College Board got rid of subject tests so you will have to stick with the other strikes. 
3 Likes
Ah, thanks for the reminder! Knew there was a reason no one was talking about those lately. 
1 Like
S22 has first draft done of the Common App essay. Itās roughly 800 words, so some edits will be needed to get it down to the 650 max. He talks about his evolution as a collaborator in STEM projects. He really has changed a lot since his middle school days (he includes a very critical assessment he received the summer before 7th grade from a CTY teacher). His project work this past summer at Operation Catapult (Rose-Hulman) is a central part of the essay.
3 Likes
My S22 asked his church youth minister if he could say he was youth group president. The minister said, āSure, three boy friends of yours claimed that last year.ā Lots of co-presidents out there.
A lot of kids feel stress about writing their essays and feel the need to add detail about their experiences (often because they donāt remember) so you arenāt alone. My kiddo really struggled to put something together. He feels there isnāt anything really outstanding about him and says āwhat do I have to write about - Iāve grown up in a nice town and donāt really have any problems.ā
6 Likes
S22 faced a similar issue. We talked with him about different potential essay topics before he settled on one. I did find inspiration in John Dewisās āHack the College Essayā. One specific anecdote relates to the concern: I have nothing special to write about!
You donāt need an exciting life in order to write a great essay. Anyways, as weāve seen,
accomplishments that seem great can make bad essays. You just need to tell a story so truthfully no one else could have told it.
Dewis then relates his work with Pasha, who said, āNothing ever happened to me.ā They did find a topic for him. The key is to tell a story that relates something that only your kid could write. And not to worry about large, life-changing themes as the only thing worth writing about. A specific experience that reveals your kidās personality is great for essays.
4 Likes
For the essay, it helped my son to answer a few questions along the lines of āso what?ā
-why does this matter?
-what have I learned?
-who was I then? Who am I now?
-how have I changed?
-what did I learn about myself?
Also, Write Your Way In by Rachel Toor was a super helpful resource.
3 Likes
My son who is now a college senior wrote his main common app essay about his best day of the year. It went into detail about getting up early and going to the beach and taking a surfing lesson with friends he hadnāt been able to connect with at the level he had previously enjoyed, given what a grind junior year and college prep was.
He talked about the gritty feeling of the sand and taste of salt and sun etc and how it was for once in a long time āmore realā then trying to get into college.
It concluded with him waiting on line to get ice cream and conflicted about which flavor to choose and the fact that they were out of his favorite. He described that the second eventual choice was the unexpected best ice cream he had ever had and that the whole day was perfect. He drew the analogy of being blessed to have had no ābadā choices in spite of his favorite being unavailable and how perhaps his college choices would be similar and that the experience and friendships were what mattered.
I am not doing it justice as it was well written and truthful but clearly in the voice of a 17 year old. My first parent reaction was that it was way to mundane and didnāt highlight his achievements. He was adamant that his HS GC thought it was fine and he only wanted grammatical changes or edits.
At an accepted student event we attended we met the AO who had reviewed his app. She mentioned how she enjoyed reading it āwhile up to her elbowsā in qualified kids because it provided perspective and a reminder that there are no bad choices. I made a comment about my initial hesitancy and she joked that she kept waiting to hear about how he turned it into a surfing for the needy non profit and was happy that it didnāt go there.
I have no idea how his essay impacted his applications but in hindsight I am confident that my adult uninformed perspective would have detracted from it had he listened to me.
16 Likes
Iāve mentioned this on other threads but my kids were in the same boat. S19 wrote his essay about having lunch with his friends at our local diner. It showed his connection to our town and his friends and his compassion for others. He didnāt write about some academic interest or some big win he had inside or outside of school. I really do think AOs want to know who the student is - what makes him tick. That essay is a place to be vulnerable. D21 wrote about leaving a long term EC. The essay showed how rough it was on her but why it was the best decision. I think it showed how self aware she is and that she could see the forest from the trees making a decision for the long term that was really hard on her for the year after she left. Every student has some story that can bring the AO more into their inner lives. The AOs can see their achievements on the other parts of the app.
9 Likes
These essays are always so challenging. What we did that helped was each member of our family listed top 5 traits that we thought was unique about our S21 and gave it to him as thought starters since he stared at his laptop from Aug-Sep, thinking of what to write for his common app. He ended up writing about building his treehouse and chicken coop in our backyard. Now I feel like they can write about anything as long as it helps to bring out their traits, their experiences, and what they learned about themselves and wrap all that up to the colleges. The supplemental essays for each university was even more bizarre with my son because he talked about playing video games in one and setting off a small fire trying to microwave a chicken sandwich wrapped in foil. Totally high-risk but it yielded high rewards for him.
