The College Essay

The college application essays are often the college application component where students experience the most stress, and the element where they’re more likely to make mistakes.

The college application essays are often the college application component where students experience the most stress, and the element where they’re more likely to make mistakes.

The University of Chicago, for example, boasts that it “has long been renowned for our provocative essay questions,” which have included “Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose,” and “What do you think of Wednesday?

”The most honest answers to the latter question would be short and uninspiring: “Not much,” or “Only when I have to.” After that, good many applicants would probably think first of a variation on “hump day,” perhaps alluding to a familiar insurance commercial featuring a talking camel.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, application essays are the most important “soft” factors, or non-quantitative elements, that colleges consider when making admission decisions, right behind “hard” factors, or quantitative components, like grades, curriculum, and test scores.

The personal statement and other essays and short answer questions, in conjunction with recommendations, extracurricular activities, and other qualitative application elements, can provide admissions committees with context and details about students that can’t be found anywhere else in the application.

Find something else that reveals something new and that shows you put a lot of thought into your essay. When developing a topic that reveals something new, find a way to frame the story or idea that shows a slice of your life or the event.

If your study of AP biology conflicts with your religious views, write about that and how you reconciled the two. Be descriptive and give details that appeal to the senses – taste, touch, smell, etc.Even in such a badly broken system, however, there is one component that does not need to be fixed. I am talking about the dread personal essay, which is too easy to falsify, and mostly worthless even when it hasn’t been faked.As revealed by a recent investigation by The Daily Beast, there is a cottage industry of “essay coaches” whose job is to help applicants devise, polish, and perfect their short-form literary efforts until they shine like stars, ring like bells, and stand head and shoulders above the rest—although hopefully having first been purged of clichés and trite allusions.While many coaches provide legitimate composition and grammar instruction, while leaving the students to fashion their own essays, far too many appear to be pretty much ghost writers, at the cost of as much as

If your study of AP biology conflicts with your religious views, write about that and how you reconciled the two. Be descriptive and give details that appeal to the senses – taste, touch, smell, etc.

Even in such a badly broken system, however, there is one component that does not need to be fixed. I am talking about the dread personal essay, which is too easy to falsify, and mostly worthless even when it hasn’t been faked.

As revealed by a recent investigation by The Daily Beast, there is a cottage industry of “essay coaches” whose job is to help applicants devise, polish, and perfect their short-form literary efforts until they shine like stars, ring like bells, and stand head and shoulders above the rest—although hopefully having first been purged of clichés and trite allusions.

While many coaches provide legitimate composition and grammar instruction, while leaving the students to fashion their own essays, far too many appear to be pretty much ghost writers, at the cost of as much as $1,000 per essay.

As one coach explained to The Daily Beast, “whether that means lying, making things up on behalf of the student, or basically just changing anything…

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If your study of AP biology conflicts with your religious views, write about that and how you reconciled the two. Be descriptive and give details that appeal to the senses – taste, touch, smell, etc.Even in such a badly broken system, however, there is one component that does not need to be fixed. I am talking about the dread personal essay, which is too easy to falsify, and mostly worthless even when it hasn’t been faked.As revealed by a recent investigation by The Daily Beast, there is a cottage industry of “essay coaches” whose job is to help applicants devise, polish, and perfect their short-form literary efforts until they shine like stars, ring like bells, and stand head and shoulders above the rest—although hopefully having first been purged of clichés and trite allusions.While many coaches provide legitimate composition and grammar instruction, while leaving the students to fashion their own essays, far too many appear to be pretty much ghost writers, at the cost of as much as $1,000 per essay.As one coach explained to The Daily Beast, “whether that means lying, making things up on behalf of the student, or basically just changing anything…No matter how rich they are—and barring parental chicanery—the kids have to submit their real grades and take their own tests.The essays, however, can too easily be the product of co-authorship, with no way to distinguish between the contributions of the student and the coach., one consultant called the essay “the purest part of the application” because it can show whether the student is kind, resilient, curious, creative, or fun.Of course, those essays would quickly be devalued in the admissions office as too boring and unimaginative, when they in fact prove that those students actually did their own work No professional coach would allow an applicant to write about something as obvious and dull as hump day.No, the high-priced consultants would throw topics back and forth until the team effort came up with just the right idea–something that combines quirkiness with optimism, erudition with grit, and all tied brilliantly back to the Platonic ideal of Wednesday.Instead of reinforcing a top activity or interest, instead, write about something that reveals another dimension of your life or personality.If your top activity is swimming, don’t write about the big championship meet.

,000 per essay.As one coach explained to The Daily Beast, “whether that means lying, making things up on behalf of the student, or basically just changing anything…No matter how rich they are—and barring parental chicanery—the kids have to submit their real grades and take their own tests.The essays, however, can too easily be the product of co-authorship, with no way to distinguish between the contributions of the student and the coach., one consultant called the essay “the purest part of the application” because it can show whether the student is kind, resilient, curious, creative, or fun.Of course, those essays would quickly be devalued in the admissions office as too boring and unimaginative, when they in fact prove that those students actually did their own work No professional coach would allow an applicant to write about something as obvious and dull as hump day.No, the high-priced consultants would throw topics back and forth until the team effort came up with just the right idea–something that combines quirkiness with optimism, erudition with grit, and all tied brilliantly back to the Platonic ideal of Wednesday.Instead of reinforcing a top activity or interest, instead, write about something that reveals another dimension of your life or personality.If your top activity is swimming, don’t write about the big championship meet.