<p>I don't think parents actually write any essays for students...I hope? I think it's more parents trying to tell kids what to write about or what's good. Even so, I don't show my parents my essays.</p>
<p>"or else your uncertainity bleeds through onto your application" - nice metaphor kayoshin.</p>
<p>Zant: There are quite a few whose parents actually <em>write</em> the essays because they feel more strongly about college than their kids do. Their kids may not be excellent writers so they take the initiative instead.</p>
<p>yea but I really think parents aren't that great at writing...college essays at least.</p>
<p>Like, I don't think they would get in if they applied now.</p>
<p>OK, this is my last post ever on CC. I had a falling out with my Dad today. He told me that I had to send the essays as he dictated. I am so angry right now. I was happy with my essays, but just because my annoying father did not think they sounded grown-up enough (he added in words that I hate: cognizant? denizen? wtf?)...and thus he decided to lengthen each one to his own length.</p>
<p>I asked my Mom to confront him and she did. He yelled at her for not being a concerned parent. I know that he is not one. If I dont get in, he will come back and blame me in one way or another--"you didn't make enough of the changes I told you to," or "your ECs were not good enough" or "you are idiotic." Look, if I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna make damned sure I do it on my own. And same with success--I don't want my father doing what he always does--to say that "see, those suggestions DID help a lot, didnt they?" I can achieve on my own, and am confident in my abilities. </p>
<p>Its just that he's not, and I have no way to get around it.</p>
<p>Duff him in the face. (hahahaha....just joking, but I amused myself.)</p>
<p>MV - i feel for you. just hope it all goes well & good luck</p>
<p>oh, and as an last resort type idea: get a copy of "50 Harvard Essays that Worked" or any examples of professionally-declared <em>great</em> essays and get your dad to read a few. Show your parents how personal and revealing those essays are. No parents could've written those.</p>
<p>50 harvard essays .... that book has so many beautiful essays its hard to think kids wrote those. but yes. your rdad should not be writing those for you, he could lose a lot of potential meaning and other emotions that could be expressed through your words. you should just give him a naughty finger :-D</p>
<p>martin - i know you said you're not posting anymore, but i'm writing my opinion here in case you, or others in the same boat as you, are reading this.</p>
<p>i don't know much about how aa works, but if i were you i'd check the box. It has nothing at all to do with "personal integrity" to quote 'iplayoboe'. It isn't even a matter of "swallowing your pride". You're not asking for a handout here, you're taking pride in your cultural heritage - if you're not the typical Hispanic, why not write an essay about that. If you're half black/mexican/whatever, why don't you just tick "other" and write that in. </p>
<p>tetrahedron wrote:
"what if you get in? will you wonder for the rest of your life if you took someone else's place as qualified as you? if you wouldnt have made it without race?"</p>
<p>But what about the Athletes with low test scores who get in. You don't see them lamenting over the fact that they "took someone else's place"....
And what about the Legacies, whose parents went to Princeton. You don't see them "swallowing their pride" and shamefully writing that Mom graduated from Princeton University. Nor do you see them omitting to put their legacy status in at all -"just to see if i can get in on my own merit".</p>
<p>Using those arguments as a reason not to report minority status is, in my humble opinion, illogical and immature.</p>
<p>If colleges have certain qualities/characteristics they're looking for in applicants, then that's their own affair. It's not your problem if they accept you based on aa alone. You show them who you are, tell them what you have to offer, and leave it at that. Who-gets-in-and-why is none of your business. Do your part, and trust that they'll do theirs.</p>
<p>Quite frankly, if i saw a minority walking around at a prestigious university, i would never immediately think, "Poor SATs; got in on AA." Jumping To Conclusions is a dangerous game to play. </p>
<p>Wherever you go, i hope you can stand with your head held high, proud of who you are. If the world thinks you got in only because you're Latino, then great! Why should you care? Have pride in who you are and what you are capable of. That's something that has nothing to do with checking "Hispanic" off in a box.</p>
<p>Parent essays are generally useless. Not only do they not have good insights to the student's character but they are also easily distinguishable as being "doctored". This is because they include cliches and points of view that are common in their generation but never used by us.</p>
<p>For anyone whose parent forces them to change their essay and send in something that isn't really the work of the student, the student should print out their essay and send in to the college in a separate envelope.....with a brief note explaining that the parent forced a work to be sent in that wasn't the work of the student.....and the student wants to be evaluated based on their own work (good or bad) and not the work of their parent. I owuldn't make it sound angry...and say that you really believe your parent just wants the best for you. Your parents never have to know that you did this. I would also tell the GC at school about this so that they can call the adcom and explain what happened and what's coming in the mail.</p>
<p>I'd think you'd wanted to get accepted with your own abilities and the actual you? no?</p>