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Application essay questions are weird


Hilltopmom
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***ETA: just bumping this thread back up since Its that time of year & my kid & others are thinking about essays :)

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looking at the common app questions- ds has no idea what he would write for any of them.

 

He might take the Bravewriter college applications essay class, if it's offered again before he needs it.

 

He has until next fall, but he's not one to write about his feelings. Or write at all unless forced to.

 

He's like " can't I write a computer program instead?!"

Um, no honey, you can't.

 

How did your non writer, not touchy feels kids write such a personal essay?

 

Thanks

Edited by Hilltopmom
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2016-2017 Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

 

 

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

 

 

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

 

 

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

 

 

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

 

* the SUNY application also allows "write about any other topic you prefer"

My smart aleck says he can write about why he doesn't want to answer the other questions. Sigh. (I just keep repeating- "he's only 16, only 16, maybe the maturity jump comes next year")

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My non-creative-writer was nearly in tears over this stuff.  The biggie was really on a general scholarship application.  There were several questions like the above that she had to answer, in addition to ones about great accomplishments or her morality. (not opt out from or choose from, but had to answer).  She can write a research paper like nobodies' business, but to get her to write creatively or about her feelings is torture.  I don't understand why this is a thing.  All it really does is prove whether or not you can come up with a good spin.  

 

Also, she is just 16.  She's had a pretty easy middle-class life on top of that.  Those two things alone make for rather dull answers to those types of questions.   

Anyway, we slogged through it.  I'm not really holding my breath for her to stand out among the applicants though.  

Edited by The Girls' Mom
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* the SUNY application also allows "write about any other topic you prefer"

My smart aleck says he can write about why he doesn't want to answer the other questions. Sigh. (I just keep repeating- "he's only 16, only 16, maybe the maturity jump comes next year")

I know some admissions counselors who would love to get an essay like that!

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2016-2017 Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

 

 

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

 

 

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

 

 

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

 

 

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

 

* the SUNY application also allows "write about any other topic you prefer"

My smart aleck says he can write about why he doesn't want to answer the other questions. Sigh. (I just keep repeating- "he's only 16, only 16, maybe the maturity jump comes next year")

 

 

1, 2, and 4 can be written more analytically than emotionally.  

 

For #1, just write about whatever activity he likes to do.  You mentioned robotics and reenactments.  He could write about those matter-of-factly.  He could talk about both of them in the essay.  For #1 it looks like they're just trying to see what makes this student different from others.  Has he spent all his summers playing computer games on the couch, or has he done something interesting?  

 

#2.  He could write about a failure building something for robotics and how he handled it by not giving up, and worked through the frustration of a failed project by working at it harder.  He doesn't have to wax eloquent, but just display that he doesn't give up.  He tries again.  It doesn't have to be emotional.    

 

#4.  Solving a problem could be about anything.  It doesn't have to be a problem that reduced him to tears that he had to overcome through a mystic revelation.  If he can think of a time when he had to solve something on his own and you weren't there to help him, that would be good.  It looks like they're trying to see if this person can fly on their own when they get to college, or will they have to call you because they can't figure out how to wash their own clothes?  Does he have a time where "the buck stops here" and he knew he would have to take matters into his own hands for something?  My 14 year old recently got a job and there was a problem with his work schedule.  As his mom, I couldn't step in and talk to his boss for him.  He had to do it for himself, even though it was intimidating for him to deal with a boss for the first time.  (Actually, that might answer #5 better.)

Edited by Garga
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#1 is open ended and you can write about almost anything.

 

My son did the Brave Writer college essay class this fall. It was amazing. My non-writer senior wrote an amazing essay on question 5. Typical of other BW classes, they don't tell the student what to write about. I loved the process they had the students go through to brainstorm about topics for the questions. I think this class is only offered once a year in approx. Sept.

 

 

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We are not doing the common application but we did brainstorming sessions earlier in the process and common app's questions were included in our brainstorming process.

 

Mine writes creatively but has a hard time writing about himself.

 

When we brainstormed what to write, we did not look into fitting the prompts at first. We talked about all the things that were really important to him and made a list of those. We pulled up blog posts he had written when he used to keep a blog, some of my own notes of his homeschooling years, and nice things people had said about him (old LoRs, emails). I asked him to list all of these and I helped add to the list with his permission.

 

One of the suggestions I've heard is to carve the narrative first (what really drives you, what are you very proud of, what is one thing you wouldn't change about your life, what makes you laugh, what do you do in your free time, have you helped anyone in CC/DE venues etc.) and then look for a prompt that fits that narrative instead of choosing a prompt first and forcing yourself to answer it. DS did a bit of both but that advice to write your story first was helpful in showing him how important it is for him to be himself.

