There is a great resource available for seniors who want some extra help wrapping up their college essays: the high school librarians.
Whether students are just getting started or adding the finishing touches, librarians are there to help. Their role: providing unbiased, helpful advice for any student who needs it.
Librarian Shelley Mains said the librarians want to be there for the students who may need additional support. For example, the librarians help international students who are unfamiliar with the American college system and do not speak English as their first language.
“It’s partly about trying to create a more level playing field, just to make sure everyone has someone to help them and to read [their college essay] and to give feedback,” Mains said. “Some people do pay to get a coach, but there are a lot of resources out there, us being among them.”
Librarian Bridget Knightly said that the librarians enjoy giving essay advice.
“When students ask [for help], we always say yes,” Knightly said. “It’s not a formal thing; we don’t put anything out and advertise, but we do read a lot of students’ essays or help them come up with ideas.”
Senior Melanie Ho came to the librarians this fall for finishing touches on her college essay. Ho said the librarians can be a great resource for students looking for an external perspective on their college essays, as some sources of assistance can be biased or too busy to help in depth.
“I had my family read over my essay. They said it was good, and that was that,” Ho said. “I think it’s really important to bring outside perspectives who are not your family because they might be biased and might feel bad about hurting your feelings.”
Knightly said she hates to put restrictions on the topics students write about.
“[They] say, ‘Don’t talk about sports,’ right? One of the best essays I’ve ever read was about a sport. If you’re passionate and it really affected you, it comes through in your essay, and it can be really clever,” Knightly said.
Mains said that authenticity is key to taking college essays to the next level.
“Sometimes someone will have one [essay] that feels like it’s really them, but then they’ll have another one that they think, ‘Oh, this is what the college wants to hear, and this is what my parents want me to write,’” Mains said. “It’s almost always the more authentic-sounding one that works, no matter what it’s about.”
While the college application and essay process can be stressful, Knightly said that students shouldn’t worry, as everything almost always works out in the end.
“However their essay is, most kids end up okay wherever they end up in college, and if not, they figure out a strategy for getting in a better situation,” Knightly said. “So it’s not like your life is on the line by your college essay or anything else that’s part of this process.”