6 Likes
My S22 is keeping completely mum about his essays. Heās only said that he thinks heās done with his Common App essay and started on three supplementals. And that he absolutely does not want us to see them. 
But Iām respecting his decision. Iāve just begged him to at least let his high school counselor see them and get some pointers. Heās only met his counselor once (last week of junior year), so she doesnāt know him at all (our counselors mainly deal with social/emotional/behavioral issues at the school) but since 3 of his colleges require counselor recommendations (in addition to teacher recs), Iām hoping that showing her his essays, will help her write his recommendations. 
And hopefully she can catch any major glaring issues with his essays. Any one elseās kids wanting their essays to be āprivateā? Just occurred to me that the topic might be his parents! 
2 Likes
Mine is also saying she is done and not showing. Itās interesting to hear how everyone situation is similar in the application process. I am glad I join this forum.
2 Likes
Mine is done and let me read it. I thought it was charming (but Iām the momma-ha ha). She is waiting for GC to read before she hits the submit button on some of the schools that do not require supplemental essays, and started to form ideas on what to write for those who do require them. Heading to three Virginia schools next week and will do a Mass. trip in early October to determine whether she wants to do EA anywhere. She has two favorites, but a closer look is necessary to see if there is a clear reason to do EA.
2 Likes
Yes, my son ā20 did not want us parents to see his personal statement essay although we are both strong writers and former newspaper editors. I never saw it or any supplemental essays. He did tell me his topic for the personal essay and his AP Lang teacher reviewed it. He was accepted to five colleges, including one honors college, one honors program, and got some good merit scholarships, so I guess it was good. He only called me over when it was time to pay the fee for submitting his applications.
Dā22 also did not want parental help with her essay and I had a professional consultant help her. She let me read it after it was finished. She did a great job showcasing her personality and values in a way that should be appealing to colleges.
3 Likes
My D22 is done with essays/questions for a few schools. Iām not asking to read them. My wife probably will.
She also knows her HS English teachers have a program to read/review, if desired.
2 Likes
Interesting about the kids who donāt want to show parents their essays. Iām a news editor and my wife is a comms exec and former journalist, so our kids have generally been happy to have us look at major writing projects. We donāt look at run-of-the-mill homework or anything, but I looked at D19ās extended essay for the IB, her college-app essay, stuff like that. S22 is also happy for our help, and Iām pretty adept at cleaning stuff up and constructively criticizing while retaining the kidās own voice. I donāt want this to end up sounding like me at all. Hopefully S22 comes up with a good new idea. ED deadline will be here before we know it!
1 Like
I think in my kids case he was fine with his parents reading his essays and earnestly wanted our suggestions. What he strongly resisted was our natural inclination to boast or even humble brag in some way.
I kept suggesting he start with an achievement and work backward. He was determined that his entire essay to
be a side of him that would not appear anywhere else in his application. We had a different understanding of what show not tell means. He was right.
He was the voice of reason and confidence suggesting his test scores and other hard measures in the application would either work or not work for any specific school.
He wanted in his essays to communicate how he saw the world and hoped to experience college and was clear that was a voice we couldnāt contribute to. He also said on a few occasions that if I am not honest how will they (meaning AOs) make the right decision. I of course told him he was being incredibly naive (yes horrible but well intentioned parent).
He embraced help in all other areas of the process from checking over the application, college visits, suggestions for schools but the essays he viewed as they are described as personal statements.
1 Like
My D22 is also strongly protective of her essays but will ask for my opinion on occasions if sheās struggling with a topic. I get it, and try not to diminish her voice when I provide feedback. Sheās only applying to 4 US schools and the number of supplemental essays is a bit overwhelming (even taking into account a few overlapping themes).
1 Like
My kid also welcomes my editing. I have a careerās worth of writing experience, but she knows I think sheās a good writer and I donāt want to replace her writing with my own.
She generally wants my help most with brainstorming topics before she begins, then helping her figure out what to jettison when it is inevitably too long.
2 Likes
My H and I also come from journalism/writing backgrounds. Our D22 is a great writer but weāve always told her that all writing can benefit from a good editor. Weāve helped with some brainstorming and editing to help her meet word count maximums. Weāve also steered her to websites and other resources because college essays are very different from the types of essays she is used to writing. Also, colleges differ in what they want ā itās clear the UC essays should be structured differently, for instance. In other words, authentic voice and good writing isnāt enough, in my opinion.
1 Like