The College Essay

The College Essay Every college essay needs a title because it’s a piece of creative writing, but by no means does it have to be something you spend days stressing out about. I think the five paragraphs for an essay is more of a rule-of-thumb number that is easy to teach students when they are first learning to write. Your teacher was just trying to make sure you understood how to write, not give you a rule you had to always obey. I do not believe that parents make good essay editors because they are not admissions officers. Find the topic that you can use at all or almost all the schools on your list and write as few essays as possible. While most applications won’t open for the season until August 1, the essay prompts for this year are available. Students can write the required essays for the Common App, Coalition Application, or Apply Texas app now. The best advice that we can give regarding the title of your common app is to not overthink things. Now schools are putting those same students at a disadvantage before they even have the chance to submit their transcripts. ShutterstockOn its face, this perhaps doesn't seem surprising, but it is troubling for a number of reasons. A student is usually away from home when going to college, and loves the taste of freedom. Being tied down for hours each day for days on end doing research and writing an essay is not their idea of freedom. Low-income students already face an uphill battle when it comes to higher education. Costs associated with standardized testing, applications fees create a barrier to entry in the first place, and that is before those students are hit with a steep bill for tuition each semester. They do not know what admissions officers are looking for. For the same reason, I do not think English teachers make great admissions essay readers. Your English teacher reads your essay as 1 out of 30. The admissions officers reads as 1 out of 1000’s and possibly even 10,000 or more. Your English teacher reads your essay to assign one grade out of many. The part of your application you’re likely to spend the most time on. But of course I’d say that; I’m the College Essay Guy. The personal statement is likely to be words long and many of the colleges you’re applying to will require it. Guidelines for essay writing are much stricter in college than high school. The writing must adhere to a specific format, APA format for example. The admissions officer reads to determine if they should offer you one spot out of probably relatively very few. Many applicants will have high GPA’s and SAT scores, volunteer in a local organization, or be the president of a club or captain of a sports team. If you're in the process of applying for college, be warned that it isn't just your grades and extracurricular activities that are being reviewed by schools. These practices could lead to schools favoring students based on financial incentives for the school, placing students from low-income backgrounds at a disadvantage. So conserve your efforts and work smarter, not harder. Parents may know other details about the student that they should include in the essay. Parents are also a great second pair of eyes for grammar and spelling errors. Admissions officers are looking for something, anything, to distinguish your essay from the pile. I recommend that students try to find an adult other than their parents to help with essay editing. Parents are blinded by love and perhaps perfection. Each student needs to be able to claim authentic ownership of their essays. Mom and Dad may be great help during the brainstorming process of generating essay topics. The practices may raise a hidden barrier to a college education for underprivileged students. According to the Washington Post, the tracking services have become particularly popular among schools operating on tight budgets. This has led to some schools placing an increased emphasis recruiting out-of-state students who may pay a higher tuition. Those students are more likely to be consistent contributors to the school's revenue, even if they aren't the best fit at the school based solely on their academic background.