The Perfectionists Guide To The College Essay

The Perfectionist's Guide To The College Essay Your teacher was just trying to make sure you understood how to write, not give you a rule you had to always obey. Connect with our featured colleges to find schools that both match your interests and are looking for students like you. Model UN is a club for middle school, high school, or college students whose members simulate UN committees. If you're still unsure, drop by a meeting at your school to get a sense of what joining the club would be like. Model United Nations, often referred to as Model UN or MUN, is an extracurricular most commonly for high school students, but also available to college and middle school students. I do not believe that parents make good essay editors because they are not admissions officers. Teachers, guidance counselors, even friends are viable candidates when looking for a second opinion on your writing. Take advantage of college study abroad programs to experience a new country, culture, and activities. Study abroad programs can be very affordable, usually costing about the same as a semester at college. For most students, it may be the first time they’ve been out of the United States. However, parents should not try to change the voice of the student, which can be difficult to refrain from. The essay needs to be a reflection of the student’s creativity, writing ability and personality; not the parent. While it is okay to have a parent proof an essay, they are not always the best option. Asking someone who is slightly more removed from the application process may be the wisest route to go. While parents mean well, any constructive feedback may be misinterpreted, creating conflict at what can already be a stressful time. They do not know what admissions officers are looking for. For the same reason, I do not think English teachers make great admissions essay readers. Your English teacher reads your essay as 1 out of 30. The admissions officers reads as 1 out of 1000’s and possibly even 10,000 or more. Your English teacher reads your essay to assign one grade out of many. Parents are also a great second pair of eyes for grammar and spelling errors. I would still suggest that a English professional still read over the essay for expert editing purposes. We believe that Rocio’s sense of perseverance will translate to her college experience as well. I think the five paragraphs for an essay is more of a rule-of-thumb number that is easy to teach students when they are first learning to write. The admissions officer reads to determine if they should offer you one spot out of probably relatively very few. Many applicants will have high GPA’s and SAT scores, volunteer in a local organization, or be the president of a club or captain of a sports team. Admissions officers are looking for something, anything, to distinguish your essay from the pile. I recommend that students try to find an adult other than their parents to help with essay editing. Parents are blinded by love and perhaps perfection. Strong teamwork skills are very important to colleges because they want to admit students who will work well with their classmates and other students on campus. Having strong teamwork experiences such as the ones you can get through Model UN can help strengthen your college applications. While this is a great way to get more information, it usually isn’t a very interactive experience. Rocio’s essay uses the tortilla-making story to introduce us to her sense of multiculturalism, an identity that is clearly important to her. By utilizing the example of struggling to cook well in the kitchen, the writer is able to effectively relate to readers of all ages and backgrounds. Each student needs to be able to claim authentic ownership of their essays. Mom and Dad may be great help during the brainstorming process of generating essay topics. Parents may know other details about the student that they should include in the essay.