<p>A few months ago, I began work on two essays which I plan to use in various combinations according to the supplements, and they're nearly all wrapped up now.</p>
<p>Now, I've shown my essay to a lot of very accomplished teenagers - either students who have gotten into some my dream schools, or people who are fantastic with essays, and I have received a lot of positive feedback.</p>
<p>My question is - do I need an adult to read over it as well? I'm not planning to show my parents this essay (just not comfortable enough), and teachers at schools aren't really used to the intricacies of a college essay; they'd probably evaluate these based on the level of vocabulary I use (I'm an international), and that definitely isn't what makes a great essay. So, yes, if showing an adult is a must, I'm a bit stuck...</p>
<p>If you’re confident that the students you’ve shown your essay to have gone through it not only for content but also for grammar/spelling/punctuation, it isn’t necessary to show it to an adult. It’s just really bad form to submit an essay that contains mistakes.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that CC parents are the best bet, even speaking as a CC parent who has read and given detailed feedback on some essays. One young man told me that he had sent it to about 20 people and only got feedback from two of them. I think a lot of people are just curious, and you end up sending the essay to dozens of people for nothing. Plus, you don’t really know who they are.</p>
<p>I vote for an English teacher, or another (real world) adult with a good knowledge of grammar.</p>
<p>Does your essay reflect something of your personality? Would people who read your essay have the feeling that they have learned something about you and your character and how you think?</p>
<p>Your essay may be great, with perfect grammar, and also fascinating and memorable, but it the answers to the initial questions are not positive, I would suggest you reconsider.</p>
<p>Two out of twenty is not bad, as long as the feedback is helpful. Twenty out of twenty might be too much fedback.
The OP has already stated that the teachers are not helpful. As a former international student (from a country where college essays are totally unknown) I agree that teachers (of English or of other subjects) are useless in helping with college application essays. Fellow students are not much better. So what to do? Ask the help of CC parents. Most of us are in the US and are going through or have gone through the college application process with our own US-educated students.</p>