4 Standout College Application Essays on Work, Money and Class

“Each year, we issue an open casting call for high school seniors who have dared to address money, work or social class in their college application essays. From the large pile that arrived this spring, these four — about parents, small business, landscapes and the meaning a single object can convey — stood out. A fifth essay lives in The New York Times’s new Snapchat Discover.” …

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/your-money/standout-college-application-essays.html

Most of them are about under-priviledged kids. Would like to see an essay by a typical middle class or upper middle class kid living in a boring suburb.

Caitlin McCormick’s parents are the owners of the bed and breakfast she writes about in her essay. They took over the business from her grandparents in 2003.

I am confused why she writes about guests not tipping her parents. I thought you don’t tip the owner of a business.

I didn’t like McCormick’s essay either - the tipping was just part of it @MaterS . She sounds obnoxious. Why would a hotel guest “apologize” for arriving later than the reserved time? I always understood that the time of a hotel reservation is the earliest you’re allowed to arrive. And then to complain that owning a Bed-and-Breakfast is like experiencing microaggressions based on gender/class/race/ability is specious.

I really liked the one from the girl who goes to boarding school. Personally, it’s very relatable to my situation and she understands so well how it feels being privileged and unequal at the same time. What I found most interesting about her essay is the part about recognizing her own privilege. It felt kind of rushed, and in my own common app essay I’m struggling on finding a way to fit the same concept in. It’s like you’re trying to explain your feelings about being less privileged than others but still recognizing your own privilege at the same time so you don’t sound whiny. I haven’t seen an essay that has written that concept correctly. It’s a difficult concept to tackle: writing about privilege from a first-world middle class standpoint. She executed it well, but not exceptionally.

@hzhao2004 That’s impossible. By being a “middle class or upper middle class kid” you basically resign any chance of having a “standout” essay, one that’ll bring tears to the eyes of its readers. An unfortunate side effect of America’s broken college system.

Oh well.

@Dave, thanks for sharing the 4 very well-written essays! Is there any information about the 4 students’ other background (e.g. their test scores, their GPA, etc.). Would like to see how much they think the essay weighs in for the overall admission application. Thanks!

@hzhao2004 My “typical middle class or upper middle class kid living in a boring suburb” wrote about working at McDonald’s, and how she would have rather been lazy but her parents made her get a job. No sob story, no pulling on heartstrings, just an honest, sometimes witty essay about making fries and chicken nuggets. It got her into some great schools…

I wish there was more diversity. Great essays, but definitely needs more diversity.