College Essays Helping Others

Parents are involved, and in some ways that’s a good thing.A joint study by researchers from UCLA and the American Academy of Pediatrics that was published in the journal Pediatrics in 2015 shows a direct link between a parent’s expectation that a child will attend college and the child’s academic success in primary and secondary school.Just 500 to 700 words long, the admissions essay is make-it-or-break-it for your average high school senior.

“Not every college or university has the chance to meet every applicant,” says Stephanie S. a way for a student to convey their interests, passions, reflections or future goals.” [Want your child to get into college and have a good life?

Espina, director of freshman admissions at Adelphi University in Garden City, N. “The essay is an opportunity to get to know the student on a more personal level . Here’s how.] But college isn’t just about kids’ goals anymore.

But parental expectation is like the mythical hydra when it comes to college admissions.

Where one head may be silenced with a glowing recommendation letter from a basketball coach or band director, another is already popping up to shout, “But what about that essay!?

“Where the essay really counts is if you’re a bubble candidate, where your grades are just so-so, and at very highly selective schools,” Jump says.

Like counselors at other high schools throughout the country, Jump has seen a spike in the number of parents turning to paid coaches for that little extra help.

Often those kids are in public schools where the counselors on staff just can’t keep up — not surprising when you consider the average public high school guidance counselor manages a caseload of 476 kids.

The fact that those public school counselors exist at all should give some direction to parents who are unsure whether it’s okay to give — or pay for — essay help.

And of course there’s the message it sends to your child — that you can buy their way into college (and who knows what after) and that Mom and Dad will take care of the tough stuff in life.

“The longer-term ethical implications are important to consider as well,” James says.