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It seems that the bottom line is that some of us are reading books with misleading information.
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<p>I’ve read a number of admissions essay books, and the take-away message from all seems to be the “slice of life” approach with an emphasis on “show don’t tell.” Many include the development of an authentic voice through personal reflection. </p>
<p>So I’m wondering if this pressure to write about some great epiphany or achievement is a misinterpretation of the essay prompt or a misplaced assumption of what an adcom wants. </p>
<p>I love Harry Bauld’s essay book. While my S did write one essay on a topic that was overdone, his sport, he was inspired to take a unique approach that only he could have written. It was a glimpse of how he saw the world and who he was. It was completely him. </p>
<p>Practically speaking, it is just good sense to write in a lively voice with your audience in mind—a tired adcom reading essay after essay.</p>
<p>It seems like me all feel that we are victims of the college admissions process. Maybe we need to re-examine our perspective. We are the consumers who will be spending a lot of money. We should feel a little empowered, once in a while, maybe....</p>
<p>It is fit, I think--my son only applied to schools that wanted non-sportsy, non-fratty outliers. They all wanted him. Other schools may not have been interested, but who cares?</p>
<p>Yes--he applied to Carleton, Goucher, Grinnell, Haverford, Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Oberlin, Pomona, Reed, and Vassar. Others we looked at were Antioch, Bard, Bates, Beloit, Evergreen, Hampshire, St. John's (Annapolis and Santa Fe), Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore and Wesleyan. There are others--we felt fortunate that we could visit 20. Any of the 10 he applied to or 20 he looked at would have been excellent--and for other kids (including my kid), any of 3,000 others would be great--it is SO individual. But our quirky kids probably do best in quirky schools.</p>
<p>Here's a question about essays. What do you think (generally, of course) adcoms would think of an essay that didn't reflect well upon the student? If the student wrote about a time they were faced with an ethical dilemma and chose the wrong path and faced horrendous consequences? But then, ultimately, gained redemption. Zoosersister has two years, but I think if she were to be honest in a prompt like that or about an experience that changed her life, it wouldn't be curing cancer or bringing peace to the Middle East, it would be something very, very bad but very, very enlightening. I wonder if anyone would want to read something like that.</p>
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What do you think (generally, of course) adcoms would think of an essay that didn't reflect well upon the student? If the student wrote about a time they were faced with an ethical dilemma and chose the wrong path and faced horrendous consequences? But then, ultimately, gained redemption.
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The question is whether it ultimately reflects poorly on the student. A related question, one that impacts the first, is "how bad" the decision is. If it's actually "very, very bad" then it may come across as a personality flaw instead of a mistake, and any growth could be seen as fixing that particular area while the original personality flaws remain. (I'm not saying this about your daughter, of course, just of the situation in general!)</p>
<p>"The question is whether it ultimately reflects poorly on the student. A related question, one that impacts the first, is "how bad" the decision is. If it's actually "very, very bad" then it may come across as a personality flaw instead of a mistake, and any growth could be seen as fixing that particular area while the original personality flaws remain. (I'm not saying this about your daughter, of course, just of the situation in general!)"</p>
<p>That's the question I'm not sure what the answer is yet, but I'm praying for total redemption. It was very bad from the personal standpoint, but utterly irrelevant for the rest of the world. In other words, there was no victim.</p>
<p>No victim is a huge plus in that situation, I'd think (though it's obviously impossible to judge as an outsider). It will depend a lot on how she writes about it, I believe. Positive character recs from teachers, which I'm sure she'll have, will also alleviate any questions brought up in the essay.</p>
<p>I was surprised in reading The Gatekeepers that some colleges were apprehensive about the girl who wrote the essay about confessing to eating a pot brownie in school--some adcoms (at Wesleyan, right?)--not at all schools, though--seemed to overlook the fact that she had the guts to turn herself in and focused on the fact that she ate the brownie. I think her stats were not sky-high, but they were good. This makes me think it might be wise to consider the seriousness of a situation before writing about it.</p>
<p>A little common sense is needed. There are some topics that are more than risky. They fall into the stupid category. I would say that category includes things like stupid mistakes, illegal or immoral behavior, mental illness, depressing events such as death and divorce, and religious, political or sexual biases. A good essay should convey some unique and positive qualities. It should not be used as a cathartic exercise to vent emotional pain. A little salesmanship is expected. A little common sense is needed.</p>
<p>Be really interesting without being shocking, I think. You want to keep the reader awake while reading it, but not up all night after reading it.</p>
<p>While our son spent a lot of time researching college choices, he got his applications(6) done in about 4 hours with the common application, spent one Sat afternoon on his major essay and about an hour on one supplemental essay. Ans all applications were in by early November.</p>
<p>He got 6 acceptances and $350,000+ in scholarship offers. Not bad for about 10 hrs of work!</p>
<p>I have never understood all the angst about the college applications. How long need it take to fill out a fact form and prepare a few 500 word personal essays(assuming you can use one for multiple applications)?</p>
<p>I heard parents stressing over the FAFSA. With my pay stubs and income tax return in front of me it easily took less than 1/2 hr of my time. The hardest part was trudging into the attic to get the return?</p>
<p>Originaloog - you must have a truly exceptional kid. I work with a lot of kids and the time your son spent and his results are not the norm. I think this thread was started by a typical mom with a typical kid. I understand her question and agree it can be a pretty stressful time for conscientious kids who are trying to balance school, activities, and writing essays for something pretty important in their lives.</p>
<p>In my area, the typical mom with a typical kid does not face these issues. The area is upper middle class suburbia with lots of highly educated professionals, a very high percentage of kids going to college and "competitive" high schools. Even so the vast majority of kids apply almost exclusively to the state schools. That is even true for students in the top 10%. College selection involves piling the family into the SUV and taking a few tours. The apps are pretty simple and acceptance is highly predictable based on SATs and grades.</p>
<p>It is such a gamble, really. Who reads the essay, what they are looking to see.... Who knows? I've posted on other threads the story about our son writing application essays about, of all things, a Ferrari and another about an annual neighborhood block party. He was accepted at some great schools and denied at other great schools. Did any of it have to do with his essay choice? We'll never know. </p>
<p>I should add, though, that the school he attends is a great fit, as it turns out, and I think that the other schools that accepted him would have been, as well. I'm not so sure about the ones that passed. So maybe, if the adcoms don't "get" the essay, it's just as well!</p>