I saw some posts with advice for applicants, and many people mentioned having an adult review the essays. The applications say that applicants are supposed to do these without any help. What is the norm? Do most people get help anyway? Do parents/tutors/teachers review anyway?
Thank you!
Correcting minor grammar and punctuation is fine, changing content is not. The essays are meant to give the AO insight into who you are, not who your parent/tutor/teacher thinks the AO wants you to be.
Where’s it say to do these “without any help?”
In fact, the ability to seek the appropriate sort of support, process it, is an important skill.
Noone should write for you. But nothing wrong with hashing out ideas or having someone note structural issues.
I plan to get as much help as I can get. They are the only thing that you can get help with on-the-spot, and a good essay can help get you in to school. Once you have taken the test, requested the reccomendations, and interviewed, all you have to do is perfect that essay. For me, my essay will likely be one of the main things that gets me in, if I get in at all, which is unlikely (no matter how bad I want it)
Some schools may ask you to sign an honor statement that you received no assistance, if I recall correctly
I think the essays become meaningless when kids get too much help. Some schools require a writing sample during the interview day, which I think is smart and more of a true read of writing ability.
SwimKid applied to 11 schools and not a single one requested a writing sample on interview day. Instead they use the SSAT writing sample.
Yeah, my kid did not have to submit any writing samples on interview day.
I think there’s a huge difference between "Honey, you want ‘you’re’ and not ‘your’ " and “Here’s your essay, what do you think of it?”
The first is what I would be happy to do with any school assignment. In fact, I’m on a committee that makes up a local Catholic high school entrance exam-- we proofread and proofread and proofread; it’s so easy to miss your own mistakes.
I don’t think that’s the kind of help they’re trying to prevent.
Well 11th grade applicants can use PSAT so there would be no writing tested if they did not take SSAT.
However, the school I am thinking of required writing samples of all applicants as part of their process. I actually thought it was a good idea and it was a 15-20 minute thing, not a huge deal.