 

I also really liked the Johns Hopkins' Essays that Worked. DS consulted these before he started to write his essays for an idea of approaches to use.

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When we brainstormed what to write, we did not look into fitting the prompts at first.

.

.

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One of the suggestions I've heard is to carve the narrative first (what really drives you, what are you very proud of, what is one thing you wouldn't change about your life, what makes you laugh, what do you do in your free time, have you helped anyone in CC/DE venues etc.) and then look for a prompt that fits that narrative instead of choosing a prompt first and forcing yourself to answer it.

D had a difficult time with the Conmon App essay because she was so focused on the prompts. The topic she wanted to cover appeared to work with 3 of the prompts. I told her to just write the blasted essay and then decide which prompt worked the best!

 

D did have a narrative going into application season. I think that really helped with the applications that required multiple essays--"did I already talk about languages or MUN or ...?"

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Re: he's only 16, maybe the maturity jump will come next year

 

It has been my experience with four teenage boys that, yes, there is a HUGE maturity jump that happens in that last year of high school at age 17. My boys have been completely non-motivated, drifting, plan-less, and clueless until SOMETHING clicks in their heads at about 17-17 1/2. I don't know what it is, but it's enough to make any parent fearful that the child will never become a productive member of society. Then, practically overnight, POOF! Transformation. It's so weird. I don't know if girls are like that or not.

Edited by Kinsa
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My son is an analytical type, and his writing tends to be technically fine, but boring. He did the Bravewriter admissions essay class and his common app essay is so much better than I thought he was capable of. He just wrote about his favorite pastime, and he was able make it exciting and convey why he loves it. At the end of the class he printed out all his writings on the prompt from the first week to the last week and read it all in a row, and the improvement in the writing from beginning to end was just amazing. They do a great job of picking out little parts and showing them what to do more of and where to expand the ideas. It made me wish he'd done a Bravewriter class sooner.

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Ok, I'm feeling better about it, you guys convinced me :)

 

He wants to apply early decision to one school so will need essay done by early Nov, but if the BW class starts in Sept, that will work. Glad to hear good reviews about it!

 

He just finished up his second BW class & it was tough for him, but he got it done & his writing really is improving.

 

Btw- it never even occured to me that he could write about homeschooling for #1, it's so much a part of our life, I kinda forget that it's not run of the mill, lol.

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By the way, "IF" he's going to do the BW college admission essay class next fall, then I wouldn't do too much planning ahead of time. They are very good at walking the student through the process of picking a topic. If he wants to write about homeschooling then that's fine, but there may be other passions that he'd rather write about.

I was impressed with the process and it certainly wasn't our first BW class. It was tough for my non-writer to do, but he did an amazing job of portraying himself on paper. He then turned around and has used the same process to help him answer several more supplemental questions for college applications.

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I think it would be great to write about historical re-enacting. How unique!

 

It's okay to take a question and spin it in a way that it fits what the student wants to write about.

 

My daughter used #5, about the transition to adulthood, and wrote a neat essay that referenced her mountain running hobby, comparing a particular run to the journey to adulthood. I am making it sound goofy, but it was well done.

 

There were so many essays during the application process, and there was a fair amount of deciding what she wanted to write about and tweaking it to fit one of the questions.

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There were so many essays during the application process, and there was a fair amount of deciding what she wanted to write about and tweaking it to fit one of the questions.

Not to overwhelm you, but this is a point to keep in the back of your mind. Depending on the schools applied to and whether or not honors colleges or scholarships are applied to/for, there isn't really "an" application essay. Dd has written so many essays for her applications, I couldn't even tell you how many. She wrote 5 for one school alone and she still isn't done bc after she was accepted, it opened up the ability to applynto their global fellows program and she has essays to write for that now.

 

If I had a student who really struggled with personal essays, I would want them to start writing at least some of their essays over the summer so that they could get a head start on their applications. (Unless of course they are applying to schools without heavy essay applications. )

 

I would create a fake student acct for all the schools he is interested applying to and go through their applications right now before they close and create a spreadsheet with all of their essay prompts for this yr and have him practice writing those now.

Edited by 8FillTheHeart
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I agree that depending on the colleges a student is applying to there could be many essays to write. My daughter currently is applying to 12 schools with the same number of essays though several only required the basis common application essay. She started writing last summer so that she had rough drafts, but as she needs a real deadline to finish things, a number of the essays started last summer are only now getting done. She did use her common app essay early on for her less competitive schools and then polished it up for her more selective schools. In the process, my daughter has learned to analyze the prompt to determine what exactly a school wants to see in the essay. If she had understood that earlier, she might have been able streamline the process slightly.

