<p>I keep getting letters from organizations that will help me through the essay writing process. I am a strong writer, and on my apps (i’ve submitted to stanford and umichigan so far) I only went through a final check with one teacher-and they hardly made any changes. Did I not get enough help on my essays to be considered good enough??? Do most people have “coaches”? It is not at all common at my school (I am from an upper-class part of Minnesota).</p>
<p>For selective colleges like 20% applicants use some kind of external “coaching”. Nobody knows the figure for sure. Nobody would admit it.
I think most private high school students use “coaching” since they can offer it.</p>
<p>lol do you count the college essays portion of CC as ‘coaching’? Because a lot of people get substantial advice online here (me included, thanks editors and readers!). If you’re talking about the actual like ghost-writer coaches, then I’m guessing only the people who can really afford it would consider it. As in, not a very large portion of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>eh coaching personally dont like it</p>
<p>I read my best friend’s essay before and after she had one of those hired essay editors mess with it. It was a better essay before. That editor sucked the life out of it.</p>
<p>I didn’t get coaching on my essay, for a few reasons.
A) Ethically, I don’t see how people are able to do it.
B) I think that I’m better able to write about my own life than some hired nut.
C) Having seen a few example essays (schoolmates), I can honestly say (like railoraine) that they really, really suck. If the kid has no writing ability, it might be a little better, but anyone with any ability to write can write a better letter with a couple people critiquing, especially an English teacher that can judge the flow of the essay and can find any grammatical errors like a hawk.</p>
<p>I don’t think that asking for an extra pair of eyes to look over your essay (on these forums) is really cheating. You’re not paying money, and a lot of people go “Sure, I’ll read your essay” and never reply once they get it. That’s not to say that they copy it, but that they don’t care enough to return. Even when a person returns with their opinion, I don’t think that qualifies with cheating; it’s no different if you were to ask a classmate, or teacher, or GC to look over your essay. Just as long as you don’t become the essay editor yourself.</p>