<p>I had an interview a while ago at Episcopal High School, and after the interview, they gave me an essay question (similar too ones they give on standardized tests) to answer in which they were supposed to "learn more about me and the way I write". I had heard of private schools doing this, but was still caught completely off guard. I don't think I did that well, even though the admissions staff said I could "take as much time as I liked". (Well, I really couldn't - I mean I had to leave the campus at some point.) Has anyone had this experience? The rest of my visit went very well. How much does this essay have impact?</p>
<p>This happened at one school we visited (I won’t say which, because I think it’s an interesting challenge). I like the fact that it’s a chance for the school to see how you write without anyone (like mom or dad or a teacher or ed consultant) to proof or edit. I think my D felt she did an okay but not stellar job on it.</p>
<p>SevenDad, Did the essay writing thing happened at a BS or a day school? Did they mention this in their viewbooks or on their admissions website? I visited 3 BS and no one asked me to write an essay.</p>
<p>Middlesex follows this approach. I like the concept. It assures the writing belongs to the child solely. Also, the Middlesex application is relatively easy compared to some other schools so in a way you get the essay part over with.</p>
<p>They added a new section to the application this year. Last year it was just the short answers but now theres like a personal statement along with the short answers.</p>
<p>My D thought it was fun. She wrote while I was being interviewed, I think? She wasn’t quite finished but they said it was OK. I thought it was fine, but kind of redundant since they get the same thing on the SSAT. Maybe they don’t actually use the ssat one; or it’s too blurry? I have no clue.</p>
<p>This happened to me during my Middlesex interview. I was told to finish in 10min and I was sort of freaked out since Im a really slow writer. He did give me a minute or 2 extra in the end but I dont think i did well…there was no structure watsoever I just wrote down everything in my mind. I hope they understand that its written in 10 min n look at the content more…</p>
<p>Are there any other schools doing this other than middlesex? Will this add any value as they already get to see the SSAT essay?</p>
<p>When I said that my D thought it was “fun” I only mean that she liked the topic and had fun with it. </p>
<p>@invent, I don’t know of any other BS that does this. It’s not a bad idea though. Maybe MDX wants kids who won’t have trouble pre-writing? I have no idea. More than likely, it’s just another aspect of the application.</p>
<p>I had to write something about leadership during my Msex interview. One kid I know applied to Msex and was rejected and she told me about this.</p>
<p>Someone I know had to write an essay for her interview at St. Andrews DE too</p>
<p>Yeah, I actually think the concept is pretty good, but unfortunately I don’t write that well under pressure. 
Hopefully they were going more for content and less for syntax. (crossing fingers). I think I rocked my interview though, so hopefully that will make up for it.</p>
<p>Yes, I was shocked to hear this for the first time just this week, even though I’ve discussed this school with various parents for years! Wonder what other surprises there are for us out there in the b.s. admissions experience.</p>
<p>If a BS has the interviewee write an essay during the interview, it can often be used as a comparison to the essays they submitted with their application. If the styles, language, etc. differs much between the two, I have heard Admissions will basically use this as a way to quickly reject the applicant.</p>
<p>So the lesson here is: Write 100% of your own essays.</p>
<p>St. Andrew’s Delaware has the student write an essay while the parents are being interviewed. It was very difficult for my daughter who relies on spell check.</p>