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Re: he's only 16, maybe the maturity jump will come next year

 

It has been my experience with four teenage boys that, yes, there is a HUGE maturity jump that happens in that last year of high school at age 17. My boys have been completely non-motivated, drifting, plan-less, and clueless until SOMETHING clicks in their heads at about 17-17 1/2. I don't know what it is, but it's enough to make any parent fearful that the child will never become a productive member of society. Then, practically overnight, POOF! Transformation. It's so weird. I don't know if girls are like that or not.

This happens at 25 in our family, which is why I keep saying we are late bloomers. : )

 

Nan

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Two of mine had a very straightforward essay prompt that required no soul searching or breast baring. The other son put it off and then wrote what was more a poem crossed with something out of a math book than an essay. I had given him, wthout reading it myself, a book on college essay writing but he ignored it, saying he had glanced at it and found it useless because there was no way he was writing an essay like that. I was really happy about that when I got around to looking at the book. He was right. There is no way my creative but technical son was writing like that. What he came up with stunned us. It probably stunned the admissions department, too, hahaha. Apparently, it didn,t keep them from accepting him, and since they are a tech school that tries to take creative thinkers, I suspect his essay wasn,t the first very atypical one they dealt with. Tell your son to apply problem solving to his essay and do it that way. That,s how youngest came up with what he did. The problem is to write something that tells colleges who he is, what is unique about him.

 

Nan

Edited by Nan in Mass
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I am under the impression that OP has a student aiming for selective schools. So my thoughts here don't really apply but in case anyone is lurking:

 

My personal opinion is for the majority of students at the majority of schools the personal essay should not cause so much angst. Most admissions are pretty much just based on test scores and GPA. My ds applied to ten schools including major state universities (though NOT public Ivies), small liberal arts colleges of varying selectivity, and a couple of Colleges that Change Lives schools. I think his admissions/scholarship decisions were based on test scores.

 

For highly competitive admissions, definitely pour over those essays and make them as profound and clever and perfect as they can be! But- before stressing yourself or your kid out make sure it will even matter. In our case I really just felt like ds needed something "good enough" and that proved to be true. Next ds probably won't need to write one at all for his target schools. The next kid probably will have to write lots. Just my .02 reminding people to make sure this is even something to stress over before you make your kid or yourself crazy!

Edited by teachermom2834
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Great point!

I'm the OP, he's not actually aiming for selective schools, I don't think.

 

He was originally, after attending summer programs at RPI, UVM, & Cornell, but after visiting some of our state schools that offer the same programs & being impressed by their programs, & some candid talks with us about our own college experience & student loan experiences, he's now leaning more towards a state U (ours are not "too" selective).

 

You're right, the admissions staff we met with (at 3 state Us) said test scores & high school record is really what gets you admitted (essay required however). Their scholarships are based solely on test scores & GPA.

 

Good perspective, thanks :). I make myself craxy often enough, lol.

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I am under the impression that OP has a student aiming for selective schools. So my thoughts here don't really apply but in case anyone is lurking:

 

My personal opinion is for the majority of students at the majority of schools the personal essay should not cause so much angst. Most admissions are pretty much just based on test scores and GPA. My ds applied to ten schools including major state universities (though NOT public Ivies), small liberal arts colleges of varying selectivity, and a couple of Colleges that Change Lives schools. I think his admissions/scholarship decisions were based on test scores.

 

For highly competitive admissions, definitely pour over those essays and make them as profound and clever and perfect as they can be! But- before stressing yourself or your kid out make sure it will even matter. In our case I really just felt like ds needed something "good enough" and that proved to be true. Next ds probably won't need to write one at all for his target schools. The next kid probably will have to write lots. Just my .02 reminding people to make sure this is even something to stress over before you make your kid or yourself crazy!

I was talking to a director of admissions at a private, somewhat competitive (not Ivy) university this past week who said that one thing they have been looking for is "Is this essay age appropriate (for a 17-year old)?"--in writing style, content, and emotional maturity.  If not, they are assuming that the essay was written, or heavily edited, by a writing coach and is not the student's work. 

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I was talking to a director of admissions at a private, somewhat competitive (not Ivy) university this past week who said that one thing they have been looking for is "Is this essay age appropriate (for a 17-year old)?"--in writing style, content, and emotional maturity. If not, they are assuming that the essay was written, or heavily edited, by a writing coach and is not the student's work.

 

Interesting!! I have a family member in admissions at one of the more highly regarded public universities in our region. She said it was all numbers. She said the volume of applications just does not allow any kind of holistic review.

 

My ds had to write two essays for our state flagship. He got his acceptance back very quickly. I want to say the turnaround was maybe 48 hours. Color me skeptical that his essays were even read.

 

So, just a vote to keep the importance of essays in perspective for the situation. There is enough to freak out about even without essay angst!

