Hello, and welcome to my blog! We'll use this forum throughout the year as a way to encourage discussion between all students, leaving behind the boundaries and borders of the traditional classroom. It doesn't matter which period you are in or who you sit next to: hopefully this blog will bring together students from a variety of different periods, background experiences, personalities, thought processes, etc.
For our first post, I'll ask you to read at least two of the following articles regarding the college essay. Choose any two from the list provided, then respond with your insights, observations, comments, etc. Try to move beyond simple responses like, "I knew that" or "I didn't know that." Instead, reflect on your own experiences and expectations as a student readying for college admissions. What insights do these readings offer on the development of those essays?
Please refer by title to the articles that you read and use direct quotations where appropriate.Each person is required to post an individual response, but feel free to comment upon the observations and insights of your classmates, as well. Oh, please include your first name and last initial as well as period number in your post. I look forward to reading your responses...
The Links
Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch
Getting In Gets Harder: The children of the baby boomers are flooding colleges with applications, making the process more competitive than ever.
Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students
Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA
Holding College Chiefs to Their Words
The Perfect Essay
Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement.
The College Essay: Expert Advice
Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay
Admissions Essay Ordeal: The Young Examined Life
College essays: Nerve-racking search for just the right words
Making a hard-life story open a door to college
Controversy over College Essay Sites
College Admissions ... A little guidance
U.Va. Office of Admission EssaysAdvice from an expert - The Boston Globe
College applications can be too good - The Boston Globe
How much do college admissions essays matter - USATODAY.com
Teacher Says College Admissions Essays (washingtonpost.com) (2)
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118 comments:
Applications...
It feels as if I've been through millions of them. I've applied for several middle schools in 5th grade and again to several high schools in 8th grade; however, I remember with all those applications, essays meant writing about how I'm SUCH a special 10 year old who LOVED to study.
After reading both "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Patch" and "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning away even top students", it's obvious that such simple-minded essay like those I wrote in elementary and middle school is not what's wanted anymore. Counselors say you need to "brand yourself" and sell yourself and frankly, the statistics of college admissions are frightening. Colleges want the most well arounded, smarted students with the most extracurricular activities. Yet as true as this claim is, I wanted to post a comment on how wrong I believe this statement is at the same time.
Last year was an extraordinary year for me. On top of SAT's, PSAT, and AP's, I was taking classes at HCC for math and to further complicate things, I had exhausted any math that can be taken even at HCC and had to undergo application process for Rice. What I found out from this experience was that as important as "marketting yourself" is to college applications, one's genuine interest in fields of study most highlight any application because of how transparent they are. I realized I don't need to be the strongest writer to show how much I loved math and I didn't need to write like Shakespeare to get admitted to Rice Dual Enrollment. I needed to show my interest and love for math and I believe everyone else has a love that can be shared with whatever college community.
-Dong K.
Period 5
My Take on the College Admission Process
"There's no such thing as a perfect essay," says "How to Write the Perfect College Essay." Doubtless, that's true, but it doesn't mean there's not still pressure to write one. And with a smaller percentage of applicants accepted at each school, that anxiety just keeps mounting.
But what "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" and "How to Write the Perfect College Essay" (despite the title) have taught me is that I can only control so much in the college application process. Even if it "is harder to get into college this year," that doesn't mean it's a lost cause by any means. I can only hope for the best and write the strongest essay I can -- hopefully, avoiding the clichés. Also, colleges aren't looking for evidence that I'm the leader of this generation. They just want to know what diversity I'll bring to their campus, and if I work hard, I think my essay will demonstrate that.
After reading a few of the articles regarding applications I am actually excited to write some of them and even go back and re-write what I have written.
My mom, being the over-achiever, and worrier she is, hired someone to help me apply and organize my essays. I have written one essay so far (the one about someone who has influenced you). I knew who I was going to write about right away, but so many ideas raced through my head. This always seems to happen to me, I have SO many ideas and think of really neat ways to complete whatever the task is. A struggle of mine so to put what is in my head on paper because I think too much about what the teacher wants. These articles have made me feel more comfortable with just expressing myself exactly how it is in my head, and not to skew what is in my head. "The best essays are crafted not from a formula for success but by a voice that is practiced," says the expert from UVA.
My "tutor" told me exactly how to format it (how and what to say). I wrote it, thinking that she knew exactly how colleges want to see it. Honestly, I am not satisfied with my essay and I don't feel like it has a sense of ME in it. After reading the articles "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert- UVA" and "The College Essay: Expert Advice" I am convinced that VOICE is more important than order or formula. I think I have a lot of personality and want to give my essay some of it. Now, I am not scared to go out of the box and really express myself.
^^^^^^^
Hannah Pruitt, Period 4.
(Sorry, I forgot to put my name.)
My Take on the College Admission Process
"There's no such thing as a perfect essay," says "How to Write the Perfect College Essay." Doubtless, that's true, but it doesn't mean there's not still pressure to write one. And with a smaller percentage of applicants accepted at each school, that anxiety just keeps mounting.
But what "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" and "How to Write the Perfect College Essay" (despite the title) have taught me is that I can only control so much in the college application process. Even if it "is harder to get into college this year," that doesn't mean it's a lost cause by any means. I can only hope for the best and write the strongest essay I can -- hopefully, avoiding the clichés. Also, colleges aren't looking for evidence that I'm the leader of this generation. They just want to know what diversity I'll bring to their campus, and if I work hard, I think my essay will demonstrate that.
-Hannah Pruitt per. 4
(Sorry for posting this twice! I wanted to make sure the right name ended up with the right comment)
Oh, I completely forgot to put my name. Caroline Purcell, period 5 (cdpxo comment)
Here at Memorial, a school with a significant amount of intelligent students, we see some of the brightest kids in our classes not get in to the colleges of their choice. As the article "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" points out, we can’t help the increases in applicants to these Universities, nor can we prevent the increasing number of students receiving the dreadful letter of rejection. All we can do is realize that it is not the end of the world if you don’t attend a prestigeious, top-notch, Ivy League University. The bottom line is that it does not matter where your degree is from, it’s what you do with your education that really makes a difference. I am trying to stay as calm as possible when applying for college, because I realize that the school is not the most important part of an education. Your future is not doomed if you don’t get in to Harvard… because life after college is all about how you use your knowledge, not where the knowledge came from. So, my goal with my own college essays is not to freak out about them and most importantly, not to try too hard to impress the people reading it. The article "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA" draws attention to the fact that students are trying too hard to impress in their essays. I think after reading thousands of essays, the admissions board would have a pretty good idea of who is trying too hard, who sounds way too cliché, and who does not really deserve a spot at their school.
Catherine Wagner
Period 4
Sometime in eighth grade I told my mom I wanted to go to Princeton. She said, “Maybe if you saw off one leg and learn how to play the violin.” Thanks Mom. What she said was sad but true, in today’s society you have to be weirdly extraordinary to stand out from the applicant crowd. This was something that I was hoping would be refuted in these online articles, not exactly the case. While both “The College Essay: Expert Advice” and “Blurring the Line…” encouraged you to be yourself they reiterated that that “self” needs to be pretty much amazing.
The article “Blurring the Line…” seemed familiar because it’s the same we’ve all heard before. Sell your self, but stay true to who you are, do everything but have a passion for what you do, be the whole package but remain an individual. Basically it’s telling us how hard we already know our lives are. It’s nice that the article at least shows some pity for the high school seniors of the world but it doesn’t provide a solution. All in all the message is to have fun at summer camp but good luck getting into college. Yeah, thanks…
emma clark period 5
As soon as the college admissions became available, the pressure to craft “the perfect essay” has been on each prospective college student’s shoulders. This does not exclude me from the mix. Once I looked through the websites, “The Perfect Essay” and “Tip Sheet”, I gradually became aggravated. Each site has a different set of guidelines or rules that they present as the standard which will create a “good essay”. I am not allowed to write about anything already represented in my application. I am not allowed to write about a “mundane topic”. And, I am not allowed to write about a “life-changing event” because apparently those topics are overdone. Rules and more rules. After the standard that we are held to as students, there is little material left to touch on. I believe writing is about free expression. It is about making the reader never want to put the writing down because it seizes their mind and heart. At the beginning of the application process, I was overwhelmed by the immense number of guidelines set forth and could not achieve an even slightly interesting essay. Once I cleared my mind of everything that was expected of me, all the pressures of a deadline, and the qualifications that I was expected to meet; I sat down and produced quite a good essay. It may not follow each and every rule suggested, but I know my inner voice and aspirations shine through so that it will enrapture the admissions office who reads it.
Ella S.
Period 5
As I began reading the article, "Admissions Essay Ordeal: The Young Examined Life," I was shocked that "Jessica Roeper found herself wishing that somebody...in her family had died." However, I soon realized that I have often had the same ungrateful attitude. At times throughout high school, as I have stared blankly at an English assignment or a TAKS prompt, I have momentarily wished to have lived a harsher, less sheltered existence, merely for the sake of having “something to write about”.
However, the article “The Perfect Essay” wisely advises college applicants to “consider a smaller canvas”. I now feel more confident to write my college application essays, knowing that “it doesn’t require a big event to generate a compelling essay”. Instead I plan to use vivid details and personal voice to add interest to what might otherwise be considered rather ordinary events.
Amy R.
pd. 6
After watching my older brother dealing with college applications last fall, it seems like an intimidating process to handle. Also, the rigorous academics at Memorial High School and the competitiveness among all the students makes the application process seem even more frightening. However, with strong advice and encouragement provided to me, I'm preparing myself to work diligently and let the colleges see me to my best potential, especially through my essays.
After reading "The College Essay: Expert Advice", I felt as if the same advice was being shared to me. However, there was one sentence that caught my attention. "Simple, plain language can be a persuasive part of the application." This helped ease myself because it showed that our essays don't have to be extravagant with language and words in order to be a "good" essay. In the article "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay", I was able to obtain some encouragement through this one sentence: "It doesn’t have to be a life-changing event to be interesting and informative."
I suppose that I considered a SAT vocabulary filled, ostentatious essay to be the only "good" essay that could be written, but I'm completely off on that thought. Simple and genuine could be the way to go, maybe I will.
Senior year is finally right in front of me, and college has suddenly become a tangible thing."Where do you want to go to college?" is the most frequent question asked to juniors and seniors. It seems that the more appropriate question would be, "where do you think you will get in?" because of the acceptance rates right now. After reading "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students", I am blown away by the percentages of students accepted into the reported ivy league schools. I honestly had no idea that Stanford only admited 11 percent of its applicants. I find this data to increase the doubt of many student that they will not get accepted to the college of their dreams. Because competion is only rising, I fear for the students younger than myself. Applying college now has a ton of stess that did not used to be associated with it.
Who doesn't like a little assistance here and there? After writing my rough drafts of my college essays, I was in need of someone's opinion. "Controversy Over College Application Essay Sites" presents the problems with websites that edit and give advice for student's essays. Using other sources to advance one's essay is perfectly fine, but use it wisely. Our college essays should be sophisticated and personal, filled with strong voice, which can only come from the writer.
Taylor Goodwine, period 5
Tai Sommers, 5th Period
"Holding College Chiefs To Their Word"
The premise is interesting, to be sure, and I was really excited to see that (at first) it seemed the college heads struggled with their essays. However, they all managed to find issues that had occurred in their life to write about, as we're expected to. But one thing that was not in keeping with the spirit of the prompt was that many of the administrators drew on life events and world views that had occurred and been developed long after high school. High school students do not have this choice. They have 17, maybe 18 years of experiences to draw on, at least 4 or 5 of which are unusable as the memories are scattered or nonexistant. So that's about 12 years of experience to draw on, versus these college deans' decades. In my opinion, these deans barely got a taste of what seniors have to deal with, and if the Wall Street Journal had really wanted to be realistic, they would have told the deans they could only use experiences and insights they had developed at age 17 or 18.
"How to Write the Perfect College Essay"
This article really stresses that your voice is what college application officers want to read, not a "self aggrandizement". It even elaborates, talking about different "unique" college applications that had been received by the various experts they talked to. Some of these application essays seemed to be written about tiny trivial events, or pieces of information. However, apparently sometimes all it takes is something different to break through the monotony of applications. "I had a hard life, blah, blah..." "It's a small world, bah bah..." This is encouraging, as most of the prompts seem to be asking for big events. Who influenced you? Talk about a significant event. I for one, took "significant" to mean "big" (though "who influenced you" is still annoyingly assumptive of the fact that you have a specific influence in your life).
