My D is looking for help in refining her essay before the RD. She has 4.0 GP 35 ACT and a credible list of extracurricular activities. She applied to P and got denied in ED1. Disappointed as all her peers got the deferral from their top college choices. She thinks we influenced her too much in her essay and that she was not able to express her true self. We never thought about CC but would it be worth it at this time. I know there are some CC who may take her for 3 or more college applications. should she do it?I feel for her and kind of blame myself that may be I obstructed her creativity. Now she feels a bit lost. what do you reccommend
Our D is looking to improve her essay before the RD this year. She is HS graduating 2025. I have been reading here that there are essay readers on CC. How to go about them.
Also academically she is driven, on deadlines great results and incredible resume. We did not need to worry about any of those but after the P rejection, we all are double guessing essay and supplemental. And would appreciate advice on what to do next. While we know that from her top 10 college lists and safeties, she has a lot of chances but getting over the fact of the first rejection after a great application, it feels challenging and we need a third party to evaluate and see where we stand. What do people recommend?
Here are the instructions for this site’s essay service: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/follow-these-instructions-to-get-essay-help/3640959/29
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I would first recommend the parents step completely out of the process. No essay reading or editing.
If your D is driven she can write another essay on her own. The college essay guy. com site has tons of free brainstorming exercising and other essay tips, as well as full examples both for the main common app essay and supplementals.
She can use someone from CC to read her essay, but most aren’t professionals. She can ask an English teacher to read her essays too but time is very short for RD apps. For professional college counselors I would ask around your community for references. You can also look at the IECA website (independent educational consultant association) for capable counselors in your area…but again, it may be difficult to find someone to review RD essays at this point.
Lastly, make sure she has at least one affordable highly likely/safety school on her list. Does she have any acceptances yet?
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Personally, I disagree here. Advise and control are different. We did lots of productive brainstorming around the dinner table.
But first, a rejection does not mean that the essays are crap and need to be tossed. It’s very important to realize that. But essays are also a process. That is the challenge with early apps. I saw each of my kids’ essays become more nuanced and powerful as they worked through their apps, tackling the same story from slightly different angles. With each one, they who they are, where they want to go, became more clear, and the connections stronger.
There are two things I look for in essays. First is “so what?” (How did this affect you, make the person you are - not looking for “and so I became interested in x”, show who you are as a person) and “does it tell me something new” Approach the application as building layers. Each essay is an opportunity to add new dimension to the applicant. If you have 1000 awards in math, don’t write about math. They already know that about you.
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Agree, noting that what works for one family won’t work for another. Neither of my kids would ever consider brainstorming essays with either of their parents lol.
I agree that one denial doesn’t mean the essay is bad, but it sounds like the D is not happy with it and feels like it may not be in her voice. If that’s the case, I would tend to believe the student. I also think there is risk to producing a new essay that misses the mark if there isn’t adequate time for the student to focus on it over the next couple of weeks.
Lastly I agree the essay should go beyond what is elsewhere in the app.
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First off, hugs to your daughter around her disappointment. A rejection from a highly selective school doesn’t mean anything about her hard work in HS, her intelligence, or who she is as a person. It’s not personal.
Second, I hope she understands that some ED schools defer nearly everyone instead of doing rejections. Princeton just happens to be a school that does reject. Her friends may very well see rejections in the RD round. IMO, it’s better to move on now than have it be a slow and painful process later.
Third, Princeton is a crazy reach for every applicant. They accept such a small number of students that this shouldn’t necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with her application.
Fourth, make sure she has a well balanced list with actual safeties. Sometimes high stats kids focus on their scores being above the 75th percentile and ignore the acceptance rate. We see kids every year saying they were rejected from their safeties when it was a school with a 30% acceptance rate. That isn’t a safety. If you’d like to post where she has applied for feedback, folks here would be happy to give opinions (see the chance me/match me subform).
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What is P? It isn’t Princeton, since it has (restricted) EA, not ED.
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Awww, I feel for your daughter AND for OP. Rejections sting!
Echoing what others have said, a rejection does NOT mean there are issues with her essays. She might just be lashing out at the two people she feels most comfortable with - her parents (I’m chuckling a little bit here b/c the number of times MY two have done this to me!!)
You’ve gotten good advice so I’m just sending best wishes to your family. With a balanced school list there will be good news coming, just not with this ED decision.
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OP- hugs. It stings when our kids are disappointed-- and for some of them, this is the first time that things didn’t go their way.
It’s worth a quick review of your D’s matches and safeties to make sure that indeed they are matches and safeties- and are affordable. Your D wouldn’t be the first kid to declare a school a safety that she has ZERO interest in attending-- if that’s the case- it’s not really a safety, is it?
Once you’re comfortable that her list is appropriate, go do something fun to celebrate the end of application season. If her profile is as strong as you say it is, then the essay likely wouldn’t make a difference. She plays the cello but P (assuming Princeton?) needed a trombone player. She is an engaged volunteer in a political organization- but P got hundreds of those, and they need someone who is likely to join one of their many a capella groups. Etc. As the kids say- “it is what it is”. You can’t turn a fencer into a long distance runner in the next week, and you shouldn’t try to turn a poet into gymnast!
Hugs. She’ll feel better once that first acceptance comes in!
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And different kids are different. My older S Is a great writer and didn’t need any help coming up with topics (he wrote a memorable essay about Tom Wolfe that clearly stood out to a couple of colleges). My D found brainstorming useful and I suggested the topic for the essay that won her scholarship (Freakonomics on cheating in sumo wrestling!) based on something she’d mentioned previously about what they’d done in economics class. And my younger S hated writing and needed lots of detailed help on choosing topics and editing.
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My thought, due to the reference to ED1, is that the school referred to as “P” is Pomona College.
This checks with my 3 too 
Kids are always so different from each other.
My bad, I meant EA.
And also tons of really good feedback here from everyone… So thankful!
It was my bad. Reference is Princeton. And it was EA and not ED. You asked in another thread and she is accepted in two of her safeties during this process as during the EA she was allowed to put her applications in for public universities.
Thank you. All thats said here is so comforting. And thank you for making me realize by saying what you said about “lashing out at the two people she feels most comfortable with” So true!
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OMG this is refreshing and supporting to hear it. Thank you for all the words of support!
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