Inside the College Admission Process

Parents Forum
101

<p>I think it’s also really easy for a naive hs student to read the “Why XX College” prompt and think that the adcom is asking about why he or she likes XX college … and so rattle off the usual “how much I really love your beautiful campus, your tons of activities, your proximity to the city, your excellent professors” … without realizing that the subtext of the question isn’t REALLY how much you love XX College (they aren’t going to award admissions prizes to those who love XX the very mostest) but what is it about the college that uniquely fits with you AND what is it about you that would add to / enhance campus life there / how might you participate. </p>

<p>I also don’t see why a parent can’t ask questions of the student to help the student self-reflect beyond the superficial as to why you want to go to XX College. That’s different from putting words in the student’s mouth.</p>

102

<p>My son’s Chicago essay was in answer to “How Did you get caught”. The whole thing was basically a piece of fiction ending with the line “Did you catch me?” Of course now that Chicago also requires the Common App essays they saw some more normal answers, but every student can take advantage of the “Make up your own prompt” option. In fact at one school (GW I think) they said they look forward to the students who take that option because they get so tired of the usual answers to the other options.</p>

<p>As to “Why — College” my son’s answer to U of Chicago was that at first he thought his parents were crazy to suggest it and talked about all the reasons why it was wrong for him. His “Why Tufts” essay talked about the chalk advertisements for student activities on the sidewalks. I’m pretty sure they were happy to not have to read yet another essay about Global learners!</p>

<p>Every application where he took the “less safe” approach are the ones where he got accepted.</p>

<p>Harry Bauld was a consultant at our house too, but he didn’t cost us anything. I checked his book out of the library. :)</p>

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An admissions officer said this at a college presentation at our high school and my son really took it to heart. I’m pretty sure if he’d dropped his main essays on the cafeteria floor they would have gotten back to him! He really understood that when reaching high the essays were going to have to help - not being boring was an important consideration.</p>

<p>As far as being about themselves - my son’s essay about his favorite EC, barely talked about himself. He talked about the history of his elementary school as he learned it through going through the neighborhood association archives. He talked about what he thought was funny and what information was missing. The last sentence was about how it made him feel like a historian, but mostly you learned about him by how he reacted to the material.</p>

103

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<p>PG, I had an almost verbatim paragraph in my last post, but decided to erase it. Considering the number of essays that miss the target on that particular prompt, one ought to wonder why the schools insist on asking that question. The most unfortunate part is that this prompt encourages students (and their advisers) to forego what should be most important in the application, namely honesty. Anyone who has spent time on CC knows that the criteria to select X college are almost always elements one should not state in the essay. After all, no school would like to read they were selected by how high they are ranked by Bob Morse, how much financial aid they give, how prestigious the name sounds at the cocktail party, how important it is to save face in the community, how important is to get the right decal on the family Range Rover, or how much money they could make after graduating. Yet, that this a very typical (and perhaps cynical) short list! </p>

<p>In the end, there is one reason why many students detest the essay routine with such passion. For starters, successful application essays are very different from they have been taught --which explains why the absolute worst source of advice is a student’s high school. Then, you have the prompts, which come in a range between reasonable and ridiculous. And, last but not least, there is the incredibly important requirement to tailor the essays to the particular schools. Chicago is the obvious example of a school looking for uniqueness, but there are others. A few years ago, Conn College posted a series of essays that are received praise … and admissions. As usual, some people liked the style, but others found them simply awful and would have made Dr. Essay Bauld scream with the excessively florid style that reminded of Fabio . But, the message was clear that that was THE type of essays the adcoms liked (at that point of time, at least. ) And, of course, one should remember the released “love letter” essay debacle at Chicago of a few months ago. </p>

<p>In the end, when adding all the components required by this exercise, it is easy to see why students should seek assistance in the process, and that parents who can afford should not hesitate to line up the best help possible, ranging from their own input to hiring the most competent people available. For waht it is worth, I really, really do not buy that the adcoms are able to recognize essays that have received a nice coat of polish. After all, they are supposed to select the essays that appeal to them and make them put the red rejection marker away. Does anyone really think that the best essay consultants do NOT know how to edit (or produce) essays that match their clients? </p>

<p>Of course, adcoms do not have that hard a time to recognize the horrible essays that are submitted by students without much of an edit, or even worse, essays that have been edited by well-meaning but totally incompetent adults.</p>

104

<p>Something witty and innovative, a household object, music time travel, horses, an EC, even a passion…all can be done well. All can reveal that a stu can pick a good topic, organize it well, write in an engaging manner with solid mechanics- and, one way or another, convey the strengths that adcoms want to see. Even a subtle point can reveal their worthiness of further consideration. </p>

<p>Kids who get into Swat, Tufts, Chi (and whatever I’ve missed,) are clearly capable in many respects. Something has triggered their own high level of app-crafting skill. Another, equally bright and accomplished kid may be tripped by his own clumsiness in setting up the app. Unfortunate.</p>