Interestingly, in the "Holding College Chiefs..." article, all the deans wrote about BIG events. Stopping a (highly publicized) mugging, contemplating Nelson Mandela, running through Cairo (and this one had the "it's a small world" theme that the application admins said they were bored of)...They all assumed "significant" meant "big" as well. And yet the admissions folks insist they prefer little events with lots of voice. This disconnect between top administrators and application administrators is both interesting and slightly disturbing.
What stands out to me in reading these articles is how much colleges don't want us to be advised. The Wall Street Journal calls its article "The College Essay: Expert Advice," and proceeds to quote such profound statements as, "I would advise using common sense in choosing a topic."
This is, of course, opposed to uncommon sense, which any idiot would know to keep out of his essay.
Then there's the Washington Post's all-too-helpful article entitled "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students," which throws a dozen daunting statistics in our direction, quotes application committee members on the difficulty of getting in anywhere, and generally fails horridly at cushioning the bad news: we can expect "a season of frustrated hopes and unexpected disappointments."
Now I don't entertain any delusions: the schools I apply to will be sifting through thousands of other applications, trying to decide whether to accept students who have three times my qualifications. Maybe my essays can override this inaptitude, maybe not.
The important thing to remember is that we are qualified--just as qualified as ten thousand other happy students. Take that one however you'd like.
Jonny Thompson
Period 7
Colleges stuff your mailbox with information to gain your interest. They talk about how much they want your attendance, and how great a fit you and them will be. However, when it comes down to it, something as little as a college application can harm your chances of attending or even getting accepted into the college of your choice.
In the article "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch," the writer hints at students misinterpreting a college application for a slick sales pitch. While this may be true, the student can hardly be to blame because there is tremendous pressure on the student to write the perfect essay. Once the perfect essay is accomplished, the colleges doubt that you wrote the essay. Pretty much all that hard work you put into your essay is pointless because the admissions board question the essay's credibility. They put your essay in the "DDI" or "Daddy Did It" category, according to "College Applications Can be too Good." I know there are some students who truly belong in that category but its hard to write the perfect essay without it sounding too good.
I don't know, I just feel like students can't win either way.
Christal Jackson Period 6
From all of the talk we hear from our counselors, parents, and recently graduated students about college essays, I feel as if the essay is the one determining factor in getting into college, especially judging by the article "The College Essay: Expert Advice." UVA stated that is how they weed out their applicants. Hearing this scares me even more. Knowing that if I am not up to a specific college's standards, that's the end right there, and my extra curricular activities, volunteer hours, and SAT/ACT scores can't save me.
In the article "Admissions Essay Ordeal: The Young Examined Life," the girl says she wishes that she had a family member die just so she has something to write about. And in a far less extreme way, I can completely relate to her. Searching for that "experience" or "person" in our lives that has changed everything, yet is descriptive and interesting enough to write about, is probably the hardest topic to write on. By writing about something small and irrelevant that impacts you seems to be something that catches college admissions eyes more than the death of a family member. Personally I feel that showing the college who I am as a person is better than showing a hardship like a death in the family.
So my main goal for college essays, is to write the most risky essay as possible, while standing out an impressing colleges at the same time.
Amy H. period 4
I read two passages very interesting to me. I started with "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" and finished off with "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words".
"Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" made me realize that everyone, even some in the top ten percent, have a chance of not getting accepted to their school of choice. This was such a powerful realization to me because I am constantly comparing myself to those top ten percent kids, as I am not among them, and wishing I could be. This made me realize that it truly is important to write an essay that makes an impact. In such a highly competitive environment, it's important to put forth your best writing skills and create an essay which shows not only how you came to be, but how you handled those situations that you were in.
"Holding College Chiefs to Their Words" was impactful to me because it's not just us high school students that find these essays difficult, even the most proclaimed adults struggled. Dr. Roth experienced the same questioning process that I did when presented with the essay topic, Write about someone who has impacted you. Dr. Roth thought,"I can write this about my history teacher or a public figure, what you'd expect, or should I write something more meaningful to me, but riskier?" In the end, he chose the riskier story, as did I, and it gives me hope to think that if i'm taking the risk, colleges will see that.
The two of these essays shone a different light on college essays.
-Avery S Period 7
Well I read "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA" and "College applications can be too good - The Boston Globe". I think the first article was pretty good advice. It kinda makes me want to take a risk on some of the essays, just to see how it turns out. It actually gave me a few ideas of what to write about, which is cool.
The second article was more interesting than informing. I thought it was pretty funny how some kids would have a really good essay and then a terrible one. But it sounds like some colleges take the essays really seriously.
-Grant S.
Period 7
I read the two articles "Blurring the Line..." and "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice- UVA". The UVA article made a good point when it said that a controversial essay is sometimes better than a safe and boring one. The boring essay might keep the college from thinking you're a wacko, but they'll also see you as just another lame essay saying "blah, blah, blah" about how you overcame some overdramatized challenge.
The controversial essay also has risk involved in it. If you talk about how flag burning has been a cool extracurricular activity, the college will probably report to the national guard. But if you show an alternative view on a possibly dangerous topic, you can really put forth a compelling essay. The key is to find the balance between 'special' and 'insane'. If you come out with a shocking line at the front of your paper, that admissions officer ain't gonna doze off.
-Austin Read, Per. 5
I began to write my college essays a few weeks after the Texas Common Application released the topics for 2009. I did not bother to put any research into advice offered by college admissions officers. Instead, I tried to write an essay about topics I thought universities would like to hear about. Naturally, I chose to write about how I gave some money to a charity, and how helping poor people is very important. As soon as I read “Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert,” I realized I had fallen into the trap of discussing “vague abstractions” than topics that are unique to me. The essay “The Perfect Essay: Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement” pointed out that “‘Too many people save the world,’” which is a trap that my essay about poverty fell in to. Both articles I read point out the need for me to add my unique voice, experiences, and opinions, rather than trying to write about a topic I think would sound good to admissions officers. These articles offer good advice to help my college essays make me stand out, rather than make me just another applicant in the thousands who applied.
Seth Johnson, period 4
Holding College Chiefs to Their Words
initualy, I was struck by the irony of test takers not meeting there own standereds, but when I looked, they had some good tacktics, sure, I had thought of using the essay to (for lack of a better word) whine about the school system, and standerdized tests etc.(I don't like them beacus they have 1 judjing critera, meeting one group, which I am not in), but that would be crazy, such doubts were destroyed seeing the pros do it, now I will worry even less about sounding rational, practical and sane.
I read "How much do college admissions essays matter?" and "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch." The thing that certianly stands out to me, and obviously to college admissions boards and families alike is this: it has become too imperative for us to be people that we aren't. We feel that perhaps by fitting into this groove that we believe colleges desire, we can rise above the crowd to earn admission at top colleges around the country. We are so enveloped in being this standard overachiever, you know, the one with a billion service hours, a non-profit organization and charity, twelve varisty sports, and presidential status on every club possible, that we forget to be ourselves. We forget that perhaps there is something special about us that colleges want. We even go so far as to pay a college essay website $200 to edit 500 word essay (How much do college admissions essays matter article)! That's insane. How much of myself can appear in an essay edited for that much money? So the question I ask is when did being ourselves lose its importance?
-Ryan P. 7th period
College applications are very stressful, but not necessarily the process as much awaiting the answer, or struggling with a rejection. As many people have already mentioned, we are very aware that our generation is highly competitive and with the economy struggling as it is, the applications for instate schools rise dramatically. This is a struggle when you are trying to stand out among 30,000 other students also trying to "stand out." In "Getting in Gets Harder," they describe just how much the application number has risen at the University of Texas, my top choice. "The number of students applying at the University of Texas has jumped from 14,982 to 27,237 in the last 10 years, are turning away more kids than they want to." This shows just how competitive and difficult it really is to get accepted.
In "The Perfect Essay," what stuck out to me most was the idea that "it doesn't require a big event to generate a compelling essay." I struggle with trying to think of dramatic or life-changing events to write my college essays on, when in reality, that's not necessarily what makes an essay good, or stand out. Sometimes it's the little things, and how you play them off, that make the difference. Another big factor that I need to remember to take into hand is that "the essay should never be essentially a recitation of the résumé." They will have my resume already, and repeating things they already know will most definitely not help them learn more about me and my personality or voice.
Sorry! I forgot! Molly Walker, Period 5
The first essay I read was "Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert". I actually thought it was kind of funny that you put that page on your list because of have skimmed it before on the UVA website. When I was reading it, I realized how important it was to avoid cliché "McEssay" topics that 5,000 other kids may be writing on. It also showed me that I should write in my own voice and not what I expect admission officers to want.
The second essay I read was "Getting in Gets Harder". My parents always start conversations off with the phrase "Back when I was going to college..." It is so annoying because they just don't seem to get that schools are extremely harder to get into today. Deep inside I fear that I am Maxine Wally- a good applicant who will just barely miss the cut. At least now I have proof for my parents that I'm not making things up!
I read through many of the websites you listed hoped to find something to inspire me to write the perfect, compelling essay that would blow readers out of the water. After all, the essay is the only portion of the application you can actually control!
Elisabeth B
Period 7
Oh college apps...the task that every one of us want to be finished with and yet we are hesitant to begin. For me, at least.
"The Perfect Essay" made me realize how much thought really needs to go into the essays: it shouldn't be just a 'sit down, read the prompt, get it right on the first shot' kind of thing. Mum keeps nagging me to continue working on them, striking up the uneasy feeling in my stomach all over again. To me, college apps are frightening because they're just another stepping stone on the path of growing up. Though at the same time, the college experience itself is something I'm very much looking forward to!
-Devon K, period 4
I read "Holding College Chiefs to their Words" and I still feel that these admissions people have no idea what we are going through. I mean, they have so much more life behind them than we do and they have also gotten to opportunity to actually LIVE it, unlike us high school kids who have spent almost all of our time up to this point trying to figure out what our lives mean and what to do with them. I noticed that very few of them discussed an event from their childhood which is, frankly, all we have to work with. I am not quite sure how I am going to write a meaningful essay when I don't really feel that I have done anything meaningful in my life...
"The Perfect Essay" claims that there "is no such thing as a perfect essay" and I completely agree. However, that doesn't stop my mother from trying to make me write it. I appreciated that they encouraged the reader to avoid having too many people look over and revise their work. This article made me realize that the essay I have been working on since the common application came on in July is rather general, cliche and, due the constant revisions by my ever doting parents, was starting to lose a sense of me. Then again I don't really know how to make myself "jump off the page" while still maintaining my personality and keeping from being cliche. I guess that the reason for my dilemma is that all of my most influential life experiences are pretty mundane, predictable and only meaningful to me. I guess I could take a risk and write about something different but is it worth risking my future?
Hannah D.
Period 6
In today's society, it takes more than just a good transcript and amazing SAT scores to get into a top notch school. Students are expected to be extraordinary to be able to make it to the college of their dreams and to stand out from the crowd. As shown in "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students", even the perfect students are being turned down from the "most-selective universities." When considering an applicant, colleges will look at what scores and extracurricular activities the student has. But, when it all comes down to it, the essay is one of the most important pieces of the application process. It is what sets one student apart from the rest. It is the decisive factor. Colleges are no longer expecting students to write the same generic five paragraph essay. Instead, they expect to see how a student can portray their voice through the essay and express themselves. It is what sets one apart from the rest.
Mary Katherine Jolly, Period 5
In the article, “Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch”, Joseph Berger evaluates a rising trend amongst college applicants: self-branding. One of the main issues of this new application strategy is the level of pressure that ensues, “Where is the line between marketing yourself, doing something just to sell yourself or doing something that is a valuable way to spend your time?’ Mr. Reider asked. ‘I would be the first to acknowledge that it is sometimes hard to find the line.” While I realize that resumes are essentially a basic representation of you, I’m not certain whether I would feel comfortable actually attempting to “market” myself to a major college. According to the article, the kids who often do so spend as much as $4,000 or more on an applicant coach. In my mind that is a tad ridiculous, especially without the guarantee that you’ll get in.
In the article, “The College Essay: Expert Advice”, the advice gathered by major universities Brown, Harvard, and Virginia sheds light on certain aspects to be known in the art of applying. It was no surprise learning that all three colleges were looking for something to make you “stand out” in your college essay, but Virginia College gave the most explicit explanation, “We think a good essay question is one that separates the best students from those who are not as strong. In the same manner, a good essay is one that gives the admission deans a deeper look at the student -- it permits us to go well beyond the numbers we see on the transcript. After all, we are building a community of people and without an expression of their human qualities; we would be left with only statistics.” A quote like that reestablishes my motivation towards the exhausting college application process.
