My S18 will be applying to several schools between Oct 15 and Nov 15 EA, so there’s not much time left. His Common App essay is mediocre, in substance. It’s fine with grammar, spelling, etc., but just doesn’t say much. He has led a very average life and is just not a creative or insightful writer. With the deadlines coming soon, I don’t expect much improvement in the essay and supplements.
What he does have is great test scores and grades, high level of rigor, and pretty good athletic ability (recruitable for D3 but he is also applying to D1 schools, not as an athlete). We are hoping for some competitive academic merit scholarships.
Are there any success stories for students with just so-so essays?
If he is aiming for top 20 schools the essay will be a deciding factor. If it is truly mediocre then it could hurt his chances at lower ranked schools too.
I think this will hurt at top 20 schools and may hurt at schools where his stats put him close to the edge. However, if he is a recruitable athlete even at the D3 level then his EC should be good even if it is only one sport. Also, if his test scores and grades are strong then he should be fine at many very good universities.
My youngest was just 5 for 5 without writing an essay at all, with good merit aid. However, after considering schools both inside and outside the US, she ended up applying only outside the US (we live in New England, and thus not too far from the border).
I would strongly reconsider submitting those essays if you already believe they’re mediocre. You have a solid two weeks to start the commonapp essay from scratch.
Has an English teacher or guidance counselor taken a look at the essay? Maybe they can help rework it. It might just be a matter of moving things around, adding something like a quote or dialogue. I don’t think it has to be about anything extraordinary but it has to give them a glimpse into your son’s personality.
Thank you all for your responses. Son does have an English teacher providing some (very limited) feedback. School has no class or set way for students to seek college essay help since most students either don’t apply to college, or apply to schools with no essays required. Son’s schedule, with his rigorous classes and sport, will not allow for single-minded attention to essays.
Maybe mediocre is too negative a word to describe his writing. It lacks in creativity and does not reveal significant aspects of his personality, but he is a typical 17 year old boy, and not particularly insightful. I was hoping that admissions officers understand that, and recognize that these students still have significant potential to learn to write well while in college.
Since I do not have high hopes about much improvement in his essays, I was hoping to hear of success stories with otherwise accomplished students. As I mentioned in original post, he has very high test scores and grades while being a 2 season athlete throughout high school.
Son is applying to a small number of very highly ranked schools that have competitive merit scholarships available, along with other very good schools where he is assured of admittance and some merit money. So he will be going to college:)
You know he has time to work on them. An English teacher is not going to give an A to a so so essay. The essay needs to let his personality shine. They want to know what makes him tick. If you know what makes him tick, talk with him about it. Have him just write about what he loves.
Apparently there aren’t many successful scholarship stories for those very high stats, talented, college applicants who are not yet insightful writers? After this process is over I will share our experiences. First application was submitted yesterday.
Bland (which is how these sound) isn’t really helpful in the hunt for top college admissions or scholarships. But you gotta love the kid on the couch, not the one you wish you had writing essays.
Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised. App essays are not contests for literary awards. They are a tool for AO’s to get a better glimpse of who the applicants are and what they will bring to the school. As parents, maybe sometimes we know too much about our kids (or have our own picture), and how our kids feel about themselves doesn’t match or meet our expectations, but does a find job communicating that to strangers. Good luck!
I’m in the same boat, @appalachymom. D has good scores and grades and is a D3 level athlete like your son, but her essays are mediocre at best. She worked with someone on them, but then decided this weekend that the one she’d been working on for the common app was “too overworked” and she didn’t feel comfortable with it anymore. So, she went with a brand new essay at the last minute that she got very minimal feedback on. We argued with the kid, but she’s stubborn and very insistent that this process be done her way.
So, as @intparent recommends, we’re trying to love the kid on the couch and accept that she’ll end up somewhere that doesn’t care if her writing ability isn’t quite up to the level of her other academic accomplishments. It is very frustrating, though, to feel like they aren’t going to have good results because of something that could have easily been improved. Like you, we need scholarships to make some of her private LAC choices affordable and I’m afraid she’s hurt those chances.
Good luck to your son! Hoping we both discover that our kids are better writers than we think.
If it is any consolation, I’ve read books on essays that were supposedly giving examples of great & successful essays, and I thought almost all of them were “meh”. So those students had some success.
I agree that so-so essays are not going to help. Whether they hurt or not, not so sure. But in terms of competitive merit, no helping more than likely means no shot.
