<p>My D is now in the middle of an applications essay-writing ordeal. Along with the on-going schoolwork, ECs, music record preparation (for "supplemental material") etc. she needs some tough time management and is tempted to "recycle" her app essays whenever it's possible. I'm not sure whether it's always a good idea and would like some informed opinions.</p>
<p>For the first college she applied to (for rolling admissions), there was one of the essay prompts about "some setback you have experienced", so it was pretty natural for her to choose it and write about her junior year struggle with her hand/arms muscle pain, its influence on her ability to play music and to do her challenging and strenous schoolwork; and how she managed to find the new balance in her life, become more proactive in her treatment, learn from her mistakes, to regain her musical abilties ... and how she is still working on her healing. That's the general idea. I'm not sure whether her essay is the best that could be written on the topic, but at least, it's adequate enough for the prompt given by adcoms.</p>
<p>But now she decided to recycle that essay for the Common Application, for the prompt "tell us about some experience you had" ... and here I have a doubt. Surely, that physical ailment IS an experience ... but do colleges, generally want to read about such things? Could such a choice of topic create some kind of a "red flag" for adcoms - "that student is not particularly strong physically, will she be able to sustain our challenging curriculum?" Mind you, my D did survive that crazy junior year with the strait "A's", 5's on AP exams and great SAT scores, she earned her first income with her regained misical skills, and is doing OK now, but ... would she be better off by choosing some more positive "experience" for that non-specific prompt?</p>
<p>I'd suggest that she think about what is the essence of herself that she want to get across to admissions people, and write about that. It may or may not be the essay she's already done.</p>
<p>I agree with Marite and I think you answered your own question!</p>
<p>"my D did survive that crazy junior year with the strait "A's", 5's on AP exams and great SAT scores, she earned her first income with her regained misical skills"</p>
<p>She might want to take a look at how she ended her essay and be sure that she somehow reflected the above successes.</p>
<p>"would she be better off by choosing some more positive "experience" for that non-specific prompt"</p>
<p>With the right ending, it sounds pretty positive to me!</p>
<p>I think that essay sounds fine for the Common App prompt. Keep in mind what the schools are looking for in this essay. They intentionally make the question very broad so you can pretty much talk about anything. As long as you convey a unique idea, creativity, strength of character, and strong writing skills, then you have fulfilled what the essay is meant to accomplish. Don't worry too much about strictly adhering to the questions unless they are more specific. If it just asks about any experience, then it would be fine to use, assuming that is the best essay your D can write in order to fulfill the above criteria (character, writing skills, unique)</p>
<p>I agree with Consolation. I understand your concern about this topic for the main common essay. I would suggest that she think of another topic that conveys who she is more effectively than this "hardship" essay. You might suggest asking her to think about an experience that led her to her love of music, or perhaps inspired her passion for an academic interest. Or maybe there is another aspect of her character that she feels speaks to her essence. I kind of agree that this topic may not do your daughter justice. JMO.</p>
<p>To make her essay less superficial and more "multi-dimensional", truly reflecting who she is, DD would probably need to make it much longer than it is already. So far, she tried to stick around those "500 words" quidelines, even though nothing is said about wording restrictions on this year's Common App ... What would you suggest for making the better impression on the adcoms - to restrict the essay length (to how much words?), even though it couldn't then include all the colors of the story - or to "inflate" it with the purpose mentioned above?</p>
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She might want to take a look at how she ended her essay and be sure that she somehow reflected the above successes.
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<p>Here we have some permanent disagreement with her ;); when I suggest something along this line, she points out "But it's all already known from other parts of my application - my grades, SAT scores, results of AP exams and musical employment speak for themselves - why should I mention them in essay, too?"</p>
<p>It's hard to comment on specifics of an essay without actually reading the essay.</p>
<p>I assume it has a conclusion already. To give it the requisite positive tone, all she needs to write is something along these lines: "I'd overcome pain and regained my ability to make music. I'd managed to keep my grades up in a challenging schedule. Best of all, I learned that if, necessary, I could do it all over again." That would not be repeating what is in her transcript and recs.</p>
<p>I think your recycling the essay, with modification, is fine, given the time constraints, and all. They want to see something of your daughter, and her experience makes the essay her own. My D did something similar. She used the same basic premise for her essay, and it was about an event in her life and how she handled it and changed as a result. She modified it for different applications, and it took the stress off of coming up with an entirely different topic. She put herself in the essay, reworked it as needed, and thats what she submitted.</p>
<p>I got this off a old website that doesn't exist anymore. The following is based on what a typical admissions officer would write for essay prompts.</p>
<p>"As you take a moment to think of a question or two, keep in mind some of the criteria that we've thought of (based on the experience of reading thousands of applications each year) which makes for a good application essay question:
- it will reveal something about the student's personality or way of thinking
- it's inclusive and general enough to allow students with diverse personal and academic backgrounds to fully express themselves in their response
- allows for flexibility in responses and in the shape those responses take
- will evoke a variety of answers (you can't predict an answer that most college applicants would use)
- encourages creativity
- lends itself to a reflective and insightful answer" </p>
<p>Straight from the Office of Admissions. Remember than they want to see something unique in both content and tone, and above all, don't concentrate on "what you did" but more on "how it affected you"; that's being "reflective". I've read too many application essays which focus on the details of the action, but with very little introspection</p>