Casey Phifer, Period 7
After reading "The Perfect Essay" and "The College Essay: Expert Advice" I feel that although the essays do not sound hard (being only 500 words) that they seem to be one of the most difficult things for a high-school student to complete. "The Perfect Essay" was a list of suggestions regarding how to make your essay the best it can be. However, after reading this list I feel that it would be difficult to write an essay that both follows all the guidelines and is one that I can be proud of. Also, some of the ideas presented in the article seem to clash heads. Such as the fact that the admissions officers want you to tell them all the great things about yourself, but it is a bad thing to tell them how wonderful you are. I do not think it is possible to tell a college all about your good traits and not sound a little bit conceited.
The second article "The College Essay: Expert Advice" was a question and answer article with some of the top universities in the country being interviewed. This article unlike gave me the impression that students worried too much about their essays. The article said that students did not need any professional help, although many students seek it, and that students write the best essays by just being themselves in their writing. I found this article to be more comforting than "The Perfect Essay" because it made me think that my anxiety about my essay was unnecessary.
Brandon C
Period 4
Honestly, after reading the "Tip Sheet" from the New York Times and the article from Newsweek, I felt like I read the same thing twice. Oh yes, writing your essay early IS smart. But "being yourself" and "tell a good story" is not exactly going to make a high school senior feel any better about the application process. After reading these, I'm glad I'm in the final editing stages of my college essay. I'm lucky that I found a topic, based off an essay I wrote for Dr. Williams at the beginning of Junior Year, and grateful that I was taught how to hone my writing last year as well. While these articles are meant to be helpful, I can't help but feel if I hadn't already wrote my essay, I'd be feeling worse after reading them.
Lierin Pena, 4th period
I find it intersting that in "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Patch" they compare a student applying to college as a "box of cornflakes". That it is all just a "marketing exercise". I think that any person that has applied to college can relate to that because it really is you putting your best foot forward and telling the world "Hey this is me, this is what I have done in my life, and please accept me." So I think the best thing for me to do in my college process is work my hardest and do my best. After doing that I can only hope for the best.
Maureen Lynch
Period 5
As the beginning of the end of high school starts, we must all look back on our lives and reflect on what has made us who we are.
Unfortunately, when I look back I realize how much I underachieved during my freshman year. When I read the article "Colleges, awash in applications, turning away even top students" I realized that going to the college of my dreams is getting more and more difficult. I realize one of my last changes to get everything straightened out will be through my essays, so the essays are very important for me.
As I sit and think about what to write about for my admissions essays, it seems like I'm one monumental life-changing event short of a great essay. And, although I'm not a genius or an heir to some exclusive family legacy, the article "Admissions Esay Ordeal: the Young Examined Life" gives me hope that i can write a successful essay by using a strong voice and being myself.
Borna V period 7
Attending a competitive high school has taught me that although I make good grades, and take part in extracurricular activities- so does everyone else. The article “Getting in Gets Harder” scares me because as Tyre states “this spring the largest number of high-school graduates in the history of the country-some 3.32 million-will don a cap and gown”. Knowing that I am not only in competition with my fellow Memorial students but 3.32 million other seniors for the few thousand spots at the “top schools” is a daunting thought. We have entered a vicious cycle, where because of the high number of people applying to colleges, more people are being denied. Therefore, in order to prevent being rejected everywhere students apply to more schools, making more applications and as a result more rejections. My generation, “the children of the baby boomers” are faced with the most competitive application process than ever before.
However, as I read in “The Perfect Essay” one way to get an edge on the pool of applicants is to make the personal essay unique. This idea has been pounded in my head from every college visit I have ever attended, yet I never realized how this can be accomplished. This article focused on writing an essay that instead of recounting a life changing story that was a big event, to instead “consider a smaller canvas”. As Starr explains “if you insist on harking back to one of your major life experiences, take a small piece of it”. I now realize that it is more important to write about a small life occurrence and present it in a new light with vivid detail, than an overly cliché essay.
Christine Thorne-Thomsen
Period 4
College Essays are something that I've been worrying about since I heard that they were part of the application process. Its not so much that I am a bad writer, in fact I feel like I am usually good at expressing my thoughts on paper. I guess I have just had this idea that everyone would be writing about the same thing and it would be really hard to make myself stand out from the rest of the students.
After reading "The Perfect Essay" I picked up a few tips that make me feel a lot more confident about what I am going to write. First of all its says that, There is no such thing as a perfect essay" which is true and helps me tremendously because I consider myself a math person who likes to have answers in definite's. With this essay however i realize now that there is no right or wrong way to express myself.
I also learned that I can take the topic and spin it however I want in order to make my essay unique and individual. According to, "Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert" it is much more important to write about yourself than what you think a college wants you to be. "Not only does a preset form lead to a generic essay, so does a generic approach to what is perceived as the right topic" which means that if you guess what they want to hear you will be just another generic essay and not your own individual.
Per. 5
After reading "Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert" and "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch", one question is still unclear. What is the point of the essays?
Is it to judge my competence(or better lack of) as a writer? But why also in the SAT, ACT, and APs?
Or is it to put a face to the transcript? Although Parke Muth argues in "Writing the Essay" that "If we are what we eat, we are also what we write", I see little truth in this statement. I find it challenging to articulate my personality in such serious and formal papers.
I believe it's all a cruel joke; I thought my days of horrid and bland prompts were kaput with TAKS. Nope. The classical horror ending with one last "BOO".
"Tell us about someone who has made an impact your life"
WOW. I'm so inspired. I can't wait to write about *insert name of parent, friend, or teacher*. I'm a seventeen(only about six-seven fully cognitive years) high school student with quite ordinary impacts. Now what? I'll think outside the box and write about dear old uncle Jack who taught me how to whistle. They give me a crayon and expect Renoir.
Counter-point by Mr. Muth- "A good writer can make any topic interesting, and a weak writer can make even the most dramatic topic a bore".
True, but it seems to be an unnecessary obstacle.
Alex Brayton
Per. 6th
I knew my summer vacation was over the day applications became available online. Without the motivation to do anything remotely similar to school and my mother's constant nagging to "complete everything so you'll have one less thing to worry about during the school year," made me dred starting my essays even more than before. The constant pressure to have essays that are just as close to perfection as my siblings', and being compared to them at all times, makes me feel as if perfection is the only way to be accepted into any college these days.
After reading both "College Essays: Nerve-Racking..." and "College applications can be too good," its obvious that the "perfect essay" we all hope to have is not THE deciding factor on whether we are accepted or denied. Both these passages reassured my expectation that colleges actually care about what your high school experience and rigorous classes entailed.
The first article also made me come to the realization that I need to write each essay soon in order to have plenty of time to edit anything I don't think meshes well. It suggested to get started early on essays because late essays will usually end up more sloppy. While reading the second article, it dawned on me what more people use "high-priced essay editors and coaches" than I expected. People spend thousands to write what they think is a great essay, without even a guarantee that they will be accepted. I will admit, my brother and sister helped me think of what would be a good topic to write about, but I'm writing each essay on my own! This article also taught me that you should not write what you think the college is looking for in an essay, but what comes from your heart. These articles offered me useful advice that will help me write essays college admissions should enjoy.
jennifer putterman
period 7
Frankly after reading these articles I'm very relieved. I spent weeks dreading the countless hours I believed i would have to spend ruffling through a thesaurus to find words to try and bolster my essays. Ironically I found they would diminish its effect. Using words this way weakens my own voice making my essay sound pretentious and unoriginal. A lot of the unneeded pressure has dissipated and for that I'm glad.
-Nick B. Period 5
After reading "The Perfect Essay" I don't feel I have gained any new view point of the admissions process, the article itself was a contradiction in stating that one should address smaller events but then exemplified how an argument "made him reflect on gender imbalances". I was unaware that gender issues which are often debated in society were a small topic. Further the implication that the fall of the year one applies is not enough time and that "you have plenty of time to think during the spring" of college essays is unrealistic. First because who I am in the spring probably will not be who I am in the fall and secondly because it just starts the anxiety and stress earlier than necessary. It is already a great pressure to excel beyond one's classmates and that is a strain to begin, before, is a pressure and ignites a competition which university is not about.
"The College Essay: Expert Advice" often contradicts its own statements. Each Harvard and University of Virginia seems forced and recited. The experts reveal the essay “helps [them] to understand better ‘what makes him or her tick’” and give "a deeper look at the student". But it is ultimately a judgment, are they deep enough? Do they posses enough emotional turmoil? Or are their experiences to normal? Harvard and Virginia often dance around answers to questions; their beating around the bush is frustrating and unnecessary. They want applicants and graduates who will grow to shape and change the world and yet they cannot give us the respect and decency of displaying the truth.
Helen A. Period 6
Based on the "Tip Sheet" and "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert-UVA", anyone can conclude that college admission officers want a good essay which consists of your voice and "mundane topic". What I don't understand is how can you differentiate between "showing and telling". According to Parke Muth of UVA, "A good essay always shows; a weak essay always tells".
"Tip Sheet" suggests that "don't repeat what is already in your application". Yet, if your passion is your dance team, would it be considered a bad essay if you write about your experiences from the tryouts and competitions?
Dianjun Z. Period 4
"Stop trying to come up with the perfect topic, write about personally meaningful themes rather than flashy ones, and don't force a subject to be dramatic when it isn't."
After reading "Holding College Chiefs to their Words" I was immediately surprised by this introductory comment because it completely contradicts the information provided in the essay. The chiefs from various universities ended up writing about life-altering topics such as the death of a brother or a violent incident in Cairo. And although these topics I'm sure are "personally meaningful" to the writers, I find them to be horrible examples for a high school senior to read before starting their application process. We've obviously haven't experienced nearly as much in our seventeen years of life as these presidents have, and the topics they chose to write on are exactly what we would consider "the perfect topic." Just like in "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Office Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay" where we are told to "consider a mundane topic," I personally am more interested when an essay takes a small, and seemingly ordinary topic and turns it into a well-written and intriguing essay.
I also disagree with the comment to not "force a subject to be dramatic when it isnt." Just because I haven't had a near death experience overseas or have experienced a tragic loss in the family, doesn't mean that the "ordinary" topic I choose isn't dramatic. What can have no effect on another person, can be absolutely dramatic to me and my life.
I know that the college admissions essay cannot get you into a college that you otherwise are not qualified for, but I do believe it can have a large impact on your application. My essay is the only part of my application that I have complete control over, and although the thought is daunting at times, I also find it extremely empowering.
Michelle Wainwright, Period 4
College Applications
I read "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice from an Expert" and "The College Essay: Expert Advice." The most interesting thing to me was the fact that the experts said that the best essays were simple. They said that they were simple topics, but organized, complete, and effective in what the student said. In order to "stand out," when I first started writing my essays, I wrote about an event that was tragic earlier in my life. Instead of just letting myself speak through my writing, I tried to be noticed by solely the topic. I quickly saw that it was not a well written essay, and switched to something more simple that I could really let the reader learn more about me and who I am.
After reading "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch" and "Getting In Gets Harder: The children of the baby boomers are flooding colleges with applications, making the process more competitive than ever."
I am reminded once again that college applications are a serious thing.
However,I feel that college is no longer about education, but consumerism. Because of the increase in applicants colleges have to shift through thousands and thousands of students in order to find a select handful.
I feel that in writing applications we as students are "branding" or "marketing" ourselves to appeal to colleges. Even if we aren't being completely honest the fact is this is the world we live in and we can't really do much to change it. I feel somewhat overwhelmed but ultimately, I think I'll make it through ok.
Young-Min C. Period 7
For the past few years, college has been distant, but on my mind nonetheless. If we're being completely honest, the majority of students in high school sign up for or join certain groups or activities with their resume in mind. But signing up for a club is the easy part of applying to college.
Knowing exactly how to write a college essay can be confusing with so many different people advising you how to do it or what topic to write it on. But after reading "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Patch" none of that advice matters anymore. The only thing you need to do in order to write a "good" college essay is to be passionate and let it come from the heart. Like it says in the article, it's not what you do, it's why you did it and what you got out of it.