 

I know someone will pipe in about needing the essays for scholarships and honors programs. In our experience those either did not require essays or the essays appeared to be formalities.

 

I need to reiterate that our experience is not with top tier schools. Our family doesn't do that :)

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I was talking to a director of admissions at a private, somewhat competitive (not Ivy) university this past week who said that one thing they have been looking for is "Is this essay age appropriate (for a 17-year old)?"--in writing style, content, and emotional maturity. If not, they are assuming that the essay was written, or heavily edited, by a writing coach and is not the student's work.

That would suggest that all kids are going to be on the same level.

 

My sr's writing is incredibly mature. Her favorite literature is epic poetry or classics like Pride and Prejudice. She is an excellent writer with a broad vocabulary (her languages influence that as well). I hope they don't think her essays weren't written by her, bc they were. :(

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That would suggest that all kids are going to be on the same level.

 

My sr's writing is incredibly mature. Her favorite literature is epic poetry or classics like Pride and Prejudice. She is an excellent writer with a broad vocabulary (her languages influence that as well). I hope they don't think her essays weren't written by her, bc they were. :(

I didn't get the impression that they would think that all students should be at the same level.  It was more that they expected to see consistency across the courses the student had taken, the types of extracurricular activities the student had been involved in, test scores, and the writing of the essay.  

 

The admissions director was suggesting that they are not surprised to see a 17-year old male write an essay about what he learned about problem solving playing a video game or the concept of bravery in a Manga they read.  The sophistication of the writing is only part of what is being considered.  In the director's opinion, many high school students (or parents) were stressing out over these essays much more than necessary.  She pointed out that most are quickly read by young admissions counselors who do not necessarily have sophisticated writing skills themselves.       

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She is an excellent writer with a broad vocabulary (her languages influence that as well). I hope they don't think her essays weren't written by her, bc they were. :(

 

I was thinking of this myself.  How many times have bright kids been accused a plagiarism because their work was too good for their age?  (I've heard of this happening to local homeschoolers.)  Humph.  

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I didn't get the impression that they would think that all students should be at the same level. It was more that they expected to see consistency across the courses the student had taken, the types of extracurricular activities the student had been involved in, test scores, and the writing of the essay.

 

The admissions director was suggesting that they are not surprised to see a 17-year old male write an essay about what he learned about problem solving playing a video game or the concept of bravery in a Manga they read. The sophistication of the writing is only part of what is being considered. In the director's opinion, many high school students (or parents) were stressing out over these essays much more than necessary. She pointed out that most are quickly read by young admissions counselors who do not necessarily have sophisticated writing skills themselves.

Thank you for expanding on your original comment bc that puts what you shared into a different context.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 8 months later...

The Bravewriter class still has openings. I'd like ds to take it, but he has a heavy DE load fall semester & wants his essay done in the next few weeks before classes start.

(Not that he's started working on it yet)

 

He's decided not to apply to any very selective schools, so I'm trying not to worry about his essay "too" much.

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Here are the two essay questions my son can choose from (thankfully we have about 7 months before it is due.)  We will have him apply to more than one school, but here is the one from our college tour from today:

 

Choose one of the following:

 

A) Describe the first time you heard about [Our College]. Include two things that we offer that you believe will be most beneficial for you.

B) Tell us why you feel [Our College] is a better fit for you over another college that you were considering. Be sure to refer to specific colleges for comparison.

Essays should be 300-500 words presented in a professional format. Please include your name at the top of the essay.

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A couple questions ds really enjoyed answering:

 

Notre Dame required 2 essays from 4 options.  His favorite was "Take a risk."  When he met his admissions reader, she commented that his response made it clear that he understood the nature of the prompt.

 

A couple schools asked students to describe a course that they would design for the school.  He had a proposal that was interdisciplinary (history and physics) and explained why he thought it was a course worth offering.  The two schools that ended up as his top two choices both had offered very similar courses in the past (although he didn't know that at the time he wrote the essays).

 

 

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Notre Dame required 2 essays from 4 options.  His favorite was "Take a risk."  When he met his admissions reader, she commented that his response made it clear that he understood the nature of the prompt.

 

 

 

Okay, I'll admit I don't understand the nature of that prompt.  What in the world did he write about?  

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Okay, I'll admit I don't understand the nature of that prompt.  What in the world did he write about?  

 

Wartime national security decision making.  Written in Latin.

 

 

And it ended up being a good representative of what he's like.  Apt to quote Hamilton, Doctor Who and Homer in the same conversation.

Edited by Sebastian (a lady)
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Wartime national security decision making.  Written in Latin.

 

 

And it ended up being a good representative of what he's like.  Apt to quote Hamilton, Doctor Who and Homer in the same conversation.

 

Wow.  I am impressed.  Good for him!  

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