Hi everyone! I have written my personal statement, but have not yet submitted my applications to colleges. I have also published an earlier version of my personal statement on the TeenInk website. TeenInk is a magazine that publishes works written by teens. Should I remove my essay from TeenInk, and will the colleges mark me down for plagiarism if I do not? I’m a bit worried that I made a mistake in publishing it elsewhere before being admitted to any schools. Teen Ink made a few corrections of their own to my essay, but I am not using these corrections in my final draft of it. Please help me out !!! What would you do in this situation?
I would take it down. I feel like if a plagiarism checker flags your statement, there will be no way for anyone to connect your TeenInk account to you. As far as they will know, you might have just copied it.
The first step is to have TeenInk take it down. However, I’m not sure if this will be enough. Depending on what plagiarism checker a university uses, it might still flag your essay. Websites often have mirrors, or they store archives of their site elsewhere on the web. The problem is that once something is published on the internet, it’s hard to make it go away completely.
Important question: are you applying anywhere EA/ED?
My recommendation would be to rewrite your personal statement for your applications, choosing a completely different topic. I know it’s a pain, but I would also have advised you not to use previously published material for your PS (or to not submit it to TeenInk if you did so recently). Your personal statement should be a piece of writing that exists only for your applications.
Let me know if you need any further help!
@WiseApp I removed my essay from the TeenInk website, and notified them to take it down as well. I hope that this will be enough, though since I am not applying EA or ED anywhere, I may still have time if it isn’t. I’m very proud of this essay though…
@indigorain I understand you’re very proud of this essay, but think about it. Is it worth the risk that it still exists on a web archive and will be picked up by plagiarism software? That will get your application tossed immediately, a heartbreaking prospect. You don’t want to lose the years of work you put into high school and the hours you put into your applications based on a “hope” that TeenInk taking down the essay is enough. It’s a risk I wouldn’t want to take.
You have SO MUCH time to write a new, incredible essay – two months, in fact. That’s an eternity in the admissions timeline. I know it would be a lot easier to just use something you already have, but if you wrote something wonderful once, I’m betting you can write something wonderful again. Like I said, the personal statement should be something that exists solely for your applications. AdComs are wary of recycled material, even if it isn’t picked up by plagiarism software.
Take some time, pick a great topic, and have at it. Getting published by TeenInk is a great achievement (one that you should mention elsewhere in your application btw), so you’re already starting with an advantage.
Let me know how it goes!
Why not just include the link to your TeenInk article somewhere in your application? Maybe in the activities section. Identify it as a publication and include date if not full link.
@ProfessorMom1 That’s what I would suggest too, just include a link in the window for supplementals.
–Or if you think the teen article is that strong, OP @indigorain, just explain in an introductory that it was published and where and make it your essay. That way if software catches it as plagarism the humans know the back story. Maybe call ahead and pre-flag it. Those admissions phone folks do make notes on files.
You might be able to write a stronger essay on how you spent your gap year, but maybe not. You know best.
Do you work well under deadline pressure? Some do, some don’t. Unlike one poster said, there may not be enough time to hit another essay out of the park, depends on your writing modus.
Some write well under pressure, but it’s different for everyone. Only you can decide and own your essay decisions and admissions outcome.
Good luck to you!!!