<p>Invited to read my son’s essay last night and it brought a big smile to my face. He took my to a corner of his mind that I felt honored that he shared w/ me. </p>
<p>The problem I have is his use overuse of commas. Quick qualifier here - I write emails often to customers in a business environment and I try to keep things succinct. He uses commas in a way to emulate how he would have said the essay - like it was a (good) script for a monologue. I view commas as something to be used under a certain set of rules. The most common is one uses a comma along with a conjunction to separate what could be two sentences. Another is to off set a qualifying phrase of five’ish words or more at the beginning of a sentence. An example of this would be, “While I appreciate that he wants the college auditor to ‘hear’ his voice, I’m a’feared that his abundant use of commas will send up a red flag.”</p>
<p>Am I being too “Old School”? Is the supplemental essay on the Common App more of a creative writting exercise in which some artistic leeway is given? Or is one wise to express oneself while still respecting some basic rules of grammar?</p>
<p>1stTimeLongTime,
As a current senior, I absolutely do not think that you are being too “old school!” Creativity and incorrect grammar are two separate things. Like your son, I have a bad habit of overusing commas, but keeping that flaw in mind, I had a plethora of people (even some random strangers I met on CC) read over my essay. Perhaps your son could try the same!</p>
<p>I’m a senior student stuck in her college essay too.
Does anyone else find it immensely annoying that all the sample ‘great college essays’ over the web are way over the limit we are allowed to send this year? They talk about detail and personality being very important… and yet they dont give us enough space to give any details. 600 word limit SUCKS. </p>
<p>And this year there is no ‘topic of your choice’ option. I’m a little worried that since I’m not strictly following any of the prompts in an obvious way, being off topic would be a red mark for my app. Is that how it works?
I like my essay. it sounds like me and reveals a bit of my character etc… but I’m afraid they would reject it because it doesn’t comply exactly with any of the prompts. </p>
<p>Nasim, I twisted my common a00 prompt to fit my essay. I also told all 5 of my college interviewers about this and they were impressed with my initiative. I wouldnt worry about it!</p>
<p>Our D wrote her essay first and then chose the prompt that seems to suit it best, but didn’t at all tailor her essay to the prompt. This isn’t a test where you are graded on how well you respond to a question. Don’t worry if you color outside the lines.</p>
<p>As for all those great essay examples, they were written in prior years when the word count was not so strict. By next year there will be great examples posted based on this year’s guidelines. It is hard to be concise. Write your full, longer version of your essay with all your details and then edit, edit, edit.</p>