105

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The common app still has a “topic of your choice” option. </p>

<p>Here are the current common app questions:</p>

<p>*A major personal experience, achievement, risk or ethical dilemma he has faced and its impact on the applicant ; or…</p>

<p>An issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to the applicant; or…</p>

<p>An individual who has deeply impacted the applicant and why; or…</p>

<p>A fictional character, historical personage, or creative work that has profoundly influenced the applicant and why; or …</p>

<p>A personal experience that best illustrates the diversity the applicant will bring to the university community; or…</p>

<p>A topic of the applicant’s choice.*</p>

<p>It seems to me that questions about “an issue of local, national, or international concern” or a “fictional character, historical personage, or creative work” are topics that don’t require much explicit self-revelation for those who are uncomfortable with it. The “why” part pretty much comes through in the choice of topic itself – after all, this is a 500 word essay, a statement to the effect, “and when I grow up, I want to be just like X” is rather silly and superfluous.</p>

<p>I would agree that the “personal experience, achievement, risk” or the “diversity” question provides more opportunity for a self-revelatory essay - plus its more open ended and easy to fit just about anything personal into that category. </p>

<p>But the point is – the student does not have to choose those topics if he/she feels uncomfortable writing a a first person exposition. They can opt instead for the issue or historical person topic. If the issue/historical person is one where the importance is obvious, no extra information needed.</p>

106

<p>I have been wondering how much colleges take into account pretty large hardships, such as a death of a parent combined with the other parent facing cancer leaving me largely on my own and independent in my freshmen through sophomore years?</p>

107

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<p>At the risk of repeating the same point that has been made several time in this thread, students can (and probably should) write about “Something witty and innovative, a household object, music time travel, horses, an EC, even a passion…” but the caveat remains that the student remains the CENTRAL part of the essay. </p>

<p>Take a look at the suggested prompt and notice the personal and the why parts:</p>

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<p>The issues, the people, the historical events are NOT the subjects of the essay; they are the tools that allow a students to SHOW how they had an impact on them. </p>

<p>Fwiw, the need to “pick a good topic, organize it well, write in an engaging manner with solid mechanics” is a basic requirement, but because it is merely a given, it is not how the essay helps a student. A good essay will have ALL of those basic ingredients, but without a well-constructed personal message, it will be a wasted opportunity.</p>

108

<p>Xiggi- colleges ask Why Us? because it’s such a litmus test. </p>

<p>Also, regarding recognizing that coat of polish: IME, the review process is so fast, you don’t stop to worry if Mom fixed the commas. So fast that you get a who-knows-where-from tickle when you think the kid didn’t write some part. If you stand back and analyze, the writings, LoRs, level of classes taken, grades, standardized scores and ECs should balance (show the same kid.) But, yes, plenty probably slip by. And, in cases where a kid is a top STEM candidate, with all the requisites to make an impact on the world, sometimes…</p>

<p>Fast: this is where your GC (and possibly teachers) should be your allies- they will often mention the challenges you faced, how you worked to overcome and what you achieved. Dependng on the particulars, you can briefly note in the addl info section. Good luck. </p>

<p>Calmom- right, a kid can write on anything she wants. And, an adcome can either get the info he/she needs to evaluate that kid- or not. This isn’t writing for a literary magazine or the NYT. I’ve broadly defined how a kid can show her strengths in her essay. She can choose not to. Adcoms can choose not to read between the lines. Or, they can like what they do get. Or, someone else can meet the info needs better. Or.</p>

109

<p>My words: *…and, one way or another, convey the strengths that adcoms want to see. Even a subtle point * [about the student, I meant] can reveal their worthiness of further consideration.</p>

<p>Xiggi- totally agree. But, the rebuttal keeps coming back to, “Well, I didn’t or my kid didn’t and they got into Great U.” I am tring to point out that, no matter what Mom or Dad thinks- the kid didnt insert herself or whatever- something must have been revealed that ticked with the adcoms.</p>

110

<p>calmom, your daughter already made a point about who she is by writing about something unique and unconventional. If you can show your personality and character without writing directly about yourself, I think that’s actually a plus-----hence the saying, “show, don’t tell”.</p>

111

<p>^Right. I also think that another way to look at it is that you want the ad officer to think at the end of the essay, “This person would be fun to have as a roommate.”</p>

<p>And while I agree that most “Why __ college” essays are pretty dull, I think they do serve the purpose of getting kids to read through the websites and think a little bit about why they are applying. You can’t just say “Because you are number X on the USNWR list.” (Though that might be a good tongue in cheek start!)</p>

112

<p>Re post #110 – yes, exactly – the fact that my kid chose an unconventional approach WAS the message. And it was a safe, and true, message to convey: “hey, this is me, I’m creative, I’m funny, I’m a little bit of a risk taker – and if you don’t like me for who I am, then I wouldn’t want to come to your school anyway.” </p>