His goal for his essay should be something that reveals information on how he thinks, what matters to him, etc. It doesn’t have to be about an unusual life; it should be about who he is. My kids have written about how a certain story made them reflect on specific issues, about familial relationships, about observing situations and how they responded, etc.
The essay doesn’t have to be literary. Avoid “bland” also. Direct and honest, “show, not tell”, works best. Think of it as a short story where the writer is the hero, or a short film on a particular moment on his life. If you feel it could be read by someone who’s not obliged to, then you’re good.
Basically, with so many high scores/interesting kids applying to universities whose acceptance rate is below 20%, the essay can make the difference. I’ve got no success stories… basically, an average excellent student without good essays is unlikely to get into highly selective colleges or competitive scholarships like Robertson or Jefferson. (Look for the thread about the “average excellent” students - your son sounds like one of them).
Has he demonstrated interest (spoken to rep at college fair, visited, filled out 'request info" form) at ALL universities? Some matches and safeties take interest into account and may turn down an applicant that’s otherwise qualified but hasn’t expressed interest.
Is he applying to good matches, not just reaches and safeties (that’s what I get from “very highly ranked schools” and “very good schools where he is assured of admittance”)? That means colleges with acceptance rates in the 25-40% range and his flagship(s)?
If you live in an urban or rural location, make sure this appears through his essays, as urban and rural candidates are also recruited. Ask the GC for the school profile (if your son is exceptional for his school, it should be made clear), and provide him/her with a resume (look up “brag sheet”).
I’ll bookmark this thread - thanks for offering to provide results and good luck on your quest!
@intparent@Emmycat Yep, bland is where we are. Maybe that is exactly what my kid is? But I do love that bland kid on the couch! And he does have some choices he likes that are sure things. We have been on the fence about whether he should be the bigger fish in the smaller pond, or among lots of high achievers. I have my concerns he could become lazier if not pushed to work. But that should be another thread…
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Yes, I read those JHU essays. They are incredible and I’m surprised that they came from high school students. My kid does not seem to think that deeply, OR is not willing to put that out there.
@MYOS1634 I’ve been thinking for a while that my kid is one of the “average excellent” students. I’ve read, more than once, the thread started by @Lindagaf . Fits perfectly. As far as expressing interest, some of the schools he is applying to don’t track it, according to the CDS. Of those that do, we have visited or asked for info.
For his stats, schools on his list seem to be mainly reaches and safeties. A little harder to find academic matches with likelihood of admission. Although some of the safeties become matches due to our interest in big merit aid, and some schools that would be matches then become reaches. We are very well informed about the financial aspects of all the schools on the list.
Thanks again to everyone who has responded and provided some good advice, and some comfort @BKSquared
CC has provided me with so much wonderful info that I will absolutely “give back” (boy I hate that overused phrase) after this process is over to help those that come later.
@appalachymom I have kids whose essays were more along the lines of “meh,” so I get it. I have one child whose essays were stellar, so yes, essays like JHU’s examples (or even better) do come from high school students.
It is like everything else in college admissions, the perspective can not be focused on our children as we know them, our children compared to their friends, our children compared to the local community, etc. The perspective has to be compared to national/international competition bc there are kids out there who do have “it,” whatever the it (weakness in our kids’ applications) is.
Best wishes to your ds. Fwiw, they typically end up thriving wherever they end up.
I would not let any of these comments dissuade your son from applying to competitive colleges. The truth is, we don’t know. A good essay can help, but who can know either that an ‘ordinary’ one will hurt (and what is ordinary, anyway?) or that an admissions officer won’t respond well to your child’s essay? There are so many factors.
He should write the best essay he can, and see what happens. If he has a range of reaches, targets and safeties, he will have someplace to attend college in the end… and the essay would have to reveal a horrible personal characteristic to block him from ALL his schools!
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I hope that my post didn’t sound like I question if those JHU essays were really written by high school students. I certainly believe it, but am amazed. Such good young writers, that are not like what I have seen around here. I do know that all of our children are being looked at as part of a national/international pool, not just the local neighborhood.
Common story, no doubt. Students are local high achievers and then find out there’s a big world with many higher achievers out there. A good learning experience. Especially for the very bright excellent students. My kid seems to think that his high test scores and grades will trump other factors (essays), and I guess with this thread I was looking for examples of that happening.
Not worried about my kid ending up someplace bad. That won’t happen. We are very fortunate that we can pay for something, just not everywhere that he would likely be admitted. I’m mainly interested in trying to find great choices that will challenge him, especially those with merit aid. And luckily, my kid seems he’ll be one of those “bloom where planted” students.