Also, according to "College Applications can be too good" there is such thing as making an essay too perfect. If it is too polished, it can even sound robotic. Too many references to the thesaurus or corrections made and all voice is lost. If there is even the slightest doubt that your essay has been written by someone else or plagarized, your chances at that college can be jeopardized. So instead of trying to mold your essay into what your college counselor wants it to be, write about something you are passionate about and include as much voice as possible. After reading articles that encourage applying a personality to an essay rather than a formula, I am more excited about writing college essays if I can portray to others my passion for something.
Camryn P.
Period 5
I've seen both of my older sisters go through the process, but I was never completely aware of the time and work that goes into applying for college. It seems so far away, a whole year, but as both of the articles I read stress: Start as early as possible. I read "The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets to Crafting a Memorable Personal Statement" and "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay."
Many people have told me about making the essay my own, not being cliche, and starting early, but everything I was being told went in one ear and out the other. These essays really enforced what I've been told all along. Both articles hit on most of the same points such as avoid cliches and don't repeat your resume. The essays are supposed to let the admissions know more about you and your character, not your accomplishments that are already listed in your resume.
Just about everyone I've talked to about applying for college stresses the importance of the essay, but the second article made it clear that the essay only seperates you from others. It doesn't get you into a college by itself. It "turns a 'maybe' into a 'yes.'" Another thing that I learned to pay more attention to answering the specific question. Some colleges may alter their essay questions or topics slightly, so it is important to be sure to answer the question to that specific school.
Reading these articles about how it is important to start as early as possible has really motivated me to keep working hard on applying to college and not procrastinate it as I do for most things.
Angie B. Period 7
From the article “Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert – UVA,” the author claims that “a good essay is not good because of the topic but because of the voice.” Since high GPA’s and high SAT scores are so common now because of the competition to get into college, many students are now relying on their college essays to put their “voice” into their applications. However, as more and more students realize that the numbers aren’t the only things that matter; wouldn’t all students try to put their voices into their essays? And as more and more students put their voices into their essays, wouldn’t the significance of having the students’ voices in their essays become obsolete since it would be even harder for students to “stand out” again? The article “A good essay is not good because of the topic but because of the voice” also agrees that more students are aiming to continue their education after high school and the “competition is fierce.” Since there is an ever increasing number of students applying for college, the goal to “stand out” would be even harder because everyone knows the dos and the don’ts about the admission process. It makes me really curious as to how college admissions offices will later choose which students to admit because all the students would follow a laundry list of to-do’s to get into the top-notch universities of their choice.
Joan Yu, Period 7
I felt that "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA" had some very valuable yet reasonable advice. The fact that a good writing voice can make any topic interesting and a dull one can make the most captivating topics mundane. I reread what I have written so far of my first college essay with this in mind, and was able to make some valuable changes. This article also breeches the fact that some essay topics/writing styles are risky.
Also, I felt that "The College Essay: Expert Advice" gave great insight on how the top colleges view the college essay process. Seeing that they are most interested in originality, and personality over a good read, as well as how much the essays weigh in compared to other application factors.
Nick R. Period 5
Reading these articles answered a lot of my questions about writing college essays but also left me feeling a little bit intimidated. It's a very scary thing to hear over and over again that the schools are now harder than ever to get in to. And it's even scarier to hear it from various articles by Newsweek, and New York Times, along with other esteemed periodicals. But, of course it is always good to know the truth. At least now I know what I'm up against and won't feel like a complete failure if I don't get into the college of my dreams.
Now that I am fully prepared for a possible rejection from a college, I will now do my very best to avoid this rejection by writing the best essay I possibly can. The articles titled "The Perfect Essay" and "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay" were my favorites because I really want all the advice I can get for writing my essays. One piece of advice that really stuck out to me was asking your parents for ideas about an essay topic. For some reason, this thought never occurred to me before, I guess it's because I rarely ask my parents for help on any of my schoolwork. But now I'm excited to ask my mom and dad, I can't wait to hear what they come up with! I also liked the advice about just focusing on one aspect of yourself and not talking about too many topics. When I started drafting one of my essays this summer I found that I was trying to fit way too much information in and it ended up really confusing. It puts me at ease to know that I really don't need all that extra information about myself. Hopefully I can write a better essay now that I know that I am not the only student who didn't find some creative way to share every last detail about myself in a coherent, beautifully written, 500 word essay.
Mary M.
P. 7
The hardest part about writing my college essays is coming up with something to write about and then actually getting my thoughts on paper. Im glad im not the only one who feels that way after reading "Holding College Chiefs to Their Word". Mr. Roth "wondered whether the topic he'd chosen for his response was too personal". Those are the exact type of questions that I am facing because I have no idea what they are looking for. I have been writing and crossing out because I constantly question myself. I always want to have the opportunity to write about what I want during class, but when I am actually given the oppurtunity it is much more challenging than I expected. However after reading "The College Essay: Expert Advice" I have realized that the colleges just want to get a sense of who you are. University of Virginia believes that students "can stand out from the crowd by being themselves in their writing". I have realized that there are no rules to the essay, all I have to do is let them learn a little about me.
Applying to College and trying to get into one is obviously one of the most important things to do in your life, and it also has huge consequences. That is why I cannot believe how my entire education can depend on several essays.
Although the essay cannot possibly replace test scores and GPA, it can definitly effect your chances of acceptance. After reading "How much do college essays matter?",it seems to me that a single essay can inch you above or below a few other applicants. With many schools receiving tons of applications, the essay can have a huge effect if your chances are slim.
However, the article "The College Essay: Expert Advice" says that the essay isnt as important as some people make it out to be. It is just supposed to be a chance for me to show the college who I am. I merely just have to write a "strong" essay, and sprinkle some of my own pizazz on it. Although this sounds like a simple task, I don't think I want to give any dean an exucuse to reject my application on account of my "Pizazz". I think I'll just try and write the best essay I can think of and hope that it doesnt effect me in a negative way.
Tommy Kellagher, Period 5
Many questions pop into my head when the topic of "College Essays" is addressed. How can someone shine from the crowd? Does one essay make or break you hopes and dreams of getting into the college of your dreams? Further more how do you put so much faith into 250-500 words? Thinking about these questions and more makes me quiver at the thought of writing such an essay.
After reading "The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets to Crafting a Memorable Personal Statement", I realized the essay I write should express who I am, rather than what colleges expect in a student. I also learned that with only 250-500 words, I will need to focus on exactly what I plan to say rather than carefully dictating every detail.
The artical "How Much do College Admissions Essays Matter?" echoed many of the statements made in the previous artical. However I found the statement "for some of those students, the essay makes a huge difference, both positively and negatively," to be very spine-chilling. The thought that in a few words colleges can either accept or dismiss you seems all together insensitive.
Both articals deal with the harsh reality of the college application essay. While being yourself, you must provide a beautiful story. This flawless story must have an introduction and a conclusion with an interesting story in between them. All of this within 250-500 words.
-Kayla M. Period 6.
I would like to start off by saying what we are all thinking. The college admissions process is more than slightly ridiculous, the essay especially. In my opinion, someone needs to produce the extremely common application—one single solitary set of four choices. Pick one and right about it. Is that so hard? I am simply dumbfounded as to why no one has done this. Let me lay this out for you: not only do I have to “choose one of the following” for the Common Application and “write the following required essay topics” for the Texas Common Application, but I also have to answer unique supplement prompts for almost every school to which I am applying. Because I have so much time on my hands. However, after reading “Holding College Chiefs to Their Words” and “Admissions Essay Ordeal: The Young Examined Life” at least I can derive some comfort in the fact that most people agree that this task is nearly impossible. Teens across the country are suffering with me and professors at least twice my age encountered difficulties with their personal essays. Although I would like to see those professors craft four to six more essays demonstrating their wit, intelligence, and overall personality. Oh well, I guess it’s a generational thing. Our parents had to “walk uphill to school in the snow—both ways” and we have to write 47 college essays.
Michelle Jenkins Period 5
I have always been a strong writer, ever since I first started doing essays in middle school. The first thing I realized about my writings was that I not only liked to use my expansive vocabulary and clever use of wit, I also pay careful attention to the FORM the writing is supposed to be in. When the teacher gives a writing assignment and says there are no parameters for the format, I don't know where to begin...
"Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA" doesn't exactly make me feel at ease, but it does make one point: take risks. Regardless of whether or not a student's essay has two or ten paragraphs, a thesis statement or a worthless conclusion, the college essay is all about individuality and making yourself stand out from the crowd.
As "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" illustrates, getting by with good grades is not enough. Universities are looking for students who will not only thrive on the campus, but also will contribute to the campus community with their own unique abilities. Sports, clubs, foundations, organizations...the list of activities is endless. The main thing to realize is you don't need top-notch grades and perfect SAT scores; you only need to stand out from the other applicants and truly show that you are going to be a good pick.
First I read "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words." Instead of just stating facts about what makes a good college essay it was interesting to see how university reacted after being asked to write their own college essays. As I've been experiencing with my own writing over the Summer I greatly compared to the comments from Robert Oden of Carlenton College. Mr. Oden says he "found it tough to write an essay that didn't sound a little crazy in its attempt to be interesting." I realize your essay has to stand out, but I found it really hard to sound witty and clever without sounding too dramatic and annoying. Oden later made a point about how he chose a topic that he "remembered vividly," so it appears to me that is best to write about something you are very informed on, or something that is very important to you in order to really write a great essay.
I also read "The College Essay : Expert Advice." What stood out most to me was University of Virginia's John Blackburn who said "simple, plain language can be a persuasive part of the application." It is easy to want to use fancy words and detailed sentences to make your essay seem more knowledgeable and original, but it has become clear to me that confidence in your writing and personality can be more important than use of crazy vocabulary or writing on confusing topic.
Going to school at Memorial teaches you how to be competitive about your grades as there are hundreds of other students who want the same as you do. An acceptance letter from the college of their dreams. But as the college administrators look through thousands of applications its impossible for them to decide on which perfect gpa is bettter. So thats why we write the essay to show our individual personalities and life stories. My life is pretty ordinary and that is what scares me the most. I don't come home to "almost nothing on the dinner table" like Mao Lee wrote about in "College essays: Nerve-racking search for just the right words." So what am i supposed to right about that will move the reader and won't just sound like the thousand other teenage girls applying.
After reading "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay," I am now less stressed about college essays as they stated that "it doesn't have to be a life changing event to be interesting and informative." Also I have cancelled my two thousand dollar college prep tutor as i know realize that they want an essay from a teenager not a "40-year-old."
Although I am still stressed about writing my college essays, I now know that they want an essay with personality and life not a rigid five paragraph essay. So hopefully i will be able to do that!
Katie Russell
period. 5
Applications would honestly not be that bad if it weren't for the mandatory essays snagged on the end. The rest of the process is just facts; cold, hard facts that require no thought or imagination. But then you get to the essays and suddenly you have to work hard and think of a creative, possibly poignant response that separates you from the thousands of other kids applying to that college. After reading "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words" and "The Perfect Essay Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement" I truly began to understand the magnitude of the task set before me. When college presidents have a difficult time with writing the essay you know it's a big deal. Their responses did however demonstrate some of the different approaches that can be taken when writing an essay: the very personal, risky approach, the turn-the-essay-on-its-head approach, the factual straight answer approach, or any of several others. That article showed how an essay should be unique and vivid, something that an admissions officer might be interested in reading. With the competitiveness of college admissions these days, you have only your essay to make yourself stand out from the other kids.
One of the first things I got from reading my second article is not to procrastinate as "the weight of the essay grows exponentially the longer you wait". You need to pick what you want to write about after some careful thought and get on with writing. Also, once again, I gleaned that it is wise to avoid the cliche story where you persevere or learn some obvious lesson. I think reading these articles and writing an essay to be turned in for class will really help me send in my best work when I actually apply.
Andrew H.
Period 7
I have been on many college tours over the past two years, and all of them say basically the same thing about college essays. They all say to be original and that your essay should show your personality and make your application stand out. As helpful and true as these statements are, the people giving the tours and information sessions were really more interested in why we should choose there school than how to write a really good essay that will get the applicant accepted.
After reading the articles "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert - UVA" and "The Perfect Essay
Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement." I feel more confident about writing my essays and I also have a better understanding of what to write about and how to write the essays. I have a couple of essays that I have started and have been struggling with for the past few weeks. After reading these articles I already have a few ideas on how I can improve on what I have written so far.
Danielle C.
period 6
The few months during late summer and early fall in which many high school students are so eagerly applying to colleges is undoubtedly one of the most stressful times high school. Hopes are high and a lot is at stake as rising seniors hope they have what it takes to be accepted to the school of their dreams. With a resume, standardized test scores, an application and transcript only so much can be determined. How does the admission board really know that much about the students themselves? A personality and voice written through an essay screams out an easily determined acceptance or rejection.
