<p>How about this solution…if the son wants to hire someone to edit his HS paper…HE can pay for it 
OK…really, I would tell the student to write his own paper. Actually that is what I told my two kids to do when it was time for college essays. We did have others read and comment on the college essays and offer suggestions for additions, deletions, etc. But the kids actually DID their own writing and also made the choices about which ideas from others would be used. I’m sorry, but I think it’s quite over the top to have a writing consultant help a student write a HS paper. Writing is all about conveying one’s voice. If someone else does the major part of the work…it is their voice that will be on that paper. I woud say no…and I wouldn’t feel a tad bit guilty.</p>
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<p>I would ignore it, because it is a hypothetical situation instead of a real one. Don’t we have enough real problems to discuss? Life is way too short to spend it solving problems that don’t exist.</p>
<p>And besides, didn’t we just get through beating to death a slight variation on this “problem”? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=303572[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=303572</a></p>
<p>It’s clear you have a “thing” about paid help in college admissions.</p>
<p>Both my kids say that if the essays they write in their own voices aren’t what their college choices want to hear, then maybe those schools aren’t such a great fit after all…</p>
<p>Sounds like the (hypothetical) parents want the Ivy more than the kid does…if he’s not sure of his abilities to write an effective AP essay, how on earth will he survive in college?</p>
<p>To me, this is no different from buying a term paper off the web and editing to make it sound original. </p>
<p>As a parent, it’s time to make your (hypothetical) kid stand on his own two feet. No harm in admitting you might have set a bad precedent, either.</p>
<p>I don’t think college admin offices “let it slide.” I’m sure they can tell who’s been packaged, however. I would dare say the majority of kids admitted to Ivies (or other colleges) haven’t used college counselors.</p>
<p>The character of the father and the son has been revealed on the application essay. The AP essay shows that the character of the son has not changed. Why would there be any reason to believe the father would even think twice about giving his son the money? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in this family.</p>
<p>Well, the father paid for the consultant in the first place, so I am assuming it is the father who believes that money can buy anything. The situation in both cases are similar, so I do not see why not the father should not pay for the AP English Essay.</p>
<p>I guess it “father like son”</p>
<p>The truth has been illuminated…</p>
<p>I believe Katherine Cohen (author of “Rock Hard Apps,” et al) refers to herself as a “college counselor,” not as a “college strategist.” She certainly knows how to hawk her “inside knowledge” to “strategically position” her clients for “highly coveted slots.”</p>
<p>Sounds like you have drunk the proverbial grape Kool-Aid here!</p>
<p>old:</p>
<p>My response was based on what I would do. I feel that if my kid couldn’t be accepted to the Ivy based on their own work then so-be-it. I don’t think not getting into an Ivy is such a big deal (this might be blasphemy on cc) and certainly not worth compromising principals but then neither of my kids cared about getting into an Ivy and really didn’t want to move east of California so it might be easy for me to say. </p>
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I’d be interested in the opinion of thise from those more familiar with Ivy admissions. If the bar has been set such that virtually no one could be accepted without hiring the ‘consultants’, then I think there’s a real problem. I would hope the adcoms would be savvy enough to see through some of this and be able to glean somewhat who really wrote their own essays and who didn’t.</p>
<p>Also - I would hope that any kid who was admitted to an Ivy is perfectly capable of writing their own HS paper without feeling the need to go to any outside help whatsoever on it. If the kid can’t handle writing the HS paper on his own, he’ll be in for a rude awakening once he gets to college (unless he has a lot of money). I’d probably use this argument (along with one on ethics) to illustrate the point.</p>
<p>OP, </p>
<p>Based on another thread that you started it seems that you’re really obsessed with the idea that some people get an edge based on financial resourses. Wouldn’t you agree that it is equally unethical for the student in question to use his uncle/aunt to suggest the topic and edit the paper into a “masterpiece” for free.</p>
<p>I’m so glad that I probably won’t get to go to an Ivy because my parents don’t believe in paying 40k a year when I’ve been offered a full ride.</p>
<p>And to think, I wrote all my essays my self.</p>
<p>UCSD: Regarding what you said in post # 19. I would have to guess that those parents who hire essay consultants and admissions “strategists” to gain an edge in the admission process are likely to be parents of students applying to “elite” colleges, not “Good Old State U.”</p>
<p>So, when you say that the student who had been accepted to an Ivy League school should be more than capable of writing his own AP essay, I say EXACTLY. Yet, isn’t is ironic that it is probably those same Ivy applicants whose parents are spending thousands of dollars on essay consultants and admission “strategists.” Seems like those would be the students who would need the least amount of help.</p>
<p>After 12 years of education, is it really necessary for a true Ivy-caliber applicant to get “last minute” help on his/her essay?</p>
<p>congrats ckmed</p>
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It doesn’t seem to me that it should be. If this is widespread and the adcoms are unable to detect it, then these institutions don’t really know the capabilities of those being admitted. Again, I hope the adcoms are savvy in this area and what’s really happening is that the parents are just throwing their money away.</p>
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<p>I would tell the young man that it is time for him to assume financial responsibility for his own work, and suggest he steal the money to pay his friend for essay help.</p>
<p>How about this as a means to “level the playing field” within the Ivies:</p>
<p>Have all the Ivies agree on two to three essay topics (lets be optimistic and pretend that such agreement could actually occur), and designate one or two dates as “Application Essay” days for Ivy applicants. Students at each high school who have applied to an Ivy League school would report to a “testing room” in the high school, where a guidance counselor or other school official (or perhaps an Ivy alum living in or near the community where the high school is located) would administer the “essay portion” question of the college application.</p>
<p>Each student would be given two or three essay questions, or have the option of choosing two out of three, and they would be given a specified amount of time (maybe 2-4 hours) to complete the essay assignment.</p>
<p>The essays could be done on computer, and submitted electronically to the Ivy schools. </p>
<p>This way, the student’s work would be his or her own work, with no outside assistance. Also, it would test a student’s ability to “think on his feet”, because he wouldn’t have days or weeks to formulate a response to the essay topics.</p>
<p>Just playing around with ideas. What do you think?</p>
<p>Why limit it to Ivies?</p>
<p>There are so many interesting assumptions here. One that applicants to Ivies are more likely than others to make use of outside help in writing their essays.
Two, that they are more likely to cheat if not subjected to monitoring.
And perhaps, even a third: that they are not capable of writing their own essays.</p>
<p>Of course, Old but Wise wrote elsewhere that Ivies are no better than any other college…</p>
<p>When doing the essays in the fashion I suggested, it would be a “what you see is what you get” type of thing. It would give the admissions committees a look at how well a student writes with absolutely no outside assistance (free or paid), and it would show how well a student “thinks on his feet.”</p>
<p>As it currently stands, the admissions committees have no idea of how much outside help or “editing” a student received. Why would an Ivy applicant be opposed to such an idea? They have to write the essays anyway, why not do it utilizing a system where everyone writes the essay under the same “test conditions.”</p>
<p>Also, I agree when you ask, “Why limit it to Ivies.” </p>
<p>With the prestige associated with the Ivy League schools, I would challenge the Ivies to “blaze the trail” when it comes to the type of “uniform essay writing” that I have suggested. If the Ivies do it, hopefully other colleges will follow.</p>