Application Essays and Involvement of Parents

Following on from our previous post on the application essay, we found an article on parents involvement in the process.

The article entitled Is it a Parent's Right to Read Their Kids College Essay? details Shelley Emling's journey through her child's college applications.


What are you thoughts? Are college essays personal? Should a parent have the right to read the application essays? Let us know what you think!

Finding Your Voice: Writing a Personal Essay for College Admissions

Over the summer holidays our Grade 11 students will work on college essays for US admissions and they will write a personal statement for UK admissions. Some other country destinations or specific universities/ colleges may require a statement of purpose or ask the question, “Why do you want to study at X Higher Learning Institute?”

Admissions offices don’t just come up with these questions just for the fun of it. There is a real purpose to all of this. Admissions officers, when they read these essays and statements, are trying to gauge a student’s personality. They have the numbers already: attainment grades, predicted grades, standarised test scores, admissions test scores. In addition to the numbers they want to make sure that the student and the university/course are a perfect fit.  For US Admissions purposes, students will write on an essay topic on the common application and will be required to write a few more essays for individual university applications. For the UK, students will write a personal statement on the UCAS website. This personal statement is not tailored to a specific university, it is generally about demonstrated passion for the intended course of study.

It’s nerve-racking for most students. They know why they want to study somewhere but they are not quite sure how to articulate it.  We have some tips on that for students:

• Free- Write. Write for 15 minutes, without stopping, without editing. Just write. Whatever comes into your mind. Hopefully, you will find a thought will pop into your head that you can then expand on. Continue doing this until you are able to tease out a topic.

• Ask yourself questions. Then you must answer them. Why are you applying to college? What do you hope to gain? Why do you want to study at this place? Why do you want to pursue this course? What have you learned about this place? What have you learned about this course?

• Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Think about how you have changed since you    arrived at UWCSEA- East. What have you learned about yourself? How were you able to handle challenges?

• Think about your activities (Make sure your resume is up to date). Look at your CAS reflections. Find several significant moments in your activities and try and think about what they meant to you. What did you gain?

• Demonstrate Passion: Research the course/major you would like to pursue. Look at university course outlines. See what they offer and link those with things you already do/have done.

• Take a risk. Write a Dangerous Essay.

• Be Honest. If you are, you cannot go wrong. If you’re asked a question in an interview, you will be able to answer it.

• Write using your voice. Admissions officers, like your teachers, can pick up when something does not sound like you. Yes, get help with proof-reading to ensure you’re not making silly mistakes, but ensure the essay is true to who you are.

• Avoid writing about the three D’s: Death, Divorce and Destruction

• Brainstorm. Write. Proof-read. Revise.  The writing process is an important element in ensuring your essay will be of the best possible quality.

We’re running a 7-week writing workshop right now. We intend to offer it again in Season Four. In addition, all Grade 11 students will attend a session, in May, with their university advisor on personal essays and subject specific essays.  We, as University Advisors, will also offer feedback of essays and personal statements after the summer break.

We encourage you to find your passion, find your voice, and write!

Academic Summer Programs

Many colleges and universities offer academic summer programs.  We are often asked whether participating in such a program with increase the chances of getting admitted to the university where it is held.  Our advice is that you should do a summer program only if you are genuinely interested in the content of the program itself.  There is no dotted-line between a university’s summer program and their university admissions office and summer program participation does not automatically increase your chances of getting in to any particular university.  However, they can help you get a sense of what campus life and university-level study are like, and can help you develop skills that will be required in your college research and application process.

A subject-specific summer program (e.g. Art & Design, Engineering, Philosophy, Film, Political Science, Mathematics, etc) can last from one to eight weeks and may offer many benefits.

• learn more about a field you are potentially interested in or rule out fields you thought you might like
• study an academic field that you already like at a more advanced level
• get a taste of university-level study, get a feel of life on a university campus
• produce material towards a future portfolio (Art/Design/Music/Drama) for uni applications
• acquire course credits that you can later submit as part of uni applications
• get a recommendation letter from a professor who taught you in the summer program for future uni applications
• get experience that you can use in a Personal Statement or university essay as evidence of your passion and understanding of your chosen field of study

There are also academic programs combined with university research/application advice and university tours.  Such programs can provide helpful knowledge of the university research and application process, and jumpstart working on drafts of application essays.  Leadership or other “themed” summer programs offer you a chance to interact with peers from within the host country (and elsewhere) while engaging in a series of seminars/events/interactive workshops etc. organized around a theme or idea, for example, global leadership, international finance, etc. Some of these programs require you to be nominated by your school or are by invitation only.

Summer programs are typically quite expensive: typically several thousand dollars for a two to three week experience, so families should be sure the program is accredited and well-regarded.  Unsolicited invitations for “exclusive” opportunities should be viewed with skepticism.  While the University Advising Centre does not endorse any summer programs, we can share stories of programs where former students have had good experiences.

Certain summer programs require a reference from a teacher or evidence of high school grades.  It is fine for students to approach teachers directly to ask for such references (these are different from university application references which are managed by the University Advising Centre).

Academic summer programs are certainly not essential for university applications.  Colleges and universities value ANY kind of meaningful experience that you have during your summers/holidays—this could be work experience (paid or unpaid), volunteer work, travel/cultural experiences, spending time with friends/family, or a combination of several of these things. What's important is not how much money you spend to attend a fancy summer program at a prestigious university but what you learn from the opportunities that are available to you.   So plan to do something meaningful this summer!

Follow the Announcements page on our UAC Google Site to learn more about academic summer program opportunities.

Many thanks to our Dover UAC colleagues for sharing their wisdom on this topic.