Should You Ask For Help: College & Grad School Essays:

I'm the first to admit that the college application essay culture has gotten out of hand.
The purpose of the Common Application was to streamline the procedure, make less work for students and schools, not more. The idea of having two required essays - the 500-worder that stresses everyone out and a shorter one on a job or after-school activity - was that it would give the school a more personal look at the student; a gander beyond grades and SATs. A great idea, until many schools started adding additional essays to their applications. The result? Instead of writing two essays, depending on where students apply, they could end up having to write five, eight or ten of them. It seems like every bit of a student's free time is eaten up writing application essays. But often students ask me what the purpose of all the essays is, and I know there may be a method to the madness. The schools use the additional essays to help them distinguish further between candidates - and to cut down on applications. Only those who are serious about a school will go to the trouble of crafting essay after essay, especially when the essays ask you create courses or to hold forth on obscure quotations. Putting up another roadblock for admission may be the best way for the school to measure a student's interest in the institution. If you're applying to college or graduate school, and you need some help with these essays, please give me a call or email me. I have a sliding fee scale, and am eager to help. ebenedict@earthlink.net 1-855-99-ESSAY I look forward to hearing from you~~ ~~ Liz