Homeschooled students who are looking for big college scholarships need to write really impressive application essays. Most essays require the student to answer specific questions, such as "Evaluate a significant experience, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you", or "Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you." Sometimes, students won't have any idea how their experiences intersect with the essay prompt, and they will need your help to come up with ideas.
When our sons were first writing application essays, they had to write on this topic of diversity. We left them alone to brainstorm, but they came back with no idea of what to write about. My husband and I worked with them to brainstorm all of the different possibilities they could write about. We wrote as many brainstorming ideas as we could think of on that topic, and showed them to our children, and asked, "which one do you think would be the thing that you could write on that had to do with diversity?" They would then choose that one thing and begin writing.
Sometimes we noticed that we understood the questions on the essay prompt slightly differently than our children did. For example, with the question on diversity, my children's initial response was, "I don't have anything to say about diversity because I am a white male." They didn't understand that the college was asking how they interacted with people who were different from themselves. We were able to put this in context and remind them, "you've been teaching chess at the Chinese Academy for three years, you've been dealing with a lot of people who are different, so why don't you talk about one of those stories?" Then they were able to take it from there.
It's important to remember that essays are written by the student and have to have the student's voice. Colleges will know immediately if a parent has helped too much. However, parents can provide edits. The process will go more smoothly if you brainstorm the topic together, let the child choose, have them write it the first time through, and then edit it together. It does have to be perfect with grammar, spelling and everything. Sometimes people want it edited again by another person outside the family to make sure that nothing is missed, and then the student corrects the essay again, incorporating any edits suggested.
Education is, of course, more than writing great application essays. Your kids must be well prepared for the rigors of college life. Failing to aim for college during high school is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School."
Sample Essay
Academic Essays
When our sons were first writing application essays, they had to write on this topic of diversity. We left them alone to brainstorm, but they came back with no idea of what to write about. My husband and I worked with them to brainstorm all of the different possibilities they could write about. We wrote as many brainstorming ideas as we could think of on that topic, and showed them to our children, and asked, "which one do you think would be the thing that you could write on that had to do with diversity?" They would then choose that one thing and begin writing.
Sometimes we noticed that we understood the questions on the essay prompt slightly differently than our children did. For example, with the question on diversity, my children's initial response was, "I don't have anything to say about diversity because I am a white male." They didn't understand that the college was asking how they interacted with people who were different from themselves. We were able to put this in context and remind them, "you've been teaching chess at the Chinese Academy for three years, you've been dealing with a lot of people who are different, so why don't you talk about one of those stories?" Then they were able to take it from there.
It's important to remember that essays are written by the student and have to have the student's voice. Colleges will know immediately if a parent has helped too much. However, parents can provide edits. The process will go more smoothly if you brainstorm the topic together, let the child choose, have them write it the first time through, and then edit it together. It does have to be perfect with grammar, spelling and everything. Sometimes people want it edited again by another person outside the family to make sure that nothing is missed, and then the student corrects the essay again, incorporating any edits suggested.
Education is, of course, more than writing great application essays. Your kids must be well prepared for the rigors of college life. Failing to aim for college during high school is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School."
Sample Essay
Academic Essays
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