After reading the article, “Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay” written by Martha C. Merrill it supported that idea, “A good essay just might be what turns a ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes’”. What I took away from this article is that I should write an essay based on something they don’t already know from looking at my resume, a small event that strikes importance in my life; and to let my personality and voice shine through my writing as much as it possibly can.
In the second article, “Holding College Chiefs to their Word”, it was refreshing to realize that College Board officials had a hard time writing the essays as well – not just the students. Picking a topic is something that has many guidelines and much thought required. It’s usually not your first instinct on what to write, but more of a topic that is a small event in your life yet has a lot of importance in shaping who you are today.
Overall, these articles were especially helpful. The top 10 tips helped substantially and I will be sure to apply them on my essays to come.
Kelly T, period 4
After reading "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words," I'm glad to know that everyone faces similar struggles when he or she sits down to write an essay, even as a university professor. Part of me keeps reading articles similar to these, hoping that they'll offer some insight into making my essay "stand out" and get me into college. Yet in the "Tip Sheet," it's advice I've already heard before. I already know what makes a good essay, and still there are so many ways to write an essay that the whole college application process seems overwhelming. Actually writing an essay this summer, instead of just brainstorming, really helped me to get a better idea of how to approach it. Admittedly, I agree with the advice to write about something meaningful to me. After all, if it doesn't mean something to me, how can it mean something to somebody else?
LTD pd 4
After reading "College Applications Can Be too Good" I realized that I had never really thought that there was penalty for writing the perfect essay. Since thousands and thousands of students all across the nations are competing for limited spaces, it seems fair that those who have excellent, perfect essays would be seen as a good choice for that college. In this article, it showed that college admissions officers can usually tell if an essay was actually written by the applicant. Although there are some essays that seem too good to be true, I was surprised to hear that college admissions officers go to great lengths to compare and evaluate the credibility of an essay. This article really showed me that the goal of a outstanding essay is not perfection but uniqueness.
The other article I read was "Making a Hard-Life Story Open a Door to College." Before reading, I knew that a admissions essay had to be unique to stand out in from a crowd of many other essays scrambling to be acknowledged. What I didn't know was that certain topics that seemed to be unique are often times seen as stereotyped or fitted into a category filled with essays having that same topic. To really stand out, one must dig deeper and further dig deeper.
Esther J. Period 5
"College admissions can be too good" interested me because it said that a slowly rising number of colleges are placing more importance on the college essay. With these colleges, the essays are now only behind "grades, strength of classes, and standardized test scores" in importance. The priority shift is a bit strange; all I ever hear about is the importance of extracurricular activities, something that was not listed among those things that college essays take a backseat to. Weird. Are colleges slowly coming to realize that the expectations they have set are going to create a deadzone with extracurricular activities sooner or later?
“College Admissions: A Little Guidance”, among its gigantic Q&A, caught me with an interesting term: “designer kids.” There are probably more ways to discuss that term than I know about. But in regards to extracurricular activities…what I mean by a “deadzone” is that I’m thinking that extracurricular activities are just going to become a stale point of contention if the college application process doesn’t change. In ten years or less, I don’t think it would be impossible to imagine that extracurricular activities could eventually be as integral to a desirable college resume as a core class. If that happens, then what will extracurricular activities really be showing? Nothing (and they arguably show nothing about a student even at this point in time). And what will be the next major item of importance once extracurricular activities runs its term? And what will that show? And what after that? If the college application process doesn’t change, then I think it’s clear that we’re actually going to be getting the same thing again and again: more stale points of contention.
What I’m putting out here is that the college application process is far from being perfected as a science. As it is, I wouldn’t even call it a half-decent science. Is that news to anyone? No. I’m sure that even the (honest) college admission deans have more to say about their own system than I do. But the fact still remains: the college application process needs change, not more soulless community hours and essentially forced club activities. Things like that have gotten to the point that they’re really just fabrications in most cases, not true marks of a student’s character and interests as they should be.
- Kevin S., Period 7
After reading both "How to Write the Perfect College Essay" and "Tip Sheet: An Admission Dean Offers Advice on Writing A College Essay" I came to the realization that a great essay does not come from some simple formula. The whole point of the essay is to create a unique image of yourself, but honestly most people just want to write whatever is necessary to get into a desirable school. Because the essay has evolved into such a crucial standard for admission, everyone is constantly looking for some sort of advice or edge. Ironically, one of the tips was not to rely on "how to" books. Apparently we are supposed to trust articles that are "tip sheets" but nothing that is "how to". With all the money that is being made from the tutoring and academic advising industries, it's increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine and credible advice from marketers trying to put a new spin on advice just to turn a profit. The advice that I got from these articles was mostly simple and should be obvious (such as "spelling and grammar do count"), but sometimes the simple advice is more helpful than complex advice. The idea that you lose authenticity when too many people correct your essay is completely the opposite of everything that we have learned in English classes, and really made me think how a college essay differs from a traditional English essay. While we can ace the TAKS test with formulaic writing styles, the college essay is essentially a personal writing assignment. With this kind of writing there is never a clear cut right or wrong approach, although a lot of the advice that I've read so far seems to believe that there are certain red flags of what not to do. Overall, I think it's much more difficult to be authentic and create strong voice when you are consciously trying to do so. Although I'm no expert I think I can write about myself and my passions more naturally if I concentrate more of my time on self reflection, as opposed to brainstorming what I think or what I have heard is the perfect way to write. By now I have read at least fifty articles on how to write a great essay, and I really believe that the best advice I have gotten is "don't fake it" and "don't over research it".
Ryan C Period 5
Is it possible to be too qualified?
The majority of us in our AP English classes have a high grade point average, high class rank, high SAT scores, a load of extracurricular activities,sports, and in the future, a well-written college essay. Us and thousands of other students around the country are so well qualified for the top universities.A lot of us, including myself, may be diluting the main theme of our application with irrelevant extracurricular activities. Don't the top colleges want a diverse student body with an array of interests? So then, why would they want a thousand students with nearly identical resumes? That's why I believe people like independent college counselor Shirley Bloomquist "[can't] use the term 'safety school' anymore" as mentioned in "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students". Even the colleges we like to think of as "safety schools" are getting flooded with applications from well-rounded, qualified students.
Not even the most well written, correctly complex essays ensure an admission. In "The College Essay: Expert Advice" when the asked how a student can stand out among the crowd, Brown University responded by saying that sometimes "the essays that have simple themes" are the most effective. These essays most likely were centered around a topic that the student had a passionate interest in and he was able to reflect what he planned on doing with his passion. So, I personally don't think its just about being super well rounded and having a 15 page resume (although that would be nice), I think its most important to have your essay themed on a passion you have that isn't shared by many others. This way you will be a candidate that ensures diversity in the future freshman class.
Kayvon B.
Pd. 7
After reading the article from the UVA expert, I feel like I have a better understanding of what I need to do to my applications to make them stand out from the rest. High school has been a stressful experience. Especially at our school you feel like you are just competing against your friends to see who can get the better grade and you always are thinking that this will effect your future. I can't believe it is already time for us to be thinking about where we want to go to college. What is worse to think about is that the place you want to go won't accept you. Hopefully, what will make you stand out from the rest is your essay and this article guides you in the right direction. You don't really think about all the other essays the admissions people have to read because you just want yours to sound good. This article makes you realize they get bored and it could be your lively essay that gets you accepted to that university. I'm still not sure what I'm going to write about in my essays but when I figure it out, hopefully I will have a better idea of how to make my essay stand out.
Rachel B.
Period 5
While reading a few of those articles, I was intrigued to see some criticism directed towards the colleges and the whole college essay process. For example, phrases such as "branding" oneself have a critical tone, however subtle.
Why are these writers being satirical? College admissions has become fierce and they simply want interesting people with interesting lives and interesting minds.
Everyone is unique to some degree. Even if you disagree, and think of yourself as ordinary, you can still take the initiative to find an admissions counselor to help extract the minute levels of individuality from the back of your mind. In the end, whether you think you are interesting or not, you have a fair shot.
Jack Mohajer
Period 5
After reading "Colleges, Awash in Applications...", I had a bittersweet feeling about my chances at admission. The first half of the article is full of reports of low admission statistics, which left me feeling discouraged.However, at the end of the article, the author touches on the fact that a well-known college is not a necessity. This made me realize that even if I don't get into the college of my choice, I can still be successful elsewhere.
I also read "Writing the Essay...". Before reading this article I had already realized that big words would not make my essay any better. However, I learned that in my essays, I need to give life to my topics rather than just generalizing. This article gave me the advice I need to stand out as an applicant.
Jessica Hines
Period 7
Writing college essays scares the begeebies out of me. It really does. I don’t know what the college administrators will think of me, how my essay will affect their decisions, and whether this five hundred word blurb has guaranteed me a sweet degree or set me up on the corner of I-10 selling news papers for the rest of my life. It is however a little comforting to learn after reading “The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets to Crafting a Memorable Personal Statement” and “College Essays: Nerve Racking Search for Just the Right Words” that even though your college essay has to be good, it doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. A little roughness can add originality and voice to your paper. One of the suggestions that really intrigued me from “The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets…” was “consider a smaller canvas.” By just focusing on one small part of an event I think it will really open my writing options and give me the opportunity to really be creative.
Jimmy B. P.7
"The College Essay: Expert Advice"
There's no escaping it. I feel its heat and cringe and cower in fear. It comes in the form of my nagging parents and suggestive college trips. Unfortunately, college essays have "no formulas," thus I am at a loss and barely grazed its surface. I find that one of the most difficult parts in this whole rat race for college is first figuring out how I "tick" personally, let alone relating it to the admission officers. Essays need to be "simple and persuasive," but to create a compelling essay based on that synergy has proven immensely difficult for me. After reading this article questions still linger: Is it worth the risk to write "shocker" or "heart-breaking" essays as long as the point is demonstrated clearly and succinctly, or are these risqué considered taboo and should be avoided?
"Holding College Chiefs to Their Words"
As I read these articles, my excitement to attend "higher education" dwindles as my anxiety builds. I'm ready to scream. Although in this article the tables were turned, I doubt the presidents with their newfound empathy would alleviate the pain of college applications and essays. Many of these articles include some for of the phrases, "keep it honest, keep it real, and stop trying to come up with the perfect topic." These words seem to permeate all the advice I've received up to this point. Yet I don't think that's enough to let me into my "school of best fit." Admittedly, my life is dull - I have no tragedies or heroic events. However, the last excerpt on routine reversed my initial preconceptions. Like Mrs. Spar, my life isn't unique, but at least I lived it uniquely. Reading multiple essays, I've come to grips with the task at hand. For me college essays are one of my greatest fears that I look forward to facing.
-Matthew Tran Period 4
After reading "The Perfect Essay" I am now aware of many tricks to keep in my mind while writing my college essay. First of all I learned just how important it is to put my own unique twist on my college essay. From writing about an uncommon issue to revealing my own personality and not the person who I want colleges to see me as.
In addition, after reading "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch" I completely agree with Berger's opinion that students are now spending their time doing activities that they think will look impressive to prospective colleges, rather than what they have the passion to do in their spare time.
steven n period 4
Before the last couple of years, I couldn’t wait to apply to college. I loved to look at college websites and see pictures. My family loved to go walk around whatever campus happened to be in the places we went to on vacation and I thought the whole process seemed really exciting. I am the oldest in my family, and until my friends started applying to college last year, I had no idea what it was really like. Now I have close friends at schools all around the country and, honestly, I’m just happy they got there, i feel like I went through the whole process with them. And now that it’s my turn, I think I’d rather just wait.
After reading "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" and "The College Essay: Expert Advice", I have to say I’m just as nervous as ever! Everything I read always seems so hopelessly vague that I’m not sure I’ll ever manage to get a clear answer. I would like to know exactly what it is I’m supposed to do so that I can do it and get it over with. Neither article really seemed to provide me with the enlightening information I was hoping for, and I feel like every article pretty much says the same thing. It’s harder than ever to get in to college and your essay can make it or break it. It seems kind of crazy that one little essay can mean so much, when we wrote three essays a week junior year and have been writing TAKS essays for years. The articles talked about how even the best of the best can get shafted and how we just need to be ourselves. It was old news, but still not too comforting, to hear that even the top 5% kids get turned away and seemed to further underline how unpredictable the process is. The second source underlined the idea that we just need to be ourselves and let that take us where we need to be. Both papers were informative, even if they weren’t groundbreaking, and I will keep them in mind as I continue this process!
