<p>For colleges, scholarships, and other programs, students often work meticulously on their essays, laboring over one of the few variables of their application that can still be improved further. But as I begin to have friends and teachers review my essays for scholarships, I begin to wonder -- how much is too much?</p>
<p>The general rule touted by many is to not distort the essay in a way that it no longer speaks with your voice. But where is that line drawn? Is it alright to acquiesce to the word choices of a peer, knowing that they make your essay sound better and, perhaps, only eluded you because you could not find them at the time of the draft, not because they were not part of your style? Or should assistance be limited to grammar and syntax, to possible ideas but not the execution of such ideas?</p>
<p>I ask this because after receiving much help with an essay myself, I feel like the product, although far aesthetically superior to the prototype, is not entirely my own. Of course, only some words were deleted or added, sentences rearranged, and ideas given but not expounded upon. It is undeniable the boons of asking others' opinions, but to what extent is it ethical?</p>