interesting intel on the college essay

[Nicole M]

Maybe this is old news for some of you, but since it was new to me, I thought some of you might also find this interesting.

 

I attended a college search workshop with my 16 yo son, soon to be a junior, and we went to a session about writing the college essay. It was led by the director of admissions at Grinnell College. Turns out, most essays are about "My Mission Trip to Mexico" (or fill in the blank with the country) or overseas travel or a sports injury (?!). This man reads literally thousands of essays each year, and did a poll of other counselors to get a sense if his experience was shared, and it was. The essays that truly stand out are the ones about a job. A job! Apparently, very few teens work anymore.

 

My son is working 9 hours a week at a retirement home, serving dinner. He has perfectly hilarious conversations ("When are you going to Afgahnistan, son?" "Uh, I wasn't planning on going to Afghanistan, sir." "Oh! Well when I was your age, everyone got shipped of to WWII. I looked around, realized I was the last man left in Seattle, and thought, I gotta get out of here! So I signed up and off I went!"). So he's keeping a little journal with snippets of conversations in it, to save for the essay.

 

Another rather surprising thing I learned is that some applicants who are absolutely stellar students have been turned down for admission at fine schools because they seem to have no interests beyond themselves. In a "generational differences workshop" I attended (I have a part-time staff position at a college and work with students) and in the media, and here on these boards, I have been hearing quite a lot about the sense of entitlement that this current young generation feels. I wondered about a connection there.

 

Just thought I'd pass this stuff on. The job essay seemed like a good tip.

 

[ETA: I'm thinking about picking up Nickeled and Dimed for my son to read. The cooks and other servers at his job are lifetime near-minimum-wage employees, and interacting with them has been quite an eye-opener. The last cook was just arrested, in fact. If anyone has any other suggestions for reading material in this area, I'd love to hear.]

[AuntieM]

Or rather, that he, as a young man, is doing such a thing. I bet the seniors there enjoy seeing him and talking to him as much as he enjoys gathering their stories. Very neat! I think it's also important that he regards their words as noteworthy. Unfortunately, many these days do not see the value in taking out time to talk with older folks.

 

Pat him on the back for us!

[Nicole M]

Or rather, that he, as a young man, is doing such a thing. I bet the seniors there enjoy seeing him and talking to him as much as he enjoys gathering their stories. Very neat! I think it's also important that he regards their words as noteworthy. Unfortunately, many these days do not see the value in taking out time to talk with older folks.

 

Pat him on the back for us!

 

Oh, my goodness! What a nice thing to say. He really loves his job. In fact, yesterday he earned his shirt - an embroidered one with the logo and all. Until you work there 3 months, you have to wear your own white shirt (and launder it, which was getting old!). He's very proud of having earned that, because there's such terrific turnover at that place, not many teens do get that far.

 

My son went to Europe with his choir this summer, and all the residents missed him and are constantly asking him when the choir will come sing for them. So he's working on arranging that with his director. I find that very moving, and I'm super proud of him for that.

 

Thanks for your kind words.

[Michelle in MO]

Another rather surprising thing I learned is that some applicants who are absolutely stellar students have been turned down for admission at fine schools because they seem to have no interests beyond themselves. In a "generational differences workshop" I attended (I have a part-time staff position at a college and work with students) and in the media, and here on these boards, I have been hearing quite a lot about the sense of entitlement that this current young generation feels. I wondered about a connection there.

 

and congratulations to your son for working while being a teenager! My oldest has mentioned that she needs a job, and I really think it would be good for her. I think working at least a part-time job helps give a student a perspective of "otherness" that is so necessary. My niece once said, "Everyone should work in the service industry at least once in their lifetime." I'm not suggesting that teens should necessarily take jobs that don't challenge them. If one's child has an opportunity for a part-time job in a lawyer's office or as a vet assistant, by all means---go for it! But, sometimes it's important to work and sweat a bit, too. I worked as a nursing assistant throughout college, and it was not a picnic. However, I learned a lot through that experience.

 

Thanks for posting this, Nicole. College applications should be about more than just SAT and ACT scores, and students should look at a broader picture when enrolling for college.

[threetreasurs]

Interesting - my son wrote about his job!

[Jane in NC]

A family member who is a prof at a top LAC told me a few years ago that it seemed every applicant to his college volunteered at a soup kitchen that particular year. While he felt that the work was noble, it was clear that some kids only did it so that they would have an essay topic.

 

Echoing your comments was an article that I saw in the newspaper in the summer of '07 in which an admissions officer of a New England college commented that he thought applicants who held traditional summer jobs like scooping ice cream proved that they can be reliable. This was one reason that I asked in a post last spring if our WTM teens were planning on working or traveling in the summer.

 

Here is the link to that thread.

 

Jane