Thread: Writing college essays

There is a lot of politics in doctoral education no doubt about it. All the universities that I'm interested in have distance learning doctoral programs so "knowing" someone is not an issue.

I think it's a fair question to ask, although it's kind of like admitting you've been fired before on a job application - who's going to do that? And what exactly is their definition of "help", anyway?

Colleges just want to know if the student had help writing his essay. Most students do ask someone to proofread his essay, make recommendations, offer ideas for improvement and other such advice. Although this does qualify as "help," it is not cheating. Most colleges do not specifically restrict students from seeking help in writing their essays. There's a difference, however, between writing it for them and proofreading or making constructive suggestions. Occasionally, college entrance people will read an incredibly astute essay and need to know if the student wrote the essay all by himself. I've seen some of these phenomenal essays, and yes, the students did write them without help. Their colleges appreciate knowing.