To Help or Not to Help: A Parent's Role in the Application Essay Process

As parents, watching our children prepare for the next big step in their academic journey—college applications—can stir up feelings of pride, excitement, and some worry. The college application essay is one of the many crucial tasks to accomplish. It’s the way your child can share his voice, experiences, and aspirations with college admissions committees. The question is: To what extent should you help your child with this essential piece of writing?

The Fine Line of Assistance

Offering support to your child during this process is expected, natural, and beneficial, but it's important to distinguish between providing helpful guidance and overstepping boundaries. Encouragement, brainstorming, and offering feedback can empower your child while ensuring the essay remains a true reflection of their individuality and abilities.

 

Encouragement and Motivation

Making sure your child stays organized and starts working on the essay early can significantly ease the application essay and college admissions process. Your parental role in setting and supervising a timeline and providing reminders will keep your child on track without direct involvement in the writing itself.

Brainstorming and Reflecting

Helping your child brainstorm ideas for their essay is another collaborative way to ensure the narrative reflects their true self. You’ve been there since the beginning of their lives; you can remember stories and anecdotes about your child’s life that they might not have thought to include in their essays. This is about unlocking their stories and providing insights, not writing their experiences for them.

Constructive Feedback

Offering constructive feedback on readability, clarity, grammar, and structure can enhance your child's essay. However, the focus should be on empowering them to express their ideas more effectively, not on altering their message or voice.

Ethical Considerations and Authenticity

The importance of maintaining authenticity in an application essay cannot be overstated. Admission essays must be written in the student's own voice to offer a genuine glimpse into their character and potential. Serious ethical concerns can arise when parents or hired writing services take on too heavy a hand in the writing process. Don’t take the risk of submitting work that does not truthfully represent your child’s writing abilities or life perspectives.

The Fine Line Between Academic Honesty and Dishonesty

Plagiarism and dishonesty in the college application process can have far-reaching consequences. Colleges seek students who demonstrate integrity, and the essay is a litmus test. Even an imperfect essay is the better essay if it’s authentic.

The Value of the Struggle

The very process of writing an application essay is a valuable learning experience in itself because it challenges students to define their achievements and aspirations. The impact of the process is lessened when parents or professional writing services overstep ethical boundaries, which robs the student of an important opportunity for personal growth.

Professional Editing and Proofreading Assistance: A Measured Approach

Limited professional help for editing, proofreading, and consulting can be beneficial to your child, provided it's used ethically. These services are there to correct grammatical errors and improve essay structure, ensuring the submission is polished and professional. Remember, writing assistance should take on the role of enhancing the student's original work.

Admission Essay Consulting

Brainstorming assistance can also be very helpful to students who are struggling to nail down ideas for their essays. Consultation services can provide valuable guidance on how to approach essay prompts and structure narratives effectively. Still, the creative and intellectual effort must be the student's own.

Real-Life Success Stories

Consider the case of Ellen, a high school senior from Vermont, who worked with Application Essay Master to refine her application essays. We provided feedback on structure and clarity, enabling Ellen to articulate her experiences running a community garden more compellingly. Ellen's essays remained authentically hers, with the added polish that helped her stand out. She was admitted to her first-choice college, attributing her success to the genuine representation of her passions and achievements.

Jonah, a student athlete from California, took another route: he sought his favorite English teacher's advice on his essays. The teacher's insights helped Jonah convey the lessons learned through sports with greater impact, without drowning out his voice. Jonah's essays resonated with admissions officers, and he got accepted to a competitive university sports program with a full scholarship to boot!

A Child is Never Too Old to Need Some Guidance

The college application essay is a unique opportunity for high-school students to convey their stories, values, and aspirations to college admissions committees. As parents, your encouragement and support are invaluable for guiding your child through the process. Yet, respecting the boundary between helping out and taking over is crucial for the essay to remain a true representation of your child's individuality and abilities.

At Application Essay Master, we understand the delicate balance required in this process. Our editing and proofreading services are designed to enhance your child's work, ensuring their voice shines through. If you're looking for an even-handed partner to help you and your child navigate the essay writing journey, remember, we’re here to help. Call us today!