First Message:
Dear Colleagues:
The College Board National Forum in Chicago last weekend... HUGE turnout at the
session on Application Essays.... The handouts are available and can be
found at: http://www.mcgintyconsulting.com/SeniorMantras.pdf
...
I hope this is helpful to those...looking for materials for supporting their
seniors' application process."
Used with permission, from Sarah McGinty, HGSE, Cambridge, MA
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Terry James Mohaupt, tmohaupt@chicago.us.mensa.org
- Illinois Association for Gifted Children Parent Affiliates Chairman
- Boone/Winnebago Regional Office of Education KIDS Advisory Board
Second Message:
At Sarah Lawrence we have long required that students submit
a three to
five page graded writing sample as part of their application, and we have
found this essay to be extremely helpful in determining whether a student
will be up to the significant amount of writing that will be asked of them.
As mentioned in an earlier post, we also learn a great deal about the
nature of the school and the level of the writing instruction which helps
us place the students and their schools in a larger context. Each year, I
am surprised and discouraged by the number of students who tell us that
they have not been asked to write an analytical paper in junior or senior
year, and this tells us quite a bit about their school. (In this case, we
ask students to write us a three page paper on a topic of their choice.)
Just as we used to evaluate test scores in the context of a student's
preparation and resources, we consider these same factors when evaluating
their graded writing sample. Sometimes we learn that a student's low
English grade is due more to late papers that are brilliant rather than
poorly written paper. Other times we learn that the A in AP English is a
result of writing a standard, undeveloped paper that is full of errors.
Both are helpful and welcome pieces of information.
We also appreciate this writing sample because students often send us first
and second drafts of a paper, which allows us to see how they revise and
edit- two skills which we feel are crucial to the writing process.
Comparing the voices that are coming through in the graded paper, personal
essays, and short answer questions helps us to get the deepest view of who
the student is and how they will manage in our very writing intensive
program. I have also learned more than I ever thought I could about
Heart
of Darkness, Hamlet and The Scarlet Letter, so I've got that going for me!
Thyra L. Briggs
Dean of Enrollment
Sarah Lawrence College
One Mead Way
Bronxville, NY 10708
P: 914-395-2510
F: 914-395-2515
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Terry James Mohaupt, tmohaupt@chicago.us.mensa.org
- Illinois Association for Gifted Children Parent Affiliates Chairman
- Boone/Winnebago Regional Office of Education KIDS Advisory Board
Third Message:
Sole Authorship
By Randy Giarraputo, Director of College Guidance at Metairie Park
Country Day School and Peter Caruso, Associate Director of Undergraduate
Admissions, Boston College.
Two or three decades ago, college admissions was easier in many ways. Now with
the increase in number of students applying, applications, and the emphasis
placed on the right school, things have changed. The college admissions process
has recently been barraged with cottage industries to help students through the
process. Some of these are legitimate and do serve a purpose for counselors who
are asked to advise more and more students or students who dont have access to
a college counselor. Others border on the unethical and are scams. One area of
concern to all of us is sole authorship of the application and essay.
In the Statement of Students Rights and Responsibilities students are
told, When you apply to colleges and universities you have responsibilitiesAs
You ApplyYou should be the sole author of your application. (II.B.1.) And in The
Statement of Principles of Good Practice a statement that counselors will
encourage students to be the sole authors of their applications and essays and
will counsel against inappropriate assistance on the part of others. (II.B.9)
What is appropriate and what is not appropriate? This is difficult to define.
Easily having someone else write any or all of your essay or application is
inappropriate. But, how about the teacher or counselor evaluating an essay and
discussing it with the student? How about having someone type your application
or essay?
In secondary schools it is a regular occurrence to have a teacher read over the
student work (essays, reports, papers, etc.) in draft form for input. The
student then rewrites the draft using these suggestions and hands it in for a
grade. This is no different than a college student going to the writing center
or professor for help. The problem arises when this input is in the form of
re-writing all or part of the student work.
There are some companies that will sell essays to students. Other companies
will take the students main ideas and give suggestions on how to write the
essay, indicating what should and should not be included and how it should be
included. They will then proofread making the usual suggestions, but also
stylistic changes. The end result is a perfect essay to be submitted to
colleges that in many cases crosses the line of receiving inappropriate help.
What are some ways we can help to distinguish from appropriate and
inappropriate help on the application and essays?
Require an acknowledgement statement. In this statement, the student must list
those who have assisted in the filing out of the application and essay.
Colleges could specify which type of assistance needs to be statedtyping,
discussion, proofreading, etc.
Require the student to sign the application that all the information is the
students own work.
Ask for a graded piece of work from the student. This not only serves to
demonstrate what the student is capable of, but can also be used by the
colleges to understand the standards at the specific high school.
Continually emphasize to the students what sole authorship is and what it is
not. This should be done by the secondary school counselors as well as the
college representatives in meetings at individual high schools and in
information sessions on campus or at College Fairs and College Nights.
We all need to educate our students and parents concerning sole authorship
whenever we have an opportunity. In this way, not only will we be able to more
accurately evaluate the students during the admission process, but also we will
make them more responsible for their own work while in high school and college.
Used with permission.
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Terry James Mohaupt, tmohaupt@chicago.us.mensa.org
- Illinois Association for Gifted Children Parent Affiliates Chairman
- Boone/Winnebago Regional Office of Education KIDS Advisory Board