Kat B
Period 6
I personally started my college essays last weeks so the topics you showed us from common app were pretty recognizable. Some of these links revealed some interesting ideas on the college essay process. I personally enjoyed "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Pitch" and "Making a Hard Life Story Open a Door to College." These two articles caught my interest because I too am having a difficult time creating a story that is both true/believable and interesting enough to secure me a spot on my desired college's addmissions list. I started working on Topic B on Common App and I am stumped with brainstorming ideas of inspiring figures in my life. The question, "Who influences me most?" is so vague to me because so many people influence me. Of course I have ideas of people of importance in my life, but telling an interesting and distinguishing story to get me into college is where I have a lack for words. I appreciate you showing me these articles because I could recognize the problems I am having developing ideas. I hope to improve my essay enough to be college worthy by September 3rd.
Jeb Burleson
Period 7
Memorial High School provides students with an excellent learning environment in which they are given essential tools in preparation for college. This assignment is a perfect example!
The excellent articles entitled "The College Essay: Expert Advice", and "The Perfect Essay" explained to me that it is imperative to write something personal with simple themes. The reader desires to learn about the student on a level deeper than just plain statistics. I also plan on incorperating some emotion as well to strengthen the essay and exert my desire to attend the college.
I have wanted to be an aggie for a very long time, and I certainly hope my essays help me achieve my goal!
Blake Plaster- period 6
I find it absolutely astounding that such a low percentage of students get into these colleges as stated in "Colleges, Awash With Applicants, Turning Away Even Top Students". It has actually made me really nervous. I know that im not a top student at this school. And if the kids who are in the top 10 percent are gonna have trouble, well that definitely gives me reason to be concerned. And as far as I can tell, there is little i can do about it. I just have to apply to all the places that i find suitable and hope for the best. Even if its not my dream school, its probably going get me a good degree anyway.
As much as the admission process, and getting accepted can be overwhelming, "Tip Sheet, An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay" gave me reason to feel optimistic. It states that when writing the essay, to be yourself, be sincere,dont try to impress them, and show the reader something about yourself that is unique and cant be found on your resume. Well, for some people, that is easy. We are not all the same, and we all dont have amazing grades. But maybe, the college is equally concerned about who you are as well as the grades you get. So, the essay gives some people who do not perform as well as others in the classroom the opportunity to show the college that they are a good candidate for this school because of who they are away from school. Maybe its that they have good values and care about mankind in general that gets them into their dream college. Not their GPA, SAT and ACT scores. For a lot of people, including myself, that is a comforting thought.
-nick pelini
6th period
At one point or another in middle school, I asked my Dad if he would buy me a Porsche if I got into Harvard. The answer: Perhaps... Needless to say, I now feel I may be riding the bus for the rest of my life.
Memorial is like a summit of competition and brain power, and I feel like the guy who walked in late and had to stand near the caterers in the back. My high school education seems thus far to be centered on my GPA, which I now view as embarrassing compared to those of my friends. Luckily there seems to be a light at the end of this cramped, humid and dark tunnel: My Essay.
To be frank, both the "Blurring the Line" and "Getting in Gets Harder" articles were mildly depressing, pounding into my brain the staggering statistics already laser inscribed from years past.
However, both the "Sound Advice From an Expert" and "The Perfect Essay" wrapped up some nice information and tips. I like how the "Sound Advice" article addressed "riskiness", because most sources will not even acknowledge that. The "Perfect Essay" was perhaps the most helpful, and included some basic tips, like the "smaller canvas" approach which already has my mind flowing with ideas...a hint? food. Oh ya, get ready.
So hopefully I'll survive and go to college. If not I have my eye on a mean sailing job in the South Pacific.
Until then,
Beau Braddock, p.7
Let me just say this know: I AM INTIMIDATED BY COLLEGE ESSAYS. When I wrote my first essay, I felt this pounding in my chest, this feeling that what I write is not good enough. The pressure! AAH! This is why I enjoyed reading the Star Tribune's "College essays: Nerve-racking search for just the right words". I feel like I can relate to these students, such as Mao Lee, who is uncomfortable with "pouring her heart out to others". I mean, how do you know if you are going to deep? And Luna Yang, who wrote FOUR essays for the same school, and said that she would read her draft and think why she wrote it in the first place. I also thought it was interesting to read what others have written about, such as a conversation that took place at dinner.
In all my nervousness, the article from UVA actually made me chuckle a little bit. I loved how the essay was described as a Big Mac and the process of reading essays as "fast food". It helped me realize what to avoid in my own essays, without sounding like a textbook. There was a warning not to use the genetic form of essay writing, which was advice I really needed to hear. The article also brought up another valuable point- if you were forced with reading thousands of college essays, what would YOU want to read?
Even after reading more than three of the articles on the blog, my point of view has not changed. I think that colleges should look beyond numbers and essays. That is what they tell us to do with our education, right? After all, you are more than your essays.
Reading these articles only leads to doubts and questions that still linger without answers. Each article tells you something different that originally I had not anticipated on hearing. In "College applications can be too good" - The Boston Globe, it talks about the skepticism of admissions offices at major universities questioning their prospective students writing too well. Too Well?? So we are supposed to craft a personal essay that is professional enough to get us into college and portray that we are mature enough to write a well developed piece of work, yet if it is "too well written" then it is frowned upon? Well I would love for someone to clarify the point at which an essay passes good and becomes sketchy.
At the same time, "How much do college admissions essays matter" - USATODAY.com, talks about the essay as being less important than all the hype suggests. Well if thats true i'll just type them up tomorrow and send them on their way, hoping that grades are what my future school choices are actually looking for. I understand that my essay needs to read as if i were telling it myself, however I would like it to sound professional as well. Oh goodness. If you ask me, they should just send out a sign up sheet for each university. Then I could write my name and be done!
Alexandra Walker pd. 6
In "The Perfect Essay," Starr is concerned with the fact that students often misunderstand what colleges really want in an essay. As one of the students who are in the running to be a valedictorian, I will admit that I am mostly concerned with making sure the colleges I apply to know my educational accomplishments. However, "the essay should never be essentially a recitation of the resume" (Starr 2). It is important to realize that the college will see your grades and test scores and to go beyond a perfect resume in order to reveal your true personality. Speaking in resume language makes you one of many who do well and work hard, but being honest and unique makes you an individual. The choice of a topic is also crucial. It is important to choose a unique one that few would use. There will always be the main topics that are "all too familiar to the admissions folks" (Starr 1). I realized after reading this text that it is not impressive to tell of how one single major event defined your life; that just makes you an ordinary person. It also suggests that you didn't put much thought into your essay. If you learn and grow from all the little experiences in life, you will be much more impressive.
The point of the essay is to make you stand out among the other thousands of applicants. Everyone is required to make good grades, but colleges are looking for more that just that. I now realize how many essays colleges read each year and how important it is for your essays to "reveal the heart and passion behind the numbers" (Smetanka 1). Smetanka's text also made me begin to think about other ways the essays can be helpful. They give you a chance to explain yourself and give yourself a fair chance at admission. It is not as important to be perfect as it is to be honest. I also found it helpful to hear that you don't need to "[bare your soul]" or reveal something earth-shattering to impress the people reading your essays (Smetanka 1). Just being yourself and revealing your personality will never steer your wrong.
Sara R.
Period 4
I must say, after reading a few of the articles, I feel somewhat relieved about the college application process. I'm not the strongest standardized test taker, but I am a good writer, and I now see that my essay can make all the difference I could ever hope for. In the article "Making a Hard-Life Story Open a Door to College," I was inspired to read that "life stories can be as powerful as high SAT scores." Having spent so much time buried in SAT practice books, I never realized that college essays play such a tremendous part in the acceptance process. I understand now that what I write will reveal what my SAT scores can not, and that's who I am as an individual, and I plan on taking advantage of that.
However, I was overwhelmed to see that students have reached a point where "being yourself" in college essays isn't good enough. After reading "Admissions Essay Ordeal: The Young Examined Life," it seems to me that the only way students can truly stand out amongst the rest is if they've had a life-altering experience unlike any other. Colleges today prefer students who can dazzle them with a life story more than anything else, and it's obvious that this pressure is what causes students to believe that tragedies, such as the loss of a family member, is their ticket to more profound college essay.
Yasmine Saqer
5th period
Okay, I made the dumbest mistake ever... I meant to put NOW in the first sentence, not KNOW. WHoops.
-Keara Brown, Period 7
After reading several of these articles, I’ve chosen to share my thoughts on “Colleges, Awash in Applications” and “College applications can be too good,” because they both relate to the experiences of friends who have gone through “the system” we have all been dragged into, in addition to my own experiences of writing essays and filing applications this summer.
I’d like to share the story of a friend who, after a hurricane of an admissions process, ended up at a wonderful university. He attended school at Memorial and graduated a few years ago with a near-perfect academic record, a 2380 on the SAT, an “impressive” list of activities and a truly golden heart. However, when admissions notices came out during his senior year, his family was shocked to find a staggering pile of rejection letters, one that shadowed the incredibly disappointing two acceptance letters; he had even been denied acceptance to some of his “safety” schools! He went through the appeals process for three of schools which rejected him, and, miraculously enough, was accepted into one of his top choices! Hearing this from him and through my mother (who was a close friend of his mother,) left me more than a bit wary of “the system.” If someone as outstanding as this young man could be turned down by so many colleges and universities, where’s the hope for the teenage population at large?
In “Colleges, Awash in Applications...”, I was astounded by the numbers. Yale’s drop in acceptance rate from 9.7 percent in 2005 to 8.6 percent in 2006 shocked me. Out of curiosity, I looked up a more recent acceptance rate: down again to 8.3 percent in 2008. Why this decline? Why so many schools accepting less than ten percent of their applicants? What happens to the other ninety percent? “Success” in our culture is so dependent on college attendance, yet admission (never mind the student’s actual college career) is so difficult that even these “top students” are being declined admission. Take my friend, for example. Shirley Bloomquist’s statement agreed with my beliefs that “safety” schools are no longer “safe.” “Things are sufficiently unpredictable,” she added. To me, “unpredictable” is almost an understatement.
The Boston Globe’s article, “College applications can be too good,” the fact that the importance of The Essay to many colleges is a very recent phenomenon came as news to me. I was plenty aware of admissions officers’ problems with trying to determine whether or not an essay they read is an accurate portrayal of the student and his or her character, voice and writing abilities. I really enjoyed Parke Muth’s “euphemism” for the issue, the term “polished.” However, the comment at the article’s close from Stu Schmill at MIT felt VERY “polished” (and quite cliche): “write from the heart.” I have a feeling that admissions counselors as a group may need to take their own advice. All barbs aside, both of these articles were very informative. Thank you!
Jenny H.
Period 4
For the past, I don't know let's say six years, both of my parents have given me pity laughs for the bad jokes that I tell. However, one thing they never laugh at is when I say "maybe I'll just skip college". I always knew I'd be going to college, because I never had a choice. However according to "Getting in Gets Harder" I may not even have the choice anymore. Unfortunately for me, my parents come from America's "favorite" generation: the Baby Boomers. Apparently this year has the "largest number of high-school graduates" which can only mean bad news for me and everyone else in my grade (but lets face it, who cares about everyone else when I'm trying to get into college). And now when I'm finally to the point where I have to REALLY start worrying about college, it turns out that it is "harder to get into college" than ever before according to "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students". I guess for now though I shouldn't worry about getting into a college, and focus more on actually applying. Hopefully the essays will keep my mind off the fact that both my brother and I are applying to similar schools and that there's a frighteningly good chance I'll be turned away by a few of them. Oh well.
~Brian R.
period 6
I read the "Blurring the Lines" article and "Holding the Cheifs to Their Words". In the first I discovered the importance that the essay truly holds. If people will hire private coaches to help them, sometimes costing $4,000, then it must be alot more important than I had thought. The article had a very valid point in the fact that kids will beef up their record for colleges. I feel that most everything you do in high school is to make your resume better. For example AP, DC, MMOB, comunity service, student council, NHS, clubs like Acadamy of Finance, and more. I mean kids don't really want to join the math club or do 30 hours of community service for MMOB, well most high school kids don't. Instead they do these things to make themselves look better to colleges.
