January and February can be a stressful time if you’re a high school senior.
The glorious days of fall – when the promise of one’s future is close enough to be exhilarating, but not so close as to be anxiety-inducing – are over. Yet, the inevitable thaw of spring, when college plans are finalized and “senioritis” can set in, is still a few months away. Instead, the cold, hard realities of weather and life coincide — prompting students to choose from among the colleges to which they would like to apply.
And while filling out forms can be both tedious and time consuming, the oft-dreaded essay is often the biggest source of stress for students when applying to schools. After all, except for the interview that some schools require, the essay is the last opportunity to stand out from the crowd — to show the admissions offices that you are a thoughtful student with good writing skills and are worthy of acceptance.
Kimberly Crone, associate vice president for academic student services at Southern, has plenty of suggestions on how to write the application essay. Her experience includes dealing with various aspects of the admissions process, including how to write an attention-grabbing essay. Here are some tips she offers:
- Respond to the topic. You can be the best writer in the world, but if you don’t address the main point or question of the essay, it may not matter. Creativity is encouraged, but don’t stray too far from the topic.
- Highlight your distinctiveness. Colleges often look for individuals who bring something unusual (in a good way) to the school. If there is an opportunity to talk about your accomplishments, activities or interests, try to include something that sets you apart from most other students.
- Remember your audience. It’s a good idea to do a little research about the school in terms of its location, values and mission, as well as its academic and athletic offerings. If there is an opportunity to link what you do to what they offer or value, that’s a plus.
- Mind your grammar, words and humor. Properly delivered, a good sense of humor can be an effective communication device. But a joke or humorous anecdote may not come across the same way in writing as it does verbally. Remember, you can’t use inflection, pitch or other speaking devices in an essay and that can change the context. Also, if you do attempt to use humor, be sure that the comment is tasteful.
- Write in your own voice. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, or write in a way that is so bland that your voice ceases to come through.
- Follow the instructions. This applies to the parameters of the essay – length, format, etc. If the application asks for 800 words, don’t submit an essay of 2,500 words. It not only risks putting the readers to sleep, but it calls into question both your ability to comply with basic rules and to outline your thoughts concisely and coherently.
- Proofread. Everyone makes mistakes in their initial drafts. Even Thomas Jefferson made revisions to his copy when writing the Declaration of Independence. Some readers are less forgiving of typos and other careless errors. You might get away with one or two minor errors, but a pattern of mistakes indicates sloppy work. Most schools don’t want students who don’t pay attention to essential details.
- Get feedback. Your essay should reflect your own thoughts, in your own voice. But that doesn’t mean you can’t share your drafts with others to get their suggestions on how to improve them. Accept those suggestions that you think make sense and discard those that you don’t like.
For those who have read college admission essays – administrators, teachers, parents – what advice would you offer students?
While Kim is correct in saying that students don't get a lot of opportunities to practice college essays, to imply that teachers aren't teaching basic writing skills is ridiculous. For anyone to believe that is disheartening. And it's unfortunate that apparently some people view teachers, as a group of professionals, as bullies.
And to do blame transference to "some people" is disingenuous. The fact is not all teachers are bullies but as hidden cameras have shown, teachers yell, snap, shun, get sarcastic and other bullying behavior. The shield of "they're just human" is raised but the damage is already done. Their trick is to claim their classroom is off limits unless pre-arranged and staged clearly shows when hidden cameras reveal a day-to-day pattern compared to the vist day. Some people do have the option to select private schools and more and more parents are selecting that option when the have explored classroom behavior with their child. As professionals, they should police themselves. Instead, they form a wall and refuse to acknowledge a pervasive issue. In the end, it the children that lose.
I disagree. Teachers are there to teach the nuts and bolts. A child's parent has the authority and responsibility to sculpt the child in a healthy and positve way. Scars on a child's pysche is a scar for life and - the younger the child the deeper the scar goes in emotional development when the teacher has a "bad day" or "is only human". Apologists for it then turn it around to be anyone's fault but the teachers.
The fact of the matter is that not all people are bullies, but some are. In every profession. A private school teacher is no less likely to be a bully than a public school teacher. I can't imagine what school you attended where the teachers behaved so terribly. In my experience (in multiple districts), teachers take their job seriously and are horrified when another teacher tarnishes the profession. Your statements are so broad and sweeping as to discredit an entire profession of people. I work with colleagues who have marched straight to administration because they had a suspicion about another teacher (which turned out to be true, and resulted in the teacher losing his job).
One, I have been out of school OH so very long(1965) so I don't pretent to have a grasp on today's issues but I can say this with authority. During the 90's and most likey happening even today, the majority of police academy recruits in NH spent the first few weeks just doing remedial skills like sentence structure and writing. These are HS graduates who couldn't put a sentence togther that made any since. Now this wasn't every class member but enough that this was required. So who is the problem, the teacher, the student or the parental up-bringing?
Exactly. You're his mother. You are his first, and best, teacher. You are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You have no limitations, no regulations, no mandates or quotas to meet. You have a vested interest in your son's education, and that starts at home. As I said, it takes parents, not a village. :)
So you are expecting and hoping these other people will raise your children? Pray tell, what can you offer to my children that they cannot get from me? What can these people teach my children they cannot learn from me? It takes parents. The 'village aspect' is complementary, but not crucial.
Sounds like collectivism to me. I reckon we will simply have to agree to disagree. No worries, though. It happens. :)
We need to end liberal policies that break up the family, keep people on generational welfare, and continue the cycle of poverty with useless government run schools that have union bosses making sure they get teacher's dues instead of focusing on education. Children need to be exposed to a number of role models. My most lasting influence was a high school teacher who cared enough about me, a stupid teenager with his head in the wrong place. What we need to end is the notion that we are not responsible for our own needs. We are responsible for our economic well being, not the government, not our employers. We are responsible for our own protection. We are responsible for raising our kids, not the government. The rugged individualism that caused our Founders to tell the British to go to hell is lacking so much today.
Americans are so poorly informed on what is going on, it is pathetic. Government schools teach kids to be mediocre. Kids come out of school with little work ethic and lack the ability to think critically. I think back to book reports. Kids are expected to regurgitate what they read, not think critically about what they read. There is a reason why so many millionaires are drop outs. The skills needed to be successful in school are not in line with the skills needed to be successful in the real world of free markets. Government schools dumb down the brightest kids. The one size fits all does not work. There is no fixing the disaster that is government run schools. Let parents who want to be engaged to take their money elsewhere. Those kids can be saved.
To quote myself (because I think you might have missed it the first time), "While parents clearly have the primary responsibility for raising their children, we all play a role." A role. Not primary but clearly a role if we want our children to grow-up in a society in which they feel a part of.
And I expect you, and everyone else, to allow me to raise my children as I see fit, as I will easily allow you to do. I am their teacher, pastor/shepherd, protector, social coordinator, confidence-builder, character-builder, provider, chef, and faithful father. My position as their father trumps your expectations for them to be a part of a happy, shiny community. When the time comes, and it will, I will be releasing my children into the community to make it better, not the other way around. Cheers.
Ha! I've seen some coaches make incredibly bad decisions when it comes to the kids in their charge. The last person I would want to influence my children is a coach. Separately, when parents say it takes a village, I think sometimes they use it as an excuse. Parents think they don't have to do their part because after all, the responsibility lies with everyone.... not. I think the parents are just too lazy to help their own children with their homework, so they pass off that responsibility to the teachers. And when the kid fails, well, it's the teacher's fault. I don't know how parents these days live with the guilt of screwing up their own kids. I guess that's the real superpower of toaday's parents. They are selfish and feel no guilt.