My DS really didn’t start engaging in the process until August. He didn’t have his final college list until late September. He did complete a one week common app essay workshop at his high school in August, but he hadn’t started supplemental essays until late September. I hired a tutor whose primary responsibility was to set up a timeline for DS for his essays and hold him to it. The tutor was also his second set of eyes for editing. DS met with the tutor once a week from about mid-sept until mid December. I was clear that all apps needed to be ready to go by Dec 20. While this may not work for all, my son would have never missed a deadline for a teacher or a tutor. The tutor was affordable and took a lot of the stress off my relationship with my son.
Sometimes we mean well as parents, but the reality is we can add a lot of stress to the process. When I first read my son’s common app essay I was moved by it, but I also doubted it was a good idea. I called his high school counselor who said he should not change one word. Sometimes we are too close to the situation and it is helpful to have unbiased third parties involved.