College essays are not an assignment to “get done.”
College essays are not defined by the word count or format.
College essays are not a resume-like listing of a young person’s achievements, hoping the admissions evaluator intuits their potential thus grants admissions.
College essays are not bounded by the (mis)interpretation of a prompt.
College essays are not prose-like panderings to what the applicant (or their parents) believe the college admissions officer wants to hear in order to game an acceptance, but possibly under false (or the at least contrived) pretenses.
Yet, too many college applicants (and their parents) believe one or more of the aforementioned misconceptions, which are passed from one class to the next via all channels of communication imagined, biasedly confirmed when a graduating senior receives a college acceptance (or many).
Toiling under such assumptions, families too often simply purchase a college education, as a supposed insurance policy guaranteeing lifelong prosperity—only to malinvest. Families miss the crucial opportunity embedded within the college application process—the epic quest of a young person to realize their purpose for which they took birth.
Writing the college essays is the culmination of the modern day Hero’s Journey, when a teenage college applicant endures to develop confidence in their inherent ability, forged during a thorough, methodical, and critical self-reflection about their experiences throughout their lifetimes to ultimately articulate their life’s calling.
Yet, just as in any quest, a hero rarely traverses their journey solo; wise, seasoned guides are needed, providing pith advice at crucial moments. Thus, modern day college applicants need their own Gandolf, if you will, to guide them to illuminate their good qualities, then provide editorial support to objectively articulate their fledgling awareness to college admissions officers, all while unravelling previous misconceptions about the college essays.
While parents often volunteer their guidance, teens may not be so welcoming of their parents’ wisdom, creating tensions. In such an emotionally fraught situation, parents and teens can unwittingly damage their relationship for which the consequences may not manifest until decades later, only adding insult to the injury of potential college malinvestment.
Thus, expert and objective guides are essential in order for students to most likely realize their potential and invest wisely in higher education. When teens understand themselves, they can present a cohesive and concise argument about one college over another, so their families also gain confidence in their ultimate choice of a college.
Over twenty years, thousands of families have relied on Creative Marbles experts for their objective guidance in helping teenagers translate their experience into a path toward both economic success and lasting peace of mind. Contact us today if the college admissions process is more than you imagined or remembered it to be.
