<p>I'm doing the essays over Christmas... what's the rush?</p>
<p>Agree about the rush to finish the essays -- or lack thereof. But there's an advantage (to yourself, not relative to others) in having draft essays prepared going in to the winter holiday break: your subconscious gets to do some editing.</p>
<p>Everyone has different writing muses. Mine do not make housecalls on demand. So it works best for me to have my material as fully developed as possible as early as possible and then return to it when the muses come, at their whim, to make rounds. That way, if you're inspired to add a new twist to an essay -- you can do it when your subconscious signals that feedback to you. And if the muses say, "YUK! That just doesn't work AT ALL!" then it's better to have the essay on hand when they make their rounds than it is for that essay to be posted to the school when they give you their critique.</p>
<p>Go ahead and work on the essays now if you've got time and it won't interfere with your other commitments and school work. And, over the holidays, don't procrastinate. Get some drafts done and then let them ferment. Read and re-read them. By the end of the holiday break you'll probably -- hopefully -- have a decidedly improved product and, possibly, a product that's far better than what you'd come up with if you just wait before beginning the essay-writing process.</p>
<p>Then again, sometimes, I find I do much better if I just let the ideas bounce around as long as possible in my tumbler. Sometimes they come out even more polished that way. But, no matter what, the work I am most proud of and satisfied with is the work I've been at for a long period of time. Whether I've been working from a printed draft or staring out the window pondering the concepts I want to bring together, I am better off for starting the process long before I need to complete the process.</p>
<p>The rush is to BEGIN the essay writing process, not to end it.</p>
<p>Haha. I lack inspiration on the essay front and now I realize that I've been "working on it" for 3 weeks! And the rough draft still isn't finito!</p>
<p>**My mom wants them done by mid holiday season.
The problem is, we havnt done any writing samples in English this year!! What should we do? Nothing to send in!!</p>
<p>Ask your English teacher to grade a short paper that you wrote for some other class. Have him/her use red ink. Make copies in color at your local copy store. Add a cover sheet to it that describes the assignment so that there's some context.</p>
<p>Surely you wrote a paper about your summer reading. Or you've had to write some sort of theme in history...and, hopefully, English. All you need is a 1-2 page paper. From somewhere. Then have a teacher grade it for you. If you tell them that you need a graded paper for a school application, you'll find a teacher who's only too willing to put out the red pen and assist you!</p>
<p>I'm applying for tenth grade. I plan on starting my apps over Thanksgiving break, and giving the recommendations to my teachers before Winter Break, in the middle of December.</p>
<p>Jonathan: Are you repeating 10th grade?</p>
<p>No, I'm a freshman at a private day school now.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at public day school :)</p>
<p>Hey, has everyone already finished their school visits? I haven't started my essays yet because I need to cut some schools from my list. I still have 4 visits/interviews left. Has anyone noticed schools that use the same question or really similiar?</p>
<p>I'm doing the question "What person/event has impacted your life greatly and why" and it fits for about 3 of my schools. its great!</p>
<p>i haven't done much on the essays yet. i'm just focusing on the SSAT and studying right now, and then in december get my essay written and stuff.</p>
<p>biokid, i also have 4 more schools to visit but right now the list stands at
Taft, Latin School of Chicago, Lake Forest, Choate, Hotchkiss. I still need to visit AESD. I will probably apply to 3 of those. I'm going totally crazy right now. My family is stressed and i have no idea where i'm going to end up for school but good luck to everybody else. :)</p>
<p>Wow! I thought I was the only one with a huge list. At this point I'm applying to Andover, Exeter, St Paul's, Governor's and Loomis. After Thanksgiving I'm visiting NMH, Hotchkiss, Choate and Deerfield. I'm going to the Open House at St George's and might visit Westminster in Jan.</p>
<p>I really need to cut this list down or I'll be writing essays forever!!!!</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I'm applying to Choate, Hotchkiss, Emma Willard, Miss Porter, and Blair.</p>
<p>i'm definitely applying to Andover, Exeter and St. Pauls. but i've decided to apply to five and am narrowing down that list, so far it's: Taft, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, and St. George's maybe. this is going to sound really loser-ish of me but which two schools have most financial aid? which two have highest admission rates? :)</p>
<p>The FA question is a hard one to answer. Exeter has the biggest endowment and seems to be generous with aid, but you have to get in. At one of my fav schools, my mom asked about FA because they don't have a big endowment. She was told that if a school really wants your kid then they will find a way to meet FA. Another school told us that it's easier to get 50% rather than 100%.</p>
<p>I'm applying to Foxcroft, Kent, Taft, Deerfield, and Exeter. I changed my list a little. Good luck to everyone applying this year!</p>
<p>sarah12
Have you visited all the schools you're applying to?</p>
<p>I've visited Foxcroft because I live near it, and I went to visit Kent and Taft after visiting my sister at college. I haven't seen Deerfield or Exeter yet though. I'm going soon though!</p>