<p>So over the summer I did an internship at a company, and I really did enjoy this. But my parents expect me to exploit this as much as possible on my apps, and for every essay they're always thinking of ways to incorporate this *facepalm. Anyways, they're also making me produce a portfolio of what I did there and send it in to admissions as a CD. But my problem with this is that none of what I wrote is my voice, since my dad edited the heck out of it and it does not sound like me at all. They're making me send it to pretty much all of my RD schools, but since MIT is the most liberal in terms of additional materials (maker portfolios, supplemental recommendations, etc) IMO, I'm asking here. I've given up trying to persuade them that this sort of additional stuff doesn't really affect my chances that much ("that's what they officially say, but they do...so naive"), so I have a couple of questions.</p>
<p>Am I right in that this stuff doesn't make or break my app? </p>
<p>Will this kind of stuff negatively impact the rest of my app in any way if applicable? If it does, i'm not gonna send it in. my chances are already low as they are.</p>
<p>Thanks a ton. Just a note, our area had a MIT Holiday Reception for EA accepted students, RD applicants, current MIT students, and alumni. This has made me want to go even more, the students were very cool. But I gotta get accepted first...</p>
<p>I am not an admissions person, but from those I’ve talked to: They want the essays to be your thoughts, ideas and words. It is you who they are evaluating and no one else. If your dad heavily edited it, it will sound like him. As he is of a different generation, it will be obvious to those who do read essays for a living, that you did not write it (as stated by one who does read essays for a living; i.e. an admissions person, but not from MIT). Your application will be heavily penalized if they believe that you did not write your essay.</p>
<p>You don’t need to ever emphasize your involvement in a summer internship. IMHO, when someone keeps bringing something like that up, it starts to annoy me rather than give any kind of good impression. Do bring it up if it makes sense in your essay (and it probably will in one of them) and do include material from it, it really can’t hurt. Once you bring it up, it’s out there; it’s part of you. Do look at what the subject of the essay is and be sure to address that topic as well and as thoroughly as possible within the word limit would be my advice.</p>
<p>Thank you. But they only want me to put keep on involving my internship. And my dad edited my CD, not my essays. If they insisted on excessive editing of my essays, I would have taken more drastic action than persuasion… I just want to know that sending in the CD, which does not have much of my voice, will not hurt my app. Because I doubt that if the adcoms take a look at it, it will benefit me much at all. And if it’s not my voice, i don’t want it (the CD) to bring down the rest of my app. Get what I’m saying?</p>
<p>I believe that if something provides insight into who you are then you should definitely send it. However, I don’t think think the CD will be of much help since you probably included the internship in your ECs. If the adcoms are interested, they’ll look into it themselves.</p>
<p>I get what you’re saying. Sorry, I was confused about what your dad was editing. If you are going to send the CD, then it should be in your words. Same thing applies for any material you send, as it would for any essay you send (unless you credit someone else, then does it really matter for your application).</p>
<p>The adcom I talked to talked about a person’s college applications as a their first real adult thing they have to do. A kind of rite of passage. Ask your parents to let you be the person that they have raised and nurtured.</p>
<p>When my kids did their college applications, I read their first draft and their last draft. I did not in any way edit their essays or any other material. For their first draft, I looking to see if they understood what was required. I also commented on what I thought would be the correct material to include in their app. The actual choice was theirs. For their final draft, I was looking to see if they made sure to spell check it, etc. (my son was notorious for “forgetting” to spell check anything). I was also curious about what they said and what they thought was important to have on the application.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your replies. I don’t want to waste time trying to persuade my parents not to make me send the CD, so I guess I’ll just have to cross my fingers and hope that the adcoms won’t think too much about it when they consider my app… My parents really don’t trust adcoms and whatever they say Thank you both again!</p>
<p>MIT’s adcoms are skilled at “smelling” when a parent’s paws have been all over the application. It makes it more difficult for them to understand who you really are.</p>
<p>they don’t think adcoms tell you enough to really maximize your chances or whatever. IDK really. Like adcoms would probably say with this CD “don’t send it in, it won’t really matter because half of us won’t even look at it” but my parents believe that is bs and they think it’ll virtually make or break my app. Which i consider bs. So will it negatively impact my app if I send it in, since it’s a different voice from my essays?</p>
Thank you both again!</p>