I found the second article about the presidents taking the essays more interesting than helpful. It seems alot of times that people in power will make rules or give assignments yet not abide by them theirselves or ever have done the thing they require. A good example for me is when athletic coaches yell at you for not running fast enough or for being to tired while you know at this point that they will be gasping for air. It is the coaches who you know have been there or are fully capable who are the ones you really respect. In the way of my college essays it is helpful that these presidents showed ways to be original and think out of the box.
Drake Forney
Period 7
I read two articles: “The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets to Crafting a Memorable Personal Statement” and “Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students.”
According to “The Perfect Essay: Eight Secrets to Crafting a Memorable Personal Statement,” it is not important how perfect an essay is. It is better if it is but there must be credentials to back it up. The most important points when writing for college admission are to start early, avoid the clichés, consider a smaller canvas, show feelings and a little humility, answer the question, and use correct grammar and spelling.
According to “Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students,” the number of applicants increased because there was an increased desire among their baby boomer parents to enroll their kids in elite schools. Therefore, it got much harder to get into good schools and the competition is much more challenging. Many of the best-known schools record low admission rates. It produces a self-perpetuating cycle: It is harder to get in, so seniors apply to more schools, which makes it even harder to get in, at least for the most sought-after schools.
Despite the sense of ease the articles “Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert-UVA” and “The Perfect Essay: Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement” offered me, a rush of anxiety continues to flow throughout my veins.
As the author of “The Perfect Essay” stated, “There is no such thing as a perfect essay”. Despite how many times I decide to reevaluate my essay until it’s flawless, nothing will ever make my essay absolutely perfect. This helped calm my nerves, for I know I will now be able to write my essay “ ‘and get on with my life’ “ as I am more than anxious to do when completing these essays!
The statement by Newsweek in “The Perfect Essay” that “ ‘The essay should never be essentially a recitation of the resume’ “ assured me writing the essay would be less difficult. Most of the items on our resumes are on there because of our mom forcing us to volunteer at the local nursing home or to get a job so it will “Look good on our college resumes”. I know my essay will allow the reader to view the real and unique side of me, not the mask anyone wants me to be viewed under.
As in “Writing the Essay”, the same statement has become mundane to me, “Write a unique essay if you want to stand out”. Of course such a statement is easy to say, but choosing an original topic isn’t just a walk through the park. Choosing a unique topic has been my most difficult struggle. I am hesitant to write about certain topics, for I’m nervous of what admissions officers will think about me, but as “Writing the Essay” assured me, “the great majority of admissions officers are an open-minded lot”, rather the big, bad wolves we all perceive them as.
Michelle S.
Period 6
I read "Colleges... Turning Away Even Top Students" and "Writing the Essay: Solid Advice From an Expert".
Since I began writing my college essays this summer, I have endured countless worthless bits of advice from a countless number of unqualified people. It was not until I finally read these two essays did I encounter a piece of advice worth following. It is not what you write about, it is how you write it. Simply because you have not yet experienced some drastic or life changing event does mean you are less qualified than someone who has. Letting your voice shine through your essay is the easiest way to stand out and be remembered.
Patrick Hickey
Per. 7
After reading 2 articles, I find myself a little scared but also intrigued to start writing my essays.
I really don't like reading articles like "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" because it only deepens my fear of the already terrifying application process. All the percentages of students accepted and all the numbers scare me. To add on to this fear, I'm not even a top student. My numbers aren't the best in my class, therefore, I must wow the admissions people with an essay so brilliant, they'll look past my average SAT's and GPA.
However, reading the article "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Patch" makes me a little less nervous. I don't really believe in getting a college tutor to help me write my essays. I want to write a meaningful essay, as opposed to some formulaic essay filled with words I don't even know and quotes from famous literature and all kinds of cheesy cliche life lessons learned.
So, the articles on how to write the perfect college essay and what not, I'll leave those unopened.
"The Perfect Essay"
I've been looking through way too many articles on how to write college essays, mainly prompted by my mother, and this one seemed to stay along the same ideas that others have. A few things stuck out, for example, the claim that "admissions officers covet authenticity and swear they can recognize a pro's hand in the process". I really hope that this is true because its not fair for someone to be accepted because of an essay they didn't write when the rest of us have to slave to try and achieve "the perfect essay". I also appreciated the mention that parents aren't always the best editors and I'll be sure and show it to my mom.
"Colleges awash in applications"
I felt like this essay was proof of what the past few years of graduating classes have been complaining about. Finally! With every new batch of kids applying for college there's always some horror story about the genius kid of the class not being accepted to say UT but somehow getting into Harvard (true story). Even though this article stresses me out a little bit, I think it would help to know just how competitive things are if I, sadly, do not get accepted to whichever college I want.
Annie Scavone period 4
With the whole application process, I have maintained a relaxed composure and know that a year from now I will be attending a college. The only thing I fear is that my essay is read by the wrong admissions official. This situation simply presents too many variables we cannot control. We all have a story to tell, and will all do our best to fit that into 500 words, but it seems to be all chance. The article "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students," relentlessly conveyed the idea that the numbers are stacked against us. But as I look around our 4th period class, all of the students are brilliant. Every student will write an essay and from that point forward they relinquish control of the outcome. In the second article I read, "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words," I was comforted to find that eventually, every college president found a topic. I have a story to tell and know that at some point those 500 words will spill from my brain and onto an application. No matter how much I stress perfection , my idea of perfection is not the same as the admissions official. A letter in the mail in the next year will tell my future, but what variable decided the context of that letter? I hope its something I could of controlled.
Sammy Roy 4th
Up until now I'd been more or less laid back about college applications and writing the essays, thinking "oh, it's just another essay, I've done a million of those, I should be pretty good at this by now". In fact, applications are the one thing I DIDN'T do this summer. However after reading reading "Holding college chiefs to their words" and having it emphasized to me over and over again that college essays are the hardest part of the application process and that even the deans of colleges struggled to make their essays stand out...I'm starting to feel a bit concerned.
College applications are (obviously) a whole new experience for me. Even when applying to middle schools and high schools, the application process was nothing like this one. So when I try to draw on previous experience, it's a little tricky. Nonetheless, I'm the type of person who procrastinates an assignment until its importance starts to dawn on me, at which point I'm ready to give it my all. Sort of like firing a bunch of arrows straight up at the sky. When I realize they're on their way back to the ground I'll probably care more about running and taking cover and I'll do a better job of it.
With regards to the content of the essays, I was already starting to picture myself writing the "miss america essay" but after reading "The Perfect Essay. Eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement" I think the best approach would be to simply forget the essays I'm writing are for college and just try to express who I am as a person.
All in all, I'm glad we're getting a chance to think about these in class. All hail the cabbage master!
"Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert"
Most of the information within this article has been told to me before - cliche is bad, using your own voice and personality is good, be original, the sky is blue, grass is green... It seems as though all the "expert" advice is the same; if everyone follows this advice then maybe the "bad" essays will start to become the original ones. However, what I did find interesting and new to me, was the "Risky" approach to an essay. Starting off with a "hook" line and discussing a possibly controversial topic sounds like a fun way to develop your voice and style through words.
"The College Essay: Expert Advice"
Another "expert" giving advice. Call me cynical, but I keep reading, "don't write what you think colleges want to hear" or, "use YOUR voice and SHOW them YOU through words", and all I can think of is that all these experts giving advice are telling us what "colleges want to hear" and how I should portray myself. Somewhat conflicting. Anyways, through my career as a high school writer, I have found that there is nothing easier or more intriguing than writing about something you are passionate about. I am not saying that writing about a relative who died, or writing about your baseball career are the right topics for a college essay. However, if you can avoid cliche topics (now I must be qualified as an expert with that profound statement) and find a topic that you are intrigued with, you will come through the writing and you will be able to avoid "fluffing" it up unnecessarily.
Matt H. 6th Period
I read "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students" and "Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch".
Like many others, I too begun to write my essays during the summer, and what I found most frustrating was trying to write something I felt was original.
Writing is admitedly my weakest skill, and on these pages I had hoped to find information trivializing the essay portion of the application. Sadly, it is all serious business and effort is needed to stand out as much as possible amongst the thousands of others.
Jordi Zelmat
Period 7
"How to write the perfect college essay" did have a lot of obvious advice, such as "start early," but the fact that the article addressed how was refreshing. I feel like when most teachers suggest that you start something early, they try to motivate students by stating consiquences if you procrastinate. I appreciated the idea in this article about starting several essays, and then finishing one you're drawn to after giving it a break. This approach to an essay, in my opinion at least, seems much less stressful.
The article "Getting in Gets Harder" was interesting because it looked at two different perspectives, the student's and the admission board's. The author addressed how current applicants are having a hard time because of how competitive colleges are now, and how it can sometimes seem unfair. But conversly, the article also took the college's views into consideration. While it was acknowledged that admission counselors felt bad for turning down capable students, the author also took the fact that colleges can now be more selective into consideration. If a school has the opportunity to be more selective and accept better students, they are going to do so to improve the school and help it grow academically. Honestly, I never really new the extent of why college applications are so competitive now. "College Admission Gets Harder" was interesting to me because it gave different points of view regarding application.
When I began reading the article "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words," I admit that I was hoping to discover an account of how university leaders were forced to acknowledge how difficult it was to "answer an essay question from their own school's application" (Gamerman). Unfortunately, I found that, apart from a few remarks, the presidents were able to complete their assignment with relative ease. Additionally, from the samples provided of their essays, their answers seem well-formed. Although the article did not turn out to be a revelation of the impossibilities of college essays that would allow me to wallow in self pity instead of writing one, it did partially convince me that I am facing a task that is in fact accomplishable.
I went on to read "How Much Do Collegge Admissions Essays Matter?". I found what I was expecting: an explanation of how they are only a part of the application, but they are the one chance you get to show your voice and character to admissions officers. The article's tips on writing a successful essay stressed that it's not what you say, but how you say it. One piece of advice that stuck out to me was that "'it shouldn't be an essay about community service. It should be about a moment of time"' (Feldman). This sums up the importance of putting your creativity and voice into your essay to bring to life even the most mundane experiences. This is a skill that i need to focus on an improve in these last few weeks before I write my essays, along with choosing a topic that will allow me to do so.
~Annie Hopper
per. 4
As I read "How much do college admissions essays matter?", the realization of our nearing future as the upcoming freshman class in college dawned upon me. To be honest, I have not thought about college admissions since I felt like it was all planned out for me, because of my mother. When I arrived in the United States, she made clear that I am going back to my home country to further my formal education after high school. From the start of my schooling here in America, my fate was already in place. The stress about admissions essays that I notice among my peers started to become obvious on the first day of senior year. I felt that I have it easy when compared to my friends and fellow classmates. Back in my home country, all you have to do to be accepted is to submit your transcript, and pass an entrance exam, but if the school you are applying to is really selective, they would arrange a special interview. Of course that seems easier than writing college admissions essays, but in my opinion, the pressure is still the same. Even though I am not going to study here in the United States for college, I can still understand the struggles of getting into a reputable school and the reason behind writing inspiring college essays.
The essay is not the be-all-and-end-all factor of college acceptance, but with many competitive students doing as much as they can to get that acceptance letter, college essays are just the other option of determining who gets in and who does not. Even though "'it's an urban myth that a student who has goofed off his whole academic career can get in with a come-from-behind epic struggle in which the essay serves as the primary tool,'" the essays do serve as a tipping factor which many students can take advantage of.
While reading the second article, which was "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students", the belief that my mother instilled in me stands true. It does not matter which college you go to, it's the lessons that you get out of it while being there is what really matters. I guess mothers do know best. The "research indicates that attendance at a well-known school does not appear to give any long-term advantage to students" which indicates that it is not the school's name that truly counts, but it is what students make out of the school and the experience they gain from attending. Today, people emphasize too much on the brand of the schools instead of the experience that they provide that matures the seniors in high school to grown-up adults.
-Anne Gagui Pd. 6
Shama Ams, 5th Period
"The Perfect Essay"
This article proved an eye-opener, especially on the idea of emotional/intellectual honesty in a personal statement. Jim Miller, admissions officer at Brown University, laments, "Too many kids are perfectly willing to tell you how wonderful they are. Teenagers don't tend to examine their faults under the microscope". Taking the perspective of an Aristotelean , "examined life" , a student can flesh out outwardly unexceptional episodes in southern suburbia into a rich meditation on his/her growth and vision. Amy R., I completely agree; delivering a small package with a concentrated dose demonstrates a mature restraint I imagine hard to resist among college admissions offices. The key is expansion. All too often, especially, with our uniform public education system, designated school activities and HS minutia confine students' experiences to , more or less, two realms: academics and extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, if one cannot see his life in more than just two dimensions, on his essay ,he will appear flat. The person's voice must always bleed through the proverbial "sales pitch". I fell this touch may prevent an applicant's immediate rejection on the grounds of blandness.
