My kids also used the notorious “don’t go there” topics. But they made the points the colleges needed to see.
One reason kids are advised away from some “don’t” topics is that they end up writing about those don’ts, not about themselves and what the college needs to see.
Good luck to your D!
My daughter used the word “anxiety” in her essay when talking about how she felt before going on stage. I panicked, and thought, “Oh no, that word will be a red flag”. They will think she has an anxiety disorder. That’s how crazy this process is making me.
The real question is do you hear your son’s voice in the essay? If he’s funny or interesting or has a certain speaking style, then sounds stodgy in the essay, I’d encourage a rewrite. But if it’s decent and he just wants to be done, there is not a parent here who doesn’t understand that!
I think DH “polished” S’s too much. It was pretty stilted. But he still got into Amherst and Wash U - I guess his running helped.
We didn’t do anything with second son’s essay - his doctor had told us, “Say nothing, do nothing” and we took his advice.
D’s essay was amazing, about helping her cousin deal with the death of a sibling - we just made a few suggestions.
Our kid came up with a common app essay that was perfectly crafted for the top-tier LAC school he wanted to go to. It was an essay about kids from a wide range of backgrounds, coming together in a study group and using their diverse learning and thinking styles to help each other conquer the material for their AP Chem class (and all doing great in the end). He was able to characterize each of these different kids in a way that proved he had a genuine relationship and understanding of them, and could place himself as being just another one of the oddballs. So, he demonstrated that he would fit in well at this particular school, by being respectful and empathetic to the wide gamut of kids that make up the student body. I don’t think he even realized what a perfect sell of an essay it was (and it was totally honest). So, my two cents would be around asking the question, “does this essay make my kid sound like a good fit at X school?”
@Massmomm Daughter:) Good question. I heard her voice, but it wasn’t particularly funny, and she’s funny. However, it did capture her insightful side.
@citymama9 , it sounds fine to me!
Double like that, ytippiz. “a good fit at X school.” That’s really what they want, the sense you fit. That includes likeable and more. It’s why some of the “Only you could have written this” advice bugs me.
My son wrote 2 major essays. One was on the death of his GM. He lost both grandparents that year. I wasn’t on CC yet, and didn’t realize this topic was a red flag. Fortunately, his other essay showed his sense of humor. He didn’t get into many,of his schools. then again, he applied 12/31 his year, and was a junior. Did the death of GM do him in? I’ll never know. Just one of the u known factors.
“TBH I’ll bet that many of the parents and kids who say their essays were amazing are looking through rose colored glasses.”
Agree, as others who’ve worked on essays have pointed out, there are very few amazing or great essays (in OP’s terms), so overthinking an essay is not needed, and if the student feels it’s done, it should be considered done.
“My daughter used the word “anxiety” in her essay when talking about how she felt before going on stage. I panicked, and thought, “Oh no, that word will be a red flag”.”
yeah I see what you’re saying, going on stage, public speaking, recitals, sports are natural anxieties so you should be ok, if it’s freaking out about the only B you ever received, well that could be a red flag.
I think my DS’s essay was good enough, but not earth shattering. However, one of his supplemental essays was fabulous. We tried to convince him to use that one as his common app essay, but alas, he refused. The fabulous supplemental essay was for a school that might be considered a safety based on his stats. Sigh…oh well at least he will surely get admitted there!
I truly believe Kiddo #1’s essay was really good. It spoke to who she was and tied together her experiences with her college and career aspirations with one turning point in her life that was very unusual and humorous. DD got into her reach schools, so others must have liked it besides me as well. But it was DD and not me who is responsible for that essay.
The first time Kiddo #2 let me read a draft of his essay, my response was, “What is this about?” And he couldn’t answer it. So we talked a bit about how he could focus on just one aspect of that rambling mess and he did a re-write. The second essay was no better. Neither he nor I could summarize what he’d written about. DH had “helped” him with both and honestly, they were just awful. So I had DS pick a totally different topic and had him re-write again. (This process sounds so quick and painless as I write it - not nearly like the painful 6 weeks that it was!) This time the essay was cohesive, answered the prompt, and didn’t have any grammar mistakes. It’s still not “good” but it’s so much better than the other ones that I figured it was probably time to submit it to the school on his list with rolling admissions that will hopefully give him an early acceptance/safety to attend. I do want him to work to improve it before he submits the Common App everywhere else, but I know it will never reach the level of “great.”
These struggles are why the old challenge prompt worked well. You could get to a summary: “It was this, then that happened, and this realization, that change…” The newer challenge prompts haven’t been as clear. But you can use them this way. No one grades on how you meet the prompt exactly.
Google “Hacking the College Essay 2017” and see if your son’s essay is the one only he could write.
I thought both of my D’s common app essays were excellent. Very simple topics that ended up really packing a punch. D2 has a couple really fantastic supplements for very competitive schools. Some of her supplements for match schools are good enough, but I think for matches, even more so than for reaches, good enough is not good enough… so tweaks are in progress.
How can good enough not be good enough?
My eldest’s essay was not great. She’s a gifted writer but writing about herself… laying it all out there for judgement was incredibly stressful. At one point we just told her it was great because she needed to be done and move on. She still managed to get into most of her schools and graduated with a degree in journalism. Now working in her field.
Middle is a decent technical writer but not a good storyteller or particularly expressive yet his college essay was awesome. He just had a more compelling story to tell. He got the same results as eldest. Ended up going to the same college even.
Accept that this is unlikely to be their best work. Understand that most kids aren’t going to do much better. Try not to let it consume the household.
Kid worked on his essays hard over 1.5 months to really express who he was because we knew the essays would make or break his application to one college. Gambled by spending only 30% of application writing time and effort on UCs and an OOS Honors College with merit money because we were almost certain he would get into some of them and spending 70% on only REA application. His essays must have made the difference. All I know is he couldn’t have done any more on his essays because he is not a brilliant writer, but his essays really captured his deep appreciation for certain experiences, described unique journey in life and the kind of person he was, in addition to letting the reader know he is aware of the Stanford culture. The essays gave an overriding sense that he is an appreciative person who worked on becoming the kind of person he is.
Ended up getting into 7 out of 7 colleges (4 UCs for one common application), so he really applied to 4 colleges that ranged from a decent, solid, very good to awesome in the prestige ranking.