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Writing Their Way In
The College Application Essay Helps Students Look Good on Paper10/29/04
"If you could balance on a tightrope, over what landscape would you walk? (No net.)" (University of Chicago)
"Recall an occasion when you took a risk that you now know was the right thing to do." (University of Pennsylvania)
"Who are you?" (Eugene Lang College)
When it comes time to answer these questions, who should students ask for help? Their English teacher? Their college counselor? Their best friend?
None of the above, says Sarah Myers McGinty in the newly revised edition of her book, The College Application Essay, published by the College Board. All of the above people can (and often do) help in little ways, but the best helpers are a student's parents.
More colleges than ever require students to submit an essay with their applications, yet many report a declining trend in the quality and appeal of applicant writing. The College Application Essay teaches students how to write vivid, distinctive essays to support their bids for competitive colleges.
New in this edition is a chapter for parents, which explains how they can aid the writing process—without interfering in it. Today's parents often think they will only add pressure if they bring up the essay at the dinner table. But research that McGinty recently conducted for the National Association for College Admission Counseling shows that students get the most and most useful, help on the essay from their parents.
"The crux of any application question is 'tell us about yourself,'" says McGinty. "Colleges want to meet the person who's behind all the grades, test scores, and achievement awards. Parents, regardless of their own educational experiences, can help their children think about who they really are, about what colleges should know about them."
The College Application Essay helps students find their voice and be "heard" on paper with lessons on the thought processes that lead to good writing. "There are a handful of simple ways for students to write a vivid and individual essay," says McGinty. "One thing I stress is that they shouldn't think of the application essay as a crushing, unfamiliar assignment—they've had a lot of writing practice before senior year."
Beyond that advice, the book also includes dozens of current essay questions and topics, multiple-response strategies, and insight from admissions directors and guidance professionals on how applicants' essays are evaluated.
The book is 160 pages, softcover, and available in bookstores everywhere at a suggested retail price of $15.95 ($23.95 in Canada). College Board books are distributed by Henry Holt and Company, New York.
About the Author
Sarah Myers McGinty has spent her career working in college admissions and teaching writing at both the secondary and college levels. She has researched and published works on the college essay, the role of student writing in self-advocacy, and verbal communication. Her articles have appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, English Journal, and other national publications. She is currently an adviser in the teacher education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Members of the media who would like to request a review copy or to speak with Sarah Myers McGinty can contact Jennifer Topiel at 212 713-8052 or via email at jtopiel@collegeboard.org.