<p>Thanks for the link. However, I wonder if a student is applying for an engineering program, should the tone of the essay be different? Less a 'creative writing / emotional' essay and more of an 'analytical' essay. It just seems that if a student is a more scientifically-minded student that it may be a better portrayal of the student (and more what a college is looking for?)</p>
<p>My son is of the mind that his essay is HIS ESSAY and he's not willing to adjust to 'the system'.</p>
<p>I just thought the link was interesting and informative. Certainly, I agree that your son's writing should be his own. </p>
<p>But, I would also say that good writing for any school would most likely include many of the characteristics mentioned in or implied by the link: precision, depth, clarity, careful description of persuasive details, believability, honesty, significance, independence of thought.</p>
<p>I don't think an engineering applicant's essay should be any less creative than an essay from an arts or humanities major. The student's math and science ability will be evident from grades and scores; the essay gives the applicant a chance to stand out from the crowd of other students with similar stats.</p>
<p>That's not to say an engineering student couldn't use a topic somehow related to his/her career interest, but it would probably be better to write about something that shows an entirely different side to the student.</p>
<p>Which would be more memorable - an essay saying how much the student was influenced by seeing the Brooklyn Bridge every day and realizing it was created by engineers, or one who relates how the student reacted to an Andy Warhol painting? I'm not an engineering college essay reader, but I have to imagine that "Brooklyn Bridge" and similar essays are a dime a dozen. Essays dealing with artistic or emotional topics are no doubt somewhat less common. Of course, just about ANY topic can be approached in a creative and literate manner.</p>
<p>I think the University of Virginia essay advice is good - it has the feel of being written by someone who's read too many boring, cookie-cutter essays. Note, too, that the author isn't saying that a well-written but generic essay will cause rejection; rather, this kind of essay does nothing to help the student stand out. And when a student is being compared with other, well qualified peers, standing out is what makes the difference.</p>
<p>For those who want more in-depth advice from an essay-reading veteran, I always recommend Bauld's essay</a> book - it's short, often hilarious, and full of good advice. The best feature of the book is its list of over-used topics, like "pet death" and "The Big Game" - these are the very things that often first spring to a student's mind when choosing an essay topic.</p>
<p>Carleton has similar advice on their website.
<a href="http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/overview/apply/essay/%5B/url%5D">http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/overview/apply/essay/</a></p>
<p>Good thread, ADad. Who gives better advice than the essay readers?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice :)</p>
<p>Virginia Mom here whose son was admitted to UVa last year and he has pals in the Engineering Program. Read Harry Bauld's book once. Read it again. Then write your best essay...on any topic. UVa adcoms appreciate good writing. Engineering students are not required to be career linked in their essay topics..you math aptitude will be enough. Show something about your outlook, past and personality that will be a plus on campus or in the work you choose some day. When you read those Winning Essay compilations..you see there is no formula. Good luck!</p>
<p>i love CC</p>
<p>thank you so much</p>
<p>Reading (and really thinking about) the essay prompt helps. Doing so will help with focus, and assist the student in really getting to the heart of the topic. This is especially important with Why University X essays. I know it sounds simplistic, but really, why do you like University X? My guess is that this is an especially important question to answer for highly selective schools - regardless of whether they are reach, match or likely admits for a specific student.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link and book, it's very helpful.</p>
<p>FYI from today's NY Times about essays. FWIW:</p>
<p>Thanks for the NY Times article. Very interesting. However, for someone like my son, the SAT writing test is very much an issue. He is very s-l-o-w at writing and in 25 minutes can't get much on paper. I won't go into the reasons, however, if a college pulls his SAT essay, they will certainly have an issue comparing it to a final product. The only reason his 'writing' SAT score was decent was because he got all the other questions on that section correct. </p>
<p>But give him a couple days to develop a topic, and you'll get a great essay.</p>
<p>So I'd argue that the comparison to an SAT essay written in 25 minutes is not a legimate measure of much. We only want kids that can develop an idea in 25 minutes? Not the ones that need more time to more fully develop their ideas? We are going to discount their college essay because they spent more time on it?</p>
<p>I guess we're beyond an 'honor code' that a student writes and edits his own essay? That he doesn't have it reviewed by a committee of professionals? </p>
