Hi guys! I’m an 8th grader, new to CC, and am currently trying to tackle the essay portion of my boarding school application.
I'm generally a skilled writer, but sometimes I wonder whether or not my essays actually stand out. I think this overthinking has added a lot of unnecessary stress. Cliches are the main factor... every single BS website out there states: do NOT make your essays something the admissions officers read a million times. But what, specifically, is considered cliche? I would appreciate it if you could give me some examples of cliched topics, so I can be sure to avoid them.
Are AOs looking for more anecdotes woven into the essays, or more straight up reflection?
Just so that users could give more precise and helpful answers, what essay questions are you trying to answer and are you talking about the standard application questions or the ones that individual schools will sometimes make you submit as well?
When I was working with my educational consultant, the one thing he told me that was a no-no for essays is talking about vacations and mission trips. He said that the amount of people who submit boarding school and college essays about mission trips is ridiculous and unless you are able to make your truly stand out, you should try to avoid the topic altogether.
The best advice we were given for essays is to write about something that really meant something to you. DS got stumped on some of the schools’ questions because they seemed “way out there”. But he mulled it over until he was able to find an angle that really meant something to him. I think if you stop overthinking “what does the school want” and go with the approach of “this is what best represents me and who I am”, you will not only have an easier time, it your essays will be more memorable & unique. Good luck!!!
The questions that really stump me are the common application questions, the simple ones like “What is your favorite book? What could you contribute to a boarding school environment?”
Well @lilypad123 , what is your favorite books or one of your favorite books? I have found, both in writing my essays and in schools, that if you are interested and passionate about something, it will show in your writing. If you understood a book and really enjoyed it, write about that. Don’t decided to not write about your favorite (this is just an example) science fiction novel just because you think it’s what the school doesn’t want to hear. By being yourself and answering the questions honestly, your creativity and personality will show more. Don’t let the school mold who you are. Pick something you are passionate about are write!
One good piece of advice my son received last year was to really stick to the word count limits and to keep essays brief. As I recall, the SAO essays give you an extremely high word or letter count, but he was told that for most of them to stick to about a 350-word limit (and Berkshire had several essays that were even shorter). Aiming for brevity, and aggressive editing, will help you really focus on the key ideas you want to communicate and will force you to get rid of wordiness and repetition.
Just remember there is a beginning, middle and an end to story telling or good communication. Check your essays for misspellings and punctuation. They don’t expect you to be perfect, but want to see you can communicate your thoughts well at a level of an 8th grader.
Also, don’t be afraid to play around with the outline of your essay! A lot of the writing the AOs will get is probably a title and then paragraphs below it, so if you could do something cool the AOs’ will automatically be grabbed the second they look at your essay. But make sure the way you organize would enhance the content of your writing, not diminish it.
