Fun Idea- Essay Swap!

<p>Okay, so i borrowed this from the Yale board.
Now that everyone’s apps are sent in, who wants to PM each other their Brown essays for critique/ridicule/admiration?
It’s pretty fun, and helps ease the post-application sending tension a bit.</p>

<p>On the UChicago board, they created a thread for old application essays. It's really fun to read and very enlightening. If people here want to share essays, why not do it for everyone to read? That way all Brown prospectives/students can benefit.</p>

<p>Honestly, if I were to send one of my essays to a specific person in private, I'd feel a part of the pre-submission proofreading angst all over again, and would gain little benefit (there's really no changing it now, and reading one other essay, while interesting, wouldn't do much for me or that person). That's just my response, but maybe it merits consideration. How about a general compilation?</p>

<p>^^^Not everyone would benefit, because if a prospect actually read an essay that we wrote, they would consciously or unconsciously try to imitate the essay that we wrote, and they wouldn't be themselves. They would have to try to find their own voice. I know, because my English teacher tried to be helpful by showing us some old app essays, and my first essays sounded exactly like those. Not good when you're trying to convey personal voice. </p>

<p>The key to finding personal voice I think is to keep rewriting your essay and finding who you are ... what you like about life. </p>

<p>So if prospects want help, we can help by having them PM their essays to us so that we can critique them. I think that's the best way to go for helping people out ... that worked for me!</p>

<p>I'll exchange essays with anyone... pretty paranoid about them even though there is nothing i can do now!!! just PM me...</p>