Hey guys.
So, my counselor read my essay which was about how I used to be in the past and how I have changed. To help me, she wrote in her recommendation that I am the opposite of that person.
But then, I wrote another essay which is better than my old essay.
What should I do? Which essay should I put in my common app? Will it give a negative impression if the admissions committee doesn’t find the essay my counselor talked about?
Thank you very much for your help!
All it means is that your perception is different from that of your counselor.
Submit the essay YOU like best, the one you think best sells your application.
Will it not be a problem when the admissions officer sees that she is talking about an essay which is nowhere in my application?
You mean in her letter of recommendation? Why would she mention your essay in her letter of recommendation? That makes me sense. When I write a letter of rec, I strive to mention stuff that admissions officers don’t see in the application…things about the students personality, character, etc.
I agree that you should submit the better essay, whatever that may be.
It’s something you should have considered before revising. Talk to the GC, we don’t know how she phrased this. If she wrote you’re “the opposite of that person,” that you described, and now that person doesn’t figure, yes, it can confuse. In contrast, if she only underscored good changes as you grew, that’s fine.
STF, it’s not uncommon for some GCs, at some hs, to go over an essay or other highlights and mention something along the lines of, “I know Susie is including xxx, but I’d like to note…” and go on to affirm.
Again, we have no idea how this was done.
Talk to your GC.
To make this clear, my old essay was about how I used to be an unfriendly person and how I changed. My GC read this and wrote in her recommendation something like this “it was with real surprise that I read his essay because he has always been the friendly I describe here in the 3 past years I have known him…”
But then, I wrote another essay on a different topic which I now think is better than my old essay.
So my question is this: If I submit my new essay I won’t be able to submit the old one obviously; so when the admissions officer reads in the GC recommendation about some essay which is nowhere in my application, will it give a negative impression?
I’m sorry, but what’s confusing in the last two answers? Even if she wrote exactly what you just said, it refers to something you now don’t (seem to) want to submit. Yes, a reviewer can have a Huh? moment when the GC mentions something in your essay that isn’t in your essay. In the extreme, they may even think she’s referring to someone else.
You’re applying to some mighty reaches and need to work through this issue in the right ways, with the right support. We don’t know which essay is better. You have to decide, considering the purpose of the personal statement. Talk to the GC, get that advice. You had a fait accompli, showed it, then changed it.
Or take a chance and see what happens.
To begin with “To help me, she wrote in her recommendation that I am the opposite of that person.” wasn’t the best approach. All it does is contradicts what an applicant is saying. Given you like the new essay, I would go with it. I would rather have a good essay with some strange recommendation letter.
If your GC hasn’t sent the recommendation yet, they would probably be willing to review and tweak it so it still makes sense. I assume you have not seen the first version of the recommendation, though. No one here can really help you – you should go talk to your GC either way (whether the recommendation has been sent or not).
OK, for starters, I’m not sure how you know what she wrote in her letter. I’m assuming you signed the FERPA waiver that said you weren’t going to see the letters that were written???
Yes, you need to speak to your guidance counselor.