I liked the advice in "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay". It makes sence, being genuine and writing about something that is important to you and you can speak comfortable about. I think often we try to make it much more complicated than it needs to be.
I also liked "Getting In Gets Harder". I think many parents don't realize just how much college and just getting into college has changed from when they were our age. The numbers the article quoted about the huge jumps in applicants are staggering and are enough to worry any hiigh school student.
Grace Goetze, Period 7
In "Colleges, Awash in Applications, Turning Away Even Top Students", it's frightening to hear that students are being denied who would have been happily admitted one or two years ago. It's important to know that despite not getting into your top choice, that doesn't necessarily mean that you wouldn't succeed at that school. This article also explained how research shows that attending a well-known school doesn't give any "long-term advantage". This helped to reduce my stress, as I'm sure all of us want to have a successful career.
"Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert" pressured the importance of having your own unique "voice". It seems they want us to write in an almost conversational style, because they say it should be as if you're talking to a friend. This makes much more sense, because this way our characters shine through far easier than in those essays we're all accustomed to from English class. My interpretation is just to relax and let your natural self write the essay.
Ben Haley - Period 4
Sorry! I just realized that when I posted my comment yesterday, I didn't specify the second text I was referring to. In my second paragraph, I was responding to "College Essays: Nerve-racking Search for Just the Right Words."
Sara R.
Period 4
"The Perfect Essay"
Though this article was extremely helpful, for the most part I had heard it before. Don’t be too cliché, don’t give a grocery list of your accomplishments, don’t procrastinate, etc. But what I found a particularly useful reminder was the part about how most essays “suffer from excessive caution.” The article goes on to note that most prospective college students tend to write what then think the college wants to hear, and not what they want to write. I suppose somewhat subconsciously that’s what I’d been doing all along—trying to craft an essay that colleges would like, but not necessarily an essay I’d love to write. So that really changed my point of view on what I’d like to write about.
"Holding College Chiefs to Their Words"
I particularly liked this article, mostly because it was somewhat calming to know that other people--even college administrators--are struggling, too. But I was surprised to see the risks that some of these people took in their topics. I guess I had grown up with a picture-perfect idea of what a college essay should be like, but this article changed my mind. All of their essays sounded great, but were all vastly differing. The only real common thread was that all of the essays were down to earth, and real. It didn't sound like a sales pitch designed to impress others. It was just an interesting peep hole into the authors lives--it let colleges know a little something about who they really were.
Brittany Schuller
P.6
After reading “Blurring the line between a college application and a slick sales pitch” it seems as if it’s impossible to tell the
difference. Students these days are put to the limits in the rigorous application process shamefully willing to
claim a “false identity” in order for admission to the school of their choice. They fear of becoming “that sheet
of paper” wasting the admissions committees time. So in a mad chaos students spend their whole high school careers
franticly running around playing every sport, joining every club, and making straight A’s to top it all off. Where
has the focus gone? Focus is very important it shows great traits like hard work and dedication over a long period of time.
In my opinion, it is important we focus our efforts on our talents and skills so when application time comes we truly have a passion for something, therefore eliminating the classic “sales pitch.”
-John W.
period 4
I found that the article where the university presidents were forced into the same process we are very interesting. They seem to be able to give all kinds of advice on essay writing, but face the same challanges as us when they are forced to do it themselves. I struggled all through my essays trying not to sound to "self-promotional" while staying as personal as possible. The topics and essays the presidents wrote were very risky in that they mentioned family and character flaws in their life. I can relate as my essays deal a alot with my family and past emotional issues. Mr. Diver telling the story of beating someone with a bat to justify his diversity and get him into college is astounding, I would have tried to keep that as secret as possible from my admissions counselors, but I suppose the risk makes you stand out in the huge crowd.
The article "College essays can be too good" was extremely eye-opening from my point of view as i have had the help of a college counselor throughout my application process. I understand it is important to keep your voice, but it is hard to turn down the suggestions of a professional. It is good to hear that the admissions officers "expect [us] to write as 17 and 18 year olds" that don't have to syntax or prose of cultured author. I certainly don't have that sort of skill set and now that essay importance has risen from "19 to 28" percent of colleges it is difficult to trust your skill set in a country full of students getting aid from adults.
Link Cartwright pd. 7
College Essays and Admissions
- I read "College Applications Can be too Good." This was extremely surprising to me because I had never heard that admissions officers would compare a good essay with the one a student wrote on the SAT to make sure that it was their own writing. I absolutely agree that officers should do this as students should not be rewarded by something a parent or tutor does, but only by their own writing.
I also read "College Admissions... A Little Guidance." There was one specific post that really caught my eye. It was a parent stating that her daughter was a good volleyball and basketball player, good enough to play DII or DIII, but her SAT scores were not at Ivy league level. As I have been playing football, I have been speaking with a few schools and am in the same situation as the girl. The answer just said to try to get the SAT scores up because you will not get into an IVY only on athletics. This really encouraged me to maybe retake the SAT one more time.
Michael W.
After reading "blurring the line between college application and slick sales patch" and "the perfect essay- eight secrets to crafting a memorable personal statement" I realized that the essay is much much more than just an extension of the resume, but an insight into the writers personality and soul. In "blurring the line" the author writes “What they care about is the passion, commitment and consistency.” driving home the fact that college addmission personal do not care so much about what you did but rather why you did it, and what impact it had on your life. Realising this I believe I will have to take much more time on my essay... and lament that I had not started my essays sooner.
Aremy Deutmeyer
Per. 7
The first essay I chose to read was "Getting In Gets Harder" and boy was that an eye opener for me. I mean I always knew that getting into college has been getting increasingly harder over the years, but the opening about story on the girl who didn't get into her college of choice was a real motivator for me. I immediately dropped everything and continued my work on my college applications. I, like most other people I'm sure, don't enjoy the process of writing college essays. It doesn't help very much when my parents tell me that all they had to do back in the day was send in their SAT score into their college and instantly got in. Unfortunately for me, times are just changing.
The second article I read was "Holding College Chiefs to Their Words". I thought it was a very interesting article to read, actually making the college big wigs write essays was a wonderful idea. Writing college essays, especially in the middle of your summer like I started to do, is not the most desirable way to spend some of your summer vacation. I'm gonna be honest and admit that at times I'm not a very motivated writer and the expectations for writing a "good" college essay can get pretty stressful, especially with senior year about to begin. Hopefully this will give them a little bit better perspective on what we as high school students go through.
Phillip C.
Period 6
After reading "Blurring the Line Between College Application and Slick Sales Pitch", I realized that there is extreme emphasis on presenting the best resume in your college application. Basically, the article made it clear that you must involve yourself in activities that would put you on a pedestal above the other thousands seniors in the United States competing against you. This article also restated the need to be yourself in your applications while suggesting that being below the perfect student mold would not be enough.
For myself, writing essays is not something that I am a natural at. I have difficulties putting my ideas onto paper in a way that they do not get confusing. In addition, I have been struggling to find the "perfect story" to write about because I worry it will not be "perfect" enough. However, after reading "The Perfect Essay", I have realized that its not about the number of paragraphs or format of the essay as much as it is the representation of your voice. I also was able to take away a few tips, and the one I liked the most was to "consider a small canvas" by zooming in on a certain part of an experience and then expanding on it and linking it back to the topic.
Overall, these articles have boosted my confidence to write my college essays!
Morgan Zabel
Per. 5
When I realized we had to write one-page essays, to go along with our college applications, I went into the task optimistic. Until i sat down, pencil in hand, my mind was as blank as the paper in front of me; i had no idea where to start.
Thankfully the articles "Holding College Chiefs To Their Words", and "Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay" provided invaluable insight. Both articles stressed the importance of being genuine, which i thought i was not supposed to write like. I fell into the mechanical voice, instead of my own. It helped a lot to finally hear i could be myself.
ghjgjkh
I have just finished reading “Blurring the Line Between a College Application and a Slick Sales Pitch” and “College applications can be too good”. College coaches are described in the first article as trying to “package” or “brand” students to get them into the “perfect” college. In the second article, college admissions counselors describe obviously co-authored essays with “perfectly polished prose” and “sophisticated cadence and tone” coming from mediocre English students. For me, it seems like if I have to go to extremes such as fabrication to get into a college, I really don’t belong there in the first place. While I would love to be accepted to Princeton University with a full ride, it seems to be more important that I go where I can thrive in the learning environment rather than where I have to fudge the application just to get in.
hopefully this works
Alright finally in buisiness.
In response to application or slick sales pitch and getting into college is harder, everything boils down to economics here. Because of the mini boom in population as a result of the children of the baby boomers, the colleges that can afford to market themselves will get a significant increase in college applications to these so called 20 worth wile schools. This allows the colleges to become much more selective about the students who are admitted, raising the standing of the college itself. As a result of the increasing applications and reduced admissions of students who have a less than stellar track record in high school now have to compete harder to earn a spot. The law of supply and demand comes into play. It’s a colleges market, able to pick from the best of the best in an over abundance of qualified applicants for a small amount of seats the college starts to collect what they see as superior goods. In other words whoever looks the best on the few pages of paper that is all that represents a student. Therefore as good looking applications increase the market for tutoring or helping kids stand out amongst kids of similar academic accomplishment. Thus more people come to rely on outside help in order to look superior. This cycle completes itself as colleges start to look at more and more of these stand out essays and select from the very best of them. This net results in a win for colleges and a win for tutors, who both profit from the colleges market. You cannot blame either group though as economically the colleges and tutors have found a way to profit from more students, and if they were to not pick based on what they can see as merit then fewer truly qualified people would gain admission hurting both the college and the population.
Kyle Geiser
Period 6
I didn't see this in the 8 tips essay but I would add why the topic was important to you specifically, not on any grand moral Ms. America level but personally. I didn't see that in there... just a thought
I have a lot of difficulty writing under certain circumstances. I'm much better at composing a random timed writing than I am at typing some assignment at home. When I know the sentence can be revised, I lose my motivation to write my very best. When I know the synonyms button is just a right click away, I start to lose my creativity. I focus on avoiding chliche's to a point where I'm deciding what not to write about instead of focusing on my prompt.
These articles, namely "The College Essay: Expert Advice" and "How to Write the Perfect College Essay" helped me realize that a college essay is not a formula. They really do want to hear a unique voice and that's hard when you start to exercise words that you don't normally use. I've come up with something that helps me..."less classy and more sassy." In my future college essays I will strive to be less formal and much more myself. Revision will still be needed, but not if it takes away from the zest that my paper needs.
Linnie Roy, Period 4
Beginning the college admissions process was a huge eye-opener for me. Putting four years of academic courses, leadership roles, and volunteer positions, onto paper put everything in perspective for me. These past few years of high school have all been leading up to this one thing: college. For me, it’s always been a given- after I graduate. it's off the college. However, actually applying to colleges made everything much more realistic, and therefore a bit scary and intimidating. When applying to colleges, you basically list all your positive aspects and describe all the qualities you have that make you the best fit for this school. This not only is difficult, but is somewhat frightening, because, even after you’ve poured out your heart into four essays, and listed all your accomplishments, the college which you’ve applied still has the opportunity to turn you down. This means that a lot of pressure is put on you. In the article, College Essays: Nerve-racking search for just the right words, Mao Lee is feeling the same pressure. As I started this article, it immediately grabbed my attention because I could relate to Mao’s feelings, and how was “procrastinated” in writing her college essay, putting it off until “the day before [it] was due” because of the huge difference it could make. It would determine whether or not she would “win a college scholarship,” and therefore fulfill her dreams of getting a degree and leaving the poverty filled life she was used to. Mao was also extremely relatable to me because she understood what it was like to have “fierce” competition, making the college essay process even that much more daunting.
I also found the section “Forget the ghostwriter” to be comforting to me. This section talks about how application essays are supposed “to reveal something of [the applicant’s] personality,” and can sometimes be hindered by “editing services” which are designed to help with college essays. When writing my college essays, I had no one to guide my original essay, nor anyone to coach my essay. This has worried me, until I read in this essay that “college admissions people say they can spot a ghostwritten or heavily edited piece a mile away.”
katie klein
6th period
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