| You go Laserbrother! On to the essays indeed!
As ASAP pointed out Harry Bauld's, On Writing the College Application Essay is a great resource. Bauld focuses on students finding their voice, knowing their audience, a bored adcom, and the evolving re-writing process. I had my S read it, and though inspired, he still wrote one of his essays on a stereotypic topic that Bauld warns against. To be fair, he did take a unique perspective that could only be his own. I also liked the the UVA link.
Midmo is making an important point. Since you're not going to college with your daughter, it is important for her to get there under her own steam, imo. You have to trust their instincts, and it's not easy. My H and I were both uncomfortable about one of our son's essays that he loved. Particularly because he mentioned me and my H in it. It was honest. It was him. We hated it. It went un-edited. (I don't know what gives my boys permission to constantly use me for their comedic material!)
The other thing we learned is not to rush the process. The concensus on CC was that it was advantageous to start their essays in the summer. I know everyone is different, but our S was not ready to write at that point. He had a greater sense of himself after his summer activities, fall ECs and college tours. This may pertain more to boys. I don’t know. He didn’t begin his essays until October and was still tinkering with them and writing new ones as different deadlines approached. It worried me. They were always the last part of his applications that he completed, if I recall.
I think it was easier for my S to start his activity list at the end of the summer before he could think about essays. He needed that list to give to his GC and his teacher recommenders in early fall. Lot’s of self-discovery there as well—what to include, what to emphasize and prioritize…you get the idea. I think for the first time, he could ‘see’ how he presented himself on paper. After that, the app was easier, and then he could focus on the essays.
Now, the most rewarding part of the entire application process is seeing how our son applied what he learned back then to his internship application process in the winter of his freshman year. He sought out his career center, took the counselor’s advice regarding job research, résumé & cover letter writing, securing recommendations, and interviewing. Successfully found a great internship. Navigated the costs, the apartment hunting, the move, the cooking and the work on his own. I think that is one of the payoffs that midmo is referring to.
We miss him. We look forward to seeing him the last two weeks of summer. We wouldn’t have it any other way. One family, one way. Other families find other ways, and we learn from those as well.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks everyone for sharing. I’m off to more errands…CC is not my hobby…CC is not my hobby…CC is not my hobby! |