once I told them the purpose of the essay and where I was trying to go with the essay, they understood my objective and tried their best to not drown out my voice while also giving me advice on how to best write so that I achieved my objective.
if your child trusts you to read their essay, try not to distort the narrative; rather, I think your child would appreciate it if you gave them advice on how to best cater to a school while also keeping to their authentic self (ex, providing examples from their childhood that they might not remember).
these are things that I really appreciated throughout my essay writing process and other advice that rising college freshmen gave me. hope this helps you and your child!
Please refer to this link:
The CC forums are not a place for private users to make endorsements of professionals who are paid for services, unless in a very general way. Someone is free to message you if they like. You are far better posting on social media in your community for personal recommendations.
Do you NEED a professional to assist your child? No. Could it be helpful? Yes, of course. But it’s a balancing act. There are many students who get into tippy top colleges without professional help, and many who do.
Closing thread.