<p>My guess is that colleges see a lot of applications that convey the message, “I will do anything and everything I can to give you what I think you want” — which perhaps conveys a different sort of message, one in which it may be harder to articulate why one applicant should be selected over another. In a less competitive setting it may not matter – but at the more competitive end of the spectrum, a cookie-cutter essay is probably not all that helpful. We are talking about 17 year old kids who for the most part haven’t done anything all that remarkable in their lives, so it can be quite pretentious for the kid to try to write the essay they are told they are supposed to be writing. </p>

<p>In my view, it’s helpful if the essay is simply memorable. Between the time an admission reader first looks at an application and the matter is discussed in committee, that reader has probably looked at dozens of other applications, perhaps even hundreds – the reader isn’t even going to mention the essay unless it stood out in some way.</p>

113

<p>“^Right. I also think that another way to look at it is that you want the ad officer to think at the end of the essay, “This person would be fun to have as a roommate.””</p>

<p>Or an interesting contributor to the campus.
I mean, really, don’t you think their eyes swim when they are evaluating a bunch of candidates all with stellar stats, GPA and interesting extracurriculars? There really isn’t any difference between the 2200 and the 2300, or the kid who was on the varsity tennis team versus the varsity soccer team, or the kid who was president of the senior class versus vice-president, or the kid who rocks AP French vs AP Spanish, or the kid who did his science project on this vs that. Their eyes glaze over. At least mine would.</p>

114

<p>“In my view, it’s helpful if the essay is simply memorable.”</p>

<p>Bingo!</p>

115

<p>Well, they don’t read dozens. Depending on the school, many, many hundreds per reader. </p>

<p>Some of the most wretched essays are memorable, too. Does that give a kid an edge? I think you’ll say, no- recognizing that your daughter’s was perfect not simply for it’s uniqueness or memorability, but for its quality (as a whole and as defined by that school’s adcoms.)</p>

<p>The kid who writes a great essay writes a great essay. Some “unique” essays are irreverant, perfect; the student reveals enough to move foward. </p>

<p>Like it or not- some unique essays are irrelevant.<br>
Your kid got in because she did “give them what they want.”</p>

116

<p>At the end of day, most kids are pretty average, they are not really that interesting. They just want to get into a decent college to learn something for next 4 years and do something after that. 90% of those unique and beautiful students, once they graduated from college, are going to be like everyone else, with 9 to 5 jobs. All of those unique essay questions (from Tufts to U.Chicago) is just a way for those colleges to see how much crap applicants are willing to put up with to go to their schools. Look at Dartmouth, I think they probably have one of the easiest applications (it was 4 years ago), and they still manage to get just as good of student body as any top tier schools.</p>

<p>When D1 was doing her college applications, she said to me, “I have been very happy growing up. I don’t have any deep angst. I like you guys. I am not that deep. I feel like I need to make up stuff in order to make me sound interesting.”</p>

117

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And most of those kids will do quite well if they opt to attend a college that will accept every applicant with their GPA and test scores.</p>

118

<p>Fastsauce, I’m sorry you have had such sad things happen to you :frowning: I have read what all these parents are saying about what they have done to help their kids out, or even just knowing what they wrote on an essay. I hope your parent that is facing cancer is doing alright. I hope you are getting to lean on someone for support! I would hope your teachers and counselors help by giving the schools information about you in their recommendations! I hope you get into an amazing school! Keep on keepin’ on :)</p>

119

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<p>But that is exactly the point that is so often missed. Essays do not have to make someone … interesting. Essays do not have to be about some profound changes or overcoming tragedies. Essays can be about very mundane activities as long as they are written with a personal and honest voice. </p>

<p>Of course, it is not hard to see why “normal” students feel compelled to produce “extraordinary” essays full of amazing feats or deep introspection when schools decide to use prompts that convey nothing but pretentiousness and pseudo-intellectualism.</p>

120

<p>Lookingforward, I think it’s neat that you answered the post from fastsauce.
For the other parents on here, did each of you even notice? You are all so busy proving who is right and wrong that you didn’t even give an answer to what she asked!!! That is sad. I shouldn’t get onto parents, but y’all are sad. I hope your kids are off at their colleges helping others and not just stuck on helping themselves. I hope you taught them that much. It is really sad to read what y’all are writing about and each person seems to be correct. After reading her post, I actually felt bad…why? Because I got to be in a tournament today with both of my parents there watching. Fastsauce already can’t have that because one parent is gone. I hope her other parent gets to be even healthy enough for her to get help with this whole crazy college application process!
You should stop trying to be right now and answer her question. Maybe I shouldn’t write to you adults this way, but you are acting like the kids here.
Fastsauce, I do really hope you are getting lots of help.</p>