<p>My parents don't think I should rewrite my common app essay, and should instead start the supplements. I want to rewrite it and I feel that it is only "decent".</p>
<p>Has anybody had experience with a similar situation?</p>
<p>Maybe you could compromise and get started on a few supplements, but say that when those are done, you want to edit your common app essay before sending. Perhaps you also could write out a schedule for completing all the requirements, including the essay edit, so that they know that you will be able to get everything done. </p>
<p>It’s not easy balancing all the work that needs to be done for this process.</p>
<p>Time management is a “learned” skill. You probably want to listen to someone with a lot more “time” under their belt. I had a very similar situation with my daughter.</p>
<p>Let’s face it, your main essay will never be “finished”. EVERY writer could go back and correct and rework and change … forever. </p>
<p>So your mind will just keep spinning as time keeps rushing by and you have NO supplements done. I had to INSIST on a written essay. My D wasn’t happy with it, but I said “move on”. Unlike you, she was working on supplements but putting off the main essay. But it’s just the same thing in reverse…still not getting everything at least done…then going back and reworking afterward. That’s a pretty important step.</p>
<p>But, face it…you HAVE to move these applications to their next level. I assume your Guidance Office has a deadline by which they will no longer accept transcript requests, in order to meet your preferred colleges’ application deadlines. That will be here SO soon, and you need to get your apps in first (ideally) so they can attach the transcripts when they are received.</p>
<p>A few weeks will NOT turn any of us into a better writer. Just “git er done”. And, as I said, I did the same thing at our house. Once you are ready to “push da button” and send the appl…THEN you can go back and “rewrite” all you want…up until the deadline. But, this way, you know you CAN send them if you run out of time. Otherwise, you’ll just stress and fret and get nowhere and never be happy with what you’ve written. Besides, sometimes you need a break. Go back and revisit something you wrote after you haven’t thought about it for awhile. And, you may get a totally new idea for your main essay, in doing the short answer questions. This happened to my D. She finally got done with everything. Then she was processing a scholarship application and their wording of a prompt made her think of as essay she ended up being very proud of, and might have wanted to use in her other apps. But…she put off the scholarship app so that didn’t happen. </p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I’d say work on your essay for another week… and then work on supplements… then go back to the essay again. Honestly, it’s YOUR essay, not your parents, but you do need to work on other things also so you don’t get behind.</p>
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<p>As you don’t know Alex’s next college application deadline, how quickly he gets things done or his other time commitments, I have no idea how you come to give that advice. </p>
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<p>R124687’s post is pure gold. Time management is critical not just on a college application, or in college but for the rest of your life. Live it, learn it, love it. The idea that only if you continue to work on a problem will that ‘spark of genius’ come that makes a huge difference in the result is usually a fallacy. Said another way, there is a diminishing rate of return here: the longer you work on something, generally, the less value the incremental time provides the final result. </p>
<p>In fact, perhaps time away from an essay might spark ideas on how to improve it. Meanwhile, get the supplemental essays/materials done and THEN work on the main essay to your heart’s content. </p>
<p>Btw, a tip for everyone doing this. Do your essays in Word and maintain version control using the ‘save as’ feature. My son showed us a new version of his main essay and we BOTH had the same exact comment … where the heck did the best part go? As he didn’t keep his former versions (as if hard disc space was an issue) it went bye bye. ;)</p>
<p>Why not give your essay to an English teacher to review, and in the meantime work on your supplementals. </p>
<p>:)</p>