Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Public Schools While the worksheet is geared toward requesting letters of recommendation, you can still use it to write out your hobbies, interests, college list, and strengths to help you answer your scholarship essay prompt. Editing is a part of the writing process, like development and revision, where another person can be helpful. There is nothing theoretically wrong with that person being a parent if they are skilled and sensitive to helping while allowing the student’s own voice to remain dominant. This is your time to shine, so highlight your accomplishments and strengths. Review your essay to make sure that you’re keeping the tone informative and that you’re still on topic. (Brag while answering the essay prompt; don’t just mention random, unrelated but impressive facts about yourself!)You can use this brag sheet where you can brainstorm your accomplishments. Remember â€" the admissions officers read thousands of essays every admissions season, and they can spot an overly polished essay a mile away. So â€" yes â€" it’s fine to take a quick read to look for spelling errors, but it’s not fine to write your child’s essay for him or her. We’re proud of our company, our team, and what we stand for. And we come to work every day excited to help our students achieve their goals. We’ve learned how to help teenagers find their best stories. We ask the right questions, listen carefully to the responses, and unearth the kind of interesting, charming, endearing, or just plain compelling tales admissions officers want to read about. We’ll also set deadlines for drafts, offer our written feedback over email, and give the essay a final proofread to make sure it’s error-free. And while we never over-edit or otherwise hijack the essay from the student , every year, Collegewise students of all academic levels produce essays that make them proud and improve their applications. Most students worry about bragging in their essay, but we say go for it! Many times however, when a parent tries to help, they do more harm than good. It is very easy to spot an essay that has been overly edited by a parent and that is not good for the students chances of admission. The essay is supposed to be reflective of the STUDENT, not the parent, and admissions reps are hoping to get a better picture of the applicant’s individuality and unique attributes. It is very easy for a rep to recognize an essay that has been coached someone other than the student. Unfortunately, too many cooks spoil the pot, so to speak…and kids easily get confused when parents, English teachers, their counselor, and their friends all have different advice. Collegewise counselors help transfer students find and apply to their best-fit colleges. We can provide a thoughtful and thorough review of all of your college applications, in addition to helping you conduct college research, build your college list, and brainstorm effective essays. You can reach out to your local Collegewise counselor for more information. If you’d prefer to work with a counselor online, you can find a list of our online counselors here. Since 1999, over 24,000 families have entrusted us with their students’ college admissions process. If possible, mom and dad should stay out of the essay writing business. However, some parents are able to understand that over-editing essays is not a good thing. Everything should be spelled correctly, with correct grammar and punctuation, but the essay should sound like a high school student wrote it. Students should familiarize themselves with the campuses to which they are applying , understand the prompt, and answer from the heart. Now parents â€" you all know the difference between fixing typographical errors and making massive substantive changes to your child’s essay, right? Nobody in private counseling helps more kids get into college than we do. Tens of thousands of people read our newsletters, blog, and our book. Even more have heard us speak at conferences, high schools, and community events. Most of the time I see that parents get into an essay and take away the student voice…they make it too polished for a high school student. Colleges get suspicious when they receive an essay that sounds like a PhD wrote it. Let’s look deeper into the four main reasons that colleges require essays as part of the application process to see why they’re worth your time and attention. But admissions officers will enforce the spirit, not the letter of the law here. You need to follow directions, but as long as the college’s online application doesn’t cut you off, it’s fine to go over the word limit by words in a short essay, and maybe by a few sentences in a long essay.