<p>Interesting topic. My two cents...</p>
<p>Thanks for the links and advice.</p>
<p>I have Bauld's book and the Dummies one. Both are good, but I can't think of any topics, literally. Are there any books that are especially good for giving topic ideas, or am I just doomed?</p>
<p>One idea: try sitting with someone with whom you are comfortable and who has some time and talking about yourself. Tell them about something that interests you, a significant event, a decision you made, etc. Talk over anything that comes to mind and is significant to you. Jot down notes, ideas that come to mind. </p>
<p>The best college essays are very personal. They are unique to the writer because they express so well that unique person. Getting a topic, or a suggested response to a prompt, from an outside source means that the starting point of the essay is not personal at all. IMO you have the best chance of writing good essays if you look inward for topics, possibly in the manner suggested above.</p>
<p>Wow, that UVA article is great. It's really helpful to read something like that and then reread what I've writiten so far...it really makes my errors stand out. I definitely don't want to write a McEssay.</p>
<p>I see now that my essay is getting too general....red pen time. I'm having a really hard time getting it focused, but the article helped a lot to point out what was wrong.</p>
<p>hmm.... this is exactly what my english teachers have been telling me throughout high school (esp. last year). Write about something personal, be specific, show don't tell. The thing about not trying to please colleges obviously didn't come up, but it's still nice to know that I can just write my essays the way I've been taught. It's still not easy, but at least I don't have to completely change my way of writing.</p>
<p>Flipsta...I like ADad's approach. Write five adjectives that describe you. (gee..did UVa short answers include this last year...maybe.) But just to help you focus on your goal in your essay. Take the adjectives to your parents and friends and see if they agree...hone them down, and this is an OK time to look for Thesaurus ideas. Don't let adjectives repeat each other. Each one is a different aspect to you. Traditional. Dogged. Lively. Enthusiastic. Observant Ironic. Now...which of your personal qualities do you want to "shine through"...your playful optimism, your obsessive study passions, your gentle spirit, your whimsical outlook, your deep faith, your humor., your musical ear, your visual eye..Try to tell about an incident or situation where your personality is showing. Let one adjective reflect a family heritage trait, another your temperament, another your unique style. Your personality can also be revealed simply in how you observe the world around you and how you perceive. You do not have to have a dramatic arc of soap opera proportions to be interesting. Everyone knows that 18 is before broad experience of life..and you don't have to act like you are a world weary traveler or sophisticated...just what spark do you bring when you arrive to campus?</p>
<p>If UVA accepts 40% of their applicants (or 35%, whatever it is), and only 10% of the essays they get are good essays, then that means they accept two to three times as many people who write bad essays as who write good essays.</p>
<p>It also shows that bad essays will not hurt your chances, since they clearly accept so many of them. On the other hand, slightly lower grades will knock you completely out of the picture. No secret UVA is numbers driven.</p>
<p>Anyway, as BookAddict said, follow the "show, don't tell" theory, and you should be in good shape, if your school reads the essays.</p>
<p>just because 90% of the essays arent stunning, it doesnt mean they are bad AT ALL.</p>
<p>a bad essay WILL ruin your chance at UVa.</p>
<p>and UVa isnt really number driven, there are lots of kids here with sh***y stats but got in because of their good writing.........</p>
<p>Anyone else wonder if some day admissions officers will tell prospectives:</p>
<p>"Enough with the writing-from-the-heart already!"?</p>
<p>Do adcoms get tired of Kleenex moments? Do they get tired of essays that read like 'Old Yeller' or 'Terms of Endearment'? Do they get tired of the semi-demi-Hemingways and the faux-Faulkners? </p>
<p>Because that's what the "the good" essay, and "the risky" essay in the UVa article looked like to me. "The risky" essay was a pure manipulation right outta the old "now that I got your attention with that outre opening sentence..." school.</p>
<p>And "the good" essay gave me yet another codicil for my living will:<br>
Dear My Children,
If I am lying on my deathbed bald and coughing up bloody sputum, if it ever crosses your mind "hmm, this would be a great topic for a really hookatastic college essay" then I swear I won't forgive you, not in this life or the next. </p>
<p>Please, colleges, take arms against a sea of drivelish "from-the-heart" teenage writing! Tell your candidates JUST SAY IT. If you're wordy, be wordy (what's wrong with being wordy, I have yet to see that explained). If you're dispassionate and blase, oh well (haha). If you're funny -- forget it, you're not funny, you can't be funny until you're my age, there's a law about that.</p>
<p>Actually, I take that back. My kids are pretty funny. Especially when they tell me that I won't be allowed anywhere near their dorm! Is that hilarious or what?</p>