<p>I am sitting here wondering whether DS will ever get done with those darn essays! He has written one for the Common App, but is having writers block now. </p>
<p>I have a feeling those 'reach' colleges with multiple essay requirements are going to fall off the list as the time comes closer. </p>
<p>What has been some of your experiences through his process, did any of your kids go through this?</p>
<p>Scholarship essays stopped my daughter and made her question whether or not she actually intended to accept an offer of admission.</p>
<p>She did not do additional scholarship projects for Tulane.</p>
<p>She did not apply for any scholarships at Washington University in Saint Louis.</p>
<p>She did not write an additional essay for an Honors Program at Notre Dame.</p>
<p>D had been accepted to each of these universities, but considered none of the above among her personal top choices. When it came time to write an additional essay for a school she was unlikely to attend, she just said “no.”</p>
<p>Thanks, good to know.</p>
<p>I’m considering not applying to Williams because of the essay. I honestly can’t think of anything to say :(</p>
<p>It really didn’t stop my son from applying to specific schools, though I think it could have. He realized after writing a few that he could easily adapt them to the other applications and not have to write completely new ones. So he didn’t really have to write more than a few, that he then altered. The first few were definitely the worst! It gets easier if they don’t have a completely different subject to write about for each school.</p>
<p>I chose between Amherst and Yale as a reach that was different from my other schools and chose Yale because the essays seemed more interesting and personal.</p>
<p>My son did not apply to any colleges that had an extra essay asking “Why our college?” if he hadn’t visited there, since he didn’t feel he would be authentic in his response. I thought that was too bad, since many time kids don’t see a college until after accepted and then it could turn out to be their first choice!</p>
<p>ignatius…where did you D end up?</p>
<p>My son wrote a really charming essay for “Why Chicago?” It started off with why he thought his parents were crazy for suggesting it and then talked about how he found out about things he liked about Chicago - it’s far enough away he won’t visit unless he gets in.</p>
<p>Many years ago I didn’t apply to Yale because I couldn’t reuse the essay I’d sent every where else. (They had really weird essays back then.) </p>
<p>My older son shouldn’t have applied to Stanford given the hash he made of their extra essays.</p>
<p>Younger son now has quite a collection of essays. He seems to be enjoying it.</p>
<p>D didn’t finish applying to Claremont McKenna because of the essay questions. Tuft’s essay questions however, went a long way toward her wanting to attend there; they stood out from the pack. It’s another way to judge a good fit I suppose, getting a feel for the general tone of the school as demonstrated through their questions.</p>
<p>Son didn’t apply to University of Florida cause he didn’t want to write an additional essay.</p>
<p>My D was not happy with the Grinnell “what should our mascot be?” essay. We talked about it and both agreed “pioneers” was a suitable mascot. Turns out that is the current mascot. She thinks it is such a dumb question she may not even apply; she is turned off.</p>
<p>Interesting reads…kids are going through a lot as it is with their senior load.</p>
<p>DS has put off his application to Pitzer because of the essay. He whipped the other ones out fairly quickly but Pitzer’s seems to be a show-stopper.</p>
<p>Our D applied to 22 schools last year. 3 of the schools had no essay, 4 were UCs, so the application is the same for all. The killers were U of Chicago and HYPMS. She sucked it up and did them all using versions of the same essays when she could. It really was the short answer prompts that got to her. One of the schools asked what words would her friends use to describe her. The texted responses were hilarious but not appropriate for college applications. After hitting the last submit button, spiked a 102 fever and was sick in bed for a week. It is a situation I don’t recommend.</p>
<p>Terp, what’s the problem with the Williams essay?</p>
<p>Have you ever wondered why UChicago’s admission rate is so high, while the school is very highly rated? It’s because those who take the time to apply there really want to go there. Those questions, different every year, are either a turn-off or a motivating factor for kids.</p>
<p>I agree with ReadyToRoll’s comments about school visits. It’s really hard to define “why XX” if the student hasn’t been to see college XX. What could she/he say? “The stats look great.”</p>
<p>Conversely, my son didn’t want to apply to a particular school, even if they didn’t require an essay, because he hadn’t visited.</p>
<p>emgamac - oh, that must be horrible. Thats what I am afraid will happen to DS (or me!) with his 10 apps :)</p>
<p>If you rank the applications and do a couple of the safer, easier, lower-on-the-choice list first, then move to the top two or three (so that you’ve had some practice with the easier ones), and save the lowest choices for last, a student might decide to not do the lowest choice schools. My daughter did Cornell last last year and did it ever show in her essay. She had had enough.</p>
<p>My son got through the Chicago essay for EA and is just finishing up the essay and multiple short answer questions for the State honors program (lower acceptance rate than Chicago, believe it or not). He has also completed his common application essay. I must say he is getting pretty good at it. Except for the other state flagship, all of his colleges require essays.</p>
<p>Tthe essay process has not been a walk in the park. He is a good writer and a good student but I think the essays have pushed all of us to the brink (me- because I’m been a nervous wreck because he likes to wait until the last minute to do them). At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to forgo some of his applications simply because he doesn’t want to write any more essays. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, he is also in the middle of writing his 15 page senior thesis. :(</p>
<p>We just had this same discussion with my daughter the other day. Between her course load, NHS responsibilities, dance team activities, writing these extra “Why name the school here” essays is becoming a bit overwhelming. We were talking about which application should be done next and she said Boston U. She couldn’t come up with why she would go there for the essay. She liked the school but we feel Pitt which is in state is a much better choice and cheaper too. So BU is now off the list. There still more do it but it is one less application which is a good thing.</p>