A friendly reminder that there’s a separate forum on CC to discuss politics, so let’s keep this thread politics-free.
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D23 was accepted at Creighton today! Generous merit scholarship as well. Just a few more schools that she’s waiting for in December.
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Any other 23s get the UChicago shirt in the mail? D23 was very pleased to see it! Plus a letter with a bunch of quirky fun facts Yes, it seems it is just marketing(from old threads it seems possibly related to when you send them scores as an applicant), but still was nice to get!
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That is really fun! My older Daughter received a very cool personalized postcard from them 4 yrs ago. They spend $ on mktg.
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I graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1992. I loved my experience. I knew my professors well and had a great group of friends who were primarily from CMC with some Scripps and Harvey Mudd students mixed in because of sports. (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps join for athletics). I took classes at the other colleges and went to parties on the other campuses, but CMC was base. It felt like a small school, but had the benefit of being larger when I wanted it to.
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Our D also applied to both big and small schools. Seems to have a similar attitude, big or small she’ll find her niche. She seems to prefer SoCal or Boston.
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This is exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!
I’m curious to those of you who have used professional essay coaches. What all did they say or do?
D23 (#4 kiddo) is applying to merit only schools, and some of their special programs have essays due now. She’s spent the last few evenings writing; i’ve been editing. but i never know how much to help. I can certainly help with grammar items and encourage her to cut down on all the adjectives; but with content and original ideas - I havent touched those.
What all do coaches do? how many revisions? Do they format? they obviously have an influence on the essays, as there is a market for the coaches; the one family i know who used them is at a top school. Trying to figure out boundaries here.
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re: Uchicago’s swag - D23 too got a personalized lettered postcard too. I work for a state U; and sat there looking at that postcard for a long time trying to figure out how they did that. kid’s name was on the front, in UC’s font; with pictures of UC in each letter of her name. She’s not applying, but it was attention grabbing.
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Funny S24 got a “Happy Birthday (his name)” post card from Ole Miss last week and I was like wow. I mean my pets get the same from the vet every year but we pay them money for medical care 
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For the Common App essay, my daughter worked with her English teacher over the summer - we paid her for 4 sessions. This worked out very well because she knows my daughter’s writing style, her voice, and is familiar with her life experiences. She guided her to avoid cliches, and helped bring out her authenticity. She’s a very good writer and her essay turned out great. My son, who struggles with writing, worked with an essay coach a couple years ago. It took a little longer, but she helped him come up with a very solid essay. Also, having outside help minimizes parental nagging.
Yes, UC one was good! WashU sends personalized cards too. Definitely eye-grabbing, but not as expensive as shirts must be!
No coaches here, with either, but the counselors or English teachers will read them for errors and also they have a session or so working on ideas for the main essay in junior spring. They give advice on how to focus on yourself (not a family member), make it positive and show not tell. They can try out ideas and write some drafts before junior year ends which is nice. Some kids go through multiple essays with a teacher or counselor (it is more proofreading than coaching: no heavy editing), others do not really take advantage of the offer as much. I stay out of it, unless asked by kid to proofread, which I usually am not. Mine both love writing and are very creative; it comes naturally to them. If I had kids who disliked writing or struggled to get through it , I would probably want to be more involved or at least make sure they were using the teacher resources extensively. Essay “coaches” seem like they could take away the voice of the kid’s natural style–I personally would not do it but I realize we are lucky to have helpful teachers/staff.
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My D22 is a freshman at Pomona. She was looking for smaller schools. Now there, she is very happy with the choice because in addition to the small school feel, she has access to a lot more. She is an athlete, so knows many at Pitzer as well, and she is taking a class at Scripps-- and really likes their dining hall! I would tend to agree with others that in general, 5Cs give the small school vibe, but you can definitely make it feel big/small depending on what you are interested in.
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After visiting BC (Eagle for a Day), she still really loves it. But she also is not sure they offer exactly what she wants. She is really leaning now toward a forensic science undergrad major or minor. Dartmouth is also still on the list. But she just wants to keep her options open, and knows there are schools she can get in to that she will really like should she not get into BC or Dartmouth. The fact that neither offer ANY merit is also a detractor for her. She’s a ridiculously smart kid who is being wise about her choices. She also knows she wants to go to grad school.
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It sounds like your daughter is taking a very thoughtful/mature approach to her college search. My D23 has similar stats (highest rigor/GPA, but a slightly lower SAT - 1520) and good ECs. She’s our third child (older brothers attended T20-30 schools), but with test optional and living in the Northeast, we are far less optimistic about her chances for admission at the most competitive schools. She applied ED1 to Tufts and if that doesn’t work out, will apply ED2 to BC. She has plenty of less competitive schools in her EA and RD queue too. We know too many families who were shell shocked in the last few years to feel confident anywhere.
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My daughter (in grad school) still gets them from her Orthodontist every year whom she saw the obligatory few months when she had been a young teenager. I think they are banking on a quicky generational switch?
DS2022 is not a great writer,
much more STEM/formulas nerd.
We used an essay coach for brainstorming the message of the essay responding to the prompt. 80% of the work was to help get him “unstuck” on how to get started/what he wants to say,
not really the editing stuff.
When you’re not a writer, and have to write 38 essays (he applied to 19 colleges), it’s a HUGE hurdle, so having an essay coach helped a lot.
The college he is at now had 5 required essays, and then when he went into the application, there was a surprise “optional” (not optional of course) prompt that was very similar to another prompt. The essay coach was worth his weight in gold to help brainstorm what this twist of the essay would convey, that’s different from the other essay.
I (also not a writer) helped with the editing and and word-count-fitting, etc.
Good luck.
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My son and I brainstormed. I took his thoughts and said “hey, what if you put this spin on it?” That’s what he is using. I look at it as if I was his secretary translating his thoughts into ideas and put them on paper. He is the one who has to write it all out and edit it.
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Thank you! The 5C environment really sounds ideal for someone looking for the smaller LAC within a larger community.