Hiring a professional

College Essays
1

Has anyone hired a professional to help them with their essays? Is it worth the money? I know one girl who did but I’m looking for other input… Thanks :slight_smile:

2

Instead of hiring someone, just get an English teacher to read it over for you. They’ve probably read many of them before and it will be cheaper if you just get them a gift card at the end

3

@technogirl21 - I totally DISAGREE about using an English teacher to read it and a very good friend of mine who teaches HS English agrees with me. Teachers are looking to apply a different set of rules (being more formal, not using contractions, etc…). But you do need some constructive feedback (NOT SOMEONE TO WRITE IT FOR YOU). You need to retain your voice in the essay.

I used to do reading/editing for pay, but it was very hard and I probably charged too little. There are some good services for reasonable prices (considering the consequences), but I’m not sure I’m allowed to recommend them on CC. BUT DO NOT PAY HIGH PRICES FOR ESSAY HELP. A simple first read with suggestions, followed by a second draft read to see how well you followed advice is all you probably need.

Will books help? There are a few good books out there, but finding them is a chore. I don’t think the “50 Essays that worked …” kind of books help that much, nor do I think really lengthy books work. You need one that will get right to the point of giving you techniques you can use. Here are some clues for finding a book or two that might help:

Go to Amazon and search for something like “admissions essay advice” or “college essay advice” and you’ll get a gazillion suggestions. Take the top ones and look for those with 4-5 stars average reviews (and more than ten reviews). Then, for some of THOSE, read the reviews carefully. Amazon has something called “Verified Purchase” on each review. Pay attention to those reviews much more than ones that are not verified. Too many Amazon reviews are more like advertising for the book (IMNSHO).

Two last bits of advice:

  1. ALWAYS remember that the REAL purpose of an essay is to make the school want you. It’s that simple.
  2. ALWAYS read your “final” draft out loud to someone (rather than just asking them to read it). The reason for that is that it must sound like you talking. If you use phrasing or words that don’t SOUND like you, then it needs to change.

And if you use words like “plethora” or phrasing like “I aspire to…” in your essay, I will personally come and tear it into little shreds.

4

Before hiring a professional to ‘massage’ your essay, please ask yourself: do you think you will fit happily at a school for which you had to have someone else co-author your essay? Do you think that school will be getting an accurate impression of you and your abilities?

5

Teachers don’t know what college admission officers want. They can help you check for grammar and flow, but you have to be the one to shape the material. My best suggestion is to write an essay- don’t worry about perfection- forget about it for a month or so, and read it again. By then, what you’ve written will seem new to you. ask yourself, what are my impressions of the person who wrote this? What would be some words to describe this kid? Revise and repeat as necessary.

6

@technogirl21 Not to bash on professional essay-editing services, but I wouldn’t do it, especially if you have to pay a lot of money to do so, for a few reasons:

  1. You can ask your English teacher or anyone fluent in English for simple suggestions regarding grammar, spelling, sentence flow, etc.
  2. Essays should represent *your* own writing, and writing style.
  3. As long as you communicate your point across clearly, there isn't much point hiring someone else for pay.
  4. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think the college essay is as important as some say it is. Sure, admissions officers may read it and take it into consideration, but after decisions have been made, there isn't much point in the essay itself (to my knowledge at least...).
  5. If you hire a professional to proofread your essays, then what about essays in college? Master's or Ph.D. theses?
7

hey @technogirl21 — i can’t speak for most essay services, but i know the one i used helped me actually become a better writer. it’s still my voice, but structured better, and i learned that often times what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in. just my two cents!

8

English teachers are specialists in the staple of high school writing, which is the five-paragraph essay. This does not work in the college admissions context. What does work is a narrative structure. If you can identify a college essay specialist who you feel confident can show you how to structure a story, it might be worth paying for, depending on the schools to which you aspire and the rest of your application.

9

Besides the fact that English teachers are not admissions officers and aren’t always experts on what admissions officers like, there’s also the fact that English teachers already have full-time jobs with probably somewhere around 100 students or more. Imagine if every high school student asked their English teacher to give them free help on their application essay – that would be like a whole second job.