The first draft of the essay is done. It’s loose; it needs editing. On the other hand, he sat down and wrote it on his own with the parameters he set and within the required number of words. This is a really stressful process for everyone, but mostly Sticks. I think he’d rather have teeth pulled than do this again.
My gut was right; we talked about the different applications and decided not to do the USC, UCLA and UCSB apps. As he put it, the only places he’s really interested in attending are the ones with the best of the best jazz drumset instructors, and those are UNT, IU, and CSUN. That dropped my stress level by a factor of about 200%, since the ones we dropped were the ones with the most onerous requirements. Here’s what some other bloggers think:
From Jennifer (at Cornell University): SATACTGRELSATMCAT Alphabet Soup
The college application process has just turned into a 3-ring circus show, where you are the clown juggling five seals while playing the harmonica, swinging via trapeze, and trying to get the attention of the audience. Overhyped like “Snakes on a Plane” and just not healthy.
First semester seniors have always been a pretty anxious bunch, I ventured. You’ve got to prepare for your final crack at the SAT, decide whether it’s worth the gamble of applying early admission, put the finishing touches on applications — all the while trying to snag the best grades in impressive classes.
So, first there is the need to overcome that teenage insecurity, be humble, yet boast, sound confident and do all that in respectable English. I overlook the slang and instant messaging language so prevalent and work with students on extracting what I find so appealing about them. They all have it – that appealing thing. For some it is simply the way their closet looks and for others it is their personal experience of sitting together at a family meal. The good news is that these students are willing to open up with someone like me knowing that I do not evaluate, judge, grade or accept or deny them. It is an honorable and trusted relationship.
Marz:
500 words to say something that they’ve never seen before and come from an angle that hasn’t been measured precisely with a protractor. I have to write a fake one for my English class telling who I am, and I’m wandering around thinking, “WHO AM I?” I don’t feel as though I could write something original or that they haven’t seen before or that doesn’t break any of the million rules we’re learning about college entrance essays.
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