^^“Brevity is the soul of wit.” 
FWIW, while I don’t mind if the paper was a few words over (spirit vs. letter), if I’m proofreading my kid’s essay, it’ll be a few words under, just to be safe, and because I agree with @mathmom that you don’t need those last five words (I’m not saying truncate the essay, I’m saying find five words to get rid of in the body of the essay, which is what I would say to my kid if she’s over).
Interesting range of comments from 5 former ivy league admissions officers on the Costco essay http://www.businessinsider.com/5-former-ivy-league-admissions-officers-talk-about-college-admissions-essays-2016-4
@jym626
Thanks for posting this. Very interesting
Thanks, @wisteria100. Their opinions varied, but the “likeability” of the candidate and the engaging topic that makes the reader want to read more were noted.
the essay was ok…all those elitists schools did not focus in on the essay and all come to the same conclusion. that was not her hook.
I saw an interview of Brittany and her parents a few days ago on one of the talk shows - keep searching for it online and can’t find it. Really wanted to post it for here for her few detractors
She was absolutely delightful. She was very authentic and the last word I can think of to describe her is “phony.” She was quick to first give credit to the teachers/staff at her school whose dedication was instrumental to her success, and of course to her parents. My impression was that she was surprised and overwhelmed by her results. Her parents sat back and let her do all the talking and really did not seem to want the spotlight on them at all.
While it was only a 4 or 5 minute interview, my impression was that this was a very happy and well adjusted girl, the kind of kid that simply would do well no matter where she went.
“my impression was that this was a very happy and well adjusted girl, the kind of kid that simply would do well no matter where she went.”
that probably is very true…
the issue is that all these elitist schools did not admit her because of her essay. that is how the articles I read made it sound.(all those ivy schools and other elite schools reading 1000xx of essays all just honed in on this costco essay and it moved them all to admit her? )
next year a large crop of essays about walmart,dairy queen and pizza hut will sure to be seen.
The NY Times published some college essays from last year that they found particularly notable. One wrote about working at Domino’s pizza. She did a nice job bringing herself to life in a well written, engaging essay.
Also really was touched by the “Daves” essay
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/your-money/college-essays-on-money.html?emc=eta1
“next year a large crop of essays about walmart,dairy queen and pizza hut will sure to be seen”
Well, that will demonstrate the absolute inability of people to think conceptually, because the SUBJECT of Costco, Walmart, etc is not the point of the essay at all. It is what you reveal about yourself and the actual topic is merely the vehicle.
It’s frustrating how so many people are not conceptual.
That was the issue for you @zobroward but I think @HarvestMoon1 was addressing this to those who were “skeptical” of her or questioned her (or her parents) character because they shared this with the media.
Matters to me that Mentorverse is a college consulting company.
I’m also glad she came across as a nice kid, because her facebook is jam packed with her successes.
I liked some of those NYT essays- it’s in what they show in the construction, their thinking in how they present themselves. A kid can show what he or she is made of.
I am still not entranced by so much about Costco.
@ClaremontMom, I both think she is a great kid–which I have said repeatedly–and YES strongly question the judgement of anyone who deliberately goes out and seeks media attention for something like this. Sue me.
"
Well, that will demonstrate the absolute inability of people to think conceptually, because the SUBJECT of Costco, Walmart, etc is not the point of the essay at all. It is what you reveal about yourself and the actual topic is merely the vehicle."
of course that maybe true…that does not change a spike in big box/chain restaurant essays for the class of 2017.
anyway it sure beats the I volunteered in a poor village in Africa to teach reading and writing and after a while I realized that I was not teaching the people there they were teaching me.(that one played out long ago)
I liked these nyt selected essays a lot. (Even if it gives us Daves a bad name.)
@Consolation - I don’t know why you went there. I was just pointing out that Harvest’s statement was not meant to address the issue of whether or not she got in due to her essay (which zobro’s comment seemed to imply). It was only to address those who were “skeptical” about her character (which, btw, is different than questioning whether it was a good idea).
The quote attributed to Ureña has “infinitudes” spelled incorrectly (in yellow, on the right).
Although really I’m not so sure that you can have “infinitudes” since “infinitude” suggests a state of infinity already, so how can you have plural infinity?
Ow, now my head hurts.
Of course you can infinite number of infinities. See the “Hilbert Hotel” problem:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/the-hilbert-hotel/?_r=0
Haven’t noticed anyone here who didn’t understand the Costco story was metaphoric.
