<p>I've been learning a lot lurking here. My son's a great student, busy with school and ECs and I can't seem to get him motivated to start his applications. He does have the Harry Bauld & other books and has a general idea of what they are looking for, but can't seem to come up with something specific. I was wondering if any of you used professional essay help services for your kids. I did notice one sposored by the site. I wouldn't want anyone else to write it for him, but some prompting & editing may help. Feel free to respond by PM if your prefer. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>hi ilsa...i am a good writer..its probably my strongest skill but since i was applying to univ of chicago which stresses QUIRKY (god im sick of that word) and extremely high quality writing i did get help. a friend of my mothers is a journalist and a prof. of journalism and she offers to coach kids on their essays for a small hourly fee. i worked on all my essays really hard. i spent probably over a month writing rewriting editing ...and my writing "coach" would just help me by questioning what i meant to say here or there, suggesting a change of sentence or helping me cutting (i can hear her now "consise", "consise", "consise")
i wouldn't go to a service..a lot of these consulting services are rip offs theyre in it for the money...find a good teacher who is willing to do it or a family friend ..offer to hire them for a small fee...and give them a nice gift at the end...I washed my coaches car when i got in to chicago.</p>
<p>ooooo......i looked at this again..sorry for all the typos...and this laptops apostrophe key is missing...this looks like i really NEED a coach! but you get the gist... dont start flaming me.... i see concise is misspelled! I also looked at a couple of books one was college essays that made a difference. i didnt think most of the essays were very good but you can see the range of topics and styles.</p>
<p>Ilsa - is he having trouble coming up with the idea for an essay? If so, you might try looking at as many "prompts" as you can - from the common app, from the applications of schools he's interested in, until he finds a prompt or two (or three) that gives him an idea. My S found it helpful to start a few essays, then give them to me to look at, and decide which ones to flesh out.</p>
<p>I don't know whether professional essay help is a good idea or not; there is the risk that the essay will look "produced," but, as you say, you want editing help and inspiration. I would try some other approaches first.</p>
<p>Also, does his school do anything in the way of essay help? My S's PHS has them do a college essay in English class (fairly early in Senior year; S did not get started ahead of that time); with the English teacher prompting and commenting; also their GC will look at essay attempts. My S had the GC look at 3 alternatives and comment on which was strongest.</p>
<p>Spiker hit on the important thing, I think, when you're looking for paid help with essays: Make sure that they won't be doing the work for you, or change your essay so much that YOUR voice is lost in the process. The focus should be on helping you to clarify and streamline, not on changing what you are saying beyond recognition. If I were going to buy the services of an essay editing firm, I'd also ask to see actual before and after samples of their work.</p>
<p>By the way, just because a service has a paid ad placed here on CC or any other site, that doesn't necessarily imply any particular quality or vote of confidence.</p>
<p>CArolyn I agree with the first point that the students voice shuld not be altered. my coach and i had that approach from day one we discussed all edits and i even rejected some (a few) of her suggestions. clarifying and trimming was the best guidance she gave. </p>
<p>and your second point ...i humbly disagree... if a consultancy like cc is promoting a consultant or service you/they (im not sure if you are an employee or partner in cc or just a regular poster) should vouch for their ethics, business practices and qulaity. Ethically CC should not just take their money for ads and then wash its hands. the services CC includes on the web site are not like tires or gutters. the servicdes are education consultants just like CC is. if CC thinks it may not want to maintain the liability for inadequate second party service CC should not promote them or take their ads. the fact that CC will not vouch for their quality is a tip off that no one using this site should purchase their services.</p>
<p>Spiker, advertising is just that -- paid ads. The only "ethics" than any business adheres to in screening ads is to try to ensure that they are not running ads for a business that is clearly fraudulent or illegal. I can't see the ads on this board, due to the friendly intervention of my "ad-block" plugin -- but I am sure that College Confidential probably sells ads to any legitimate business promoting educational products or services that is willing to pay their rates. That is what pays to keep this board up and running -- CC is no more "liable" for their advertisers than Google.</p>
<p>Doesn't the possibility of essay assistance either from parents or professional editors make the whole idea of using them for admissions rather suspect? How many essays are really representative of the kid's potential, abilities, and his/her "true self"? It seems to me the essays reflect parental education and admissions savvy or affluence to pay for help. It would be better to sit the kids in room at the college when they go for a campus visit or interview and have them write on a previously unannounced topic--maybe chosen from a selection of 5.</p>
<p>Pye, That's exactly the thinking behind the essay section on the new SAT. All colleges get a copy of your SAT essay now and they can compare it with your application essay if they so desire.</p>
<p>Ok so Carolyn and Pye ...I understand what you are saying and while I don't want to be defensive ... i thought I'd shed a little light onusing a wrining coach. </p>
<p>Students that may be very confident as writers could still benefit from a good coach. and it is true the coach has to understand the ground rules especially in this college application process. My coach is the mother of one of my classmates so she knew not to micro manage, or try to fine tune my "voice". Mainly she challenged me with questions and because she is a working journalist urged me to be concise and logical.</p>
<p>Also the primary reason I asked her to help was to help me manage my time. I knew I would meet with her once a week for a month and it kept me writing and on track to submit the finished essays. </p>
<p>If I thought I was a poor writer and needed a pro to conjure up a winning essay... i wouldn't have worked with her. I agree that approach would be unethical. I did get an 800 on my SAT II writing test last year so maybe I would have done ok without her help. I'll never know..... but what I do know is that when my mom was reminding me to spend some time on my essays....we'd get into a nasty tussle, tension, anxiety ...very counterproductive.</p>
<p>Carolyn, I understand about the new SAT essay being used to check up on writing skill (under pressure) but that essay is usually not about your personal goals or experiences or self-assessment--it measures things like sentence logic, structure, organization and development of argumentation. The personal application essays are supposed to present the individual in depth and explain what he/she might contribute to the student-mix at at that college. I was thinking of a situation more like sending the students off to the campus library or other quiet spot with a few sheets of paper and giving them one or two hours to answer a question like "after your campus visit today, explain why you think you would fit in here and how you could contribute to this community." This would allow a more reflective response than is usually possible in the Interview. I know this is not practical but I find myself increasingly distressed about the degree of professionalization that has seeped into to the whole application process--on the other hand, I can identify with any parent who would do anything (legal) within their power to help their child get accepted at their (well-researched) first choice college. I also find the process that Bard has used appealing-- admissions assessment on the basis of particpation in a seminar held at the college.</p>