As college application season sets in and pressure rises amongst seniors throughout the nation over essays and personal insight questions, Bonita Vista High (BVH) International Baccalaureate (IB) English Literature Higher Level (HL) 2, Speech and Debate advisor and Newspaper advisor Eric Helle holds an activity known as “Helle University” in his IB English HL2 classes. In this activity Helle has students submit college essays in hopes of being accepted into his hypothetical university.
“The Helle University Essay comes from some assignments that we explore throughout the year that relate to college readiness. For this particular assignment, students are engaged in the writing process with real world applications—submitting a personal statement as part of their college application,” Helle said. “These college prompts ask students to reflect on the academic and personal experiences that shape their character and lead them to the interests they will pursue after graduating from BVH.”
Helle states that the reason he decided to begin this kind of activity stemmed from both student and parent support for it. During his early years as a teacher, essays were still submitted in person and students would state that they felt as if they were “applying to Helle University.”
“Since coming to BVH in 1997, supporting seniors in writing their personal statement has been part of my first semester curriculum. The idea for Helle University actually came from some students very early in my tenure here,” Helle said. “There have been years when I’ve thought of just going back to calling the unit, ‘The Personal Statement,’ but then I’ve heard from alumni and from parents who spoke fondly of the assignment, so I’ve stuck to it.”
One of the primary objectives of Helle University is to present students with the opportunity to see their essays through the lens of the admissions officers rather than themselves alone. With this, Helle states that one of his goals with this kind of process is to increase his students’ chances of being accepted into the schools they want to attend.
“I want students to see their writing through the eyes of admissions officers. Analyzing one’s audience is essential to matching their purpose to their expectations, beliefs and values,” Helle said. “Many of the schools they apply to have acceptance rates far below 10% and my goal is to give them a rigorous process that increases their chances of being admitted into the schools of their choice, to hopefully help them face some enviable decisions in late March and April when colleges send out their decision letters.”
The process of applying consists of choosing a university and writing the essays that are required for that particular university. For senior Joseph Grimsley, he states that the workshops involved in this process and the peer review helped him with his essays before it was submitted to Helle.
“Throughout writing our responses, we gave and received positive feedback from our peers, further enhancing the essay,” Grimsley said. “Once completed, we submitted the essay online by the given due date for Mr. Helle to review, grade and decide our placement into Helle University.”
Senior Cherise Magtoto also believes that the workshops improved her essays. The feedback from peers specifically was a really important piece for Magtoto and the supportive environment allowed her to hone in on what needs to be revised or edited in her essays.
“I do think this activity helped improve my essays, especially because of the workshops that accompanied it. The additional feedback from students was also really beneficial for me in deciding what to improve on in my essays,” Magtoto said. “In the workshops, it was a really supportive environment even if we were deciding who to accept or reject which can be difficult.”
Helle aims to bring out the collaborative efforts within his students through Helle University, stating that good writing stems from a collective effort and not just one person alone. Having students work with each other by giving and receiving feedback on important essays help these students gain different perspectives and improve their writing.
“This unit drives home the idea that writing is a process, that good writing comes from a community of writers, not a lone wolf sitting in a mountain cabin hacking away at the keyboard alone,” Helle said. “Professional writers network with other writers as they move from first ideas to drafts read for submission since writing is a rigorous intellectual process.”
Magtoto also believes that this activity dramatically helps with not only her essays but her writing skills as a whole. Due to college essays focusing more on personal topics, it gives her an opportunity to actually develop her essays alongside her writing skills.
“The skills that this activity aimed to showcase was definitely personal writing skills. In English, we spend a lot of time on academic or argumentative writing. But with college essays, it’s all about personal writing which we don’t typically focus on,” Magtoto said. “Personally, I think Helle University helped me develop my narrative and the story that I want to tell with college applications.”
Helle University is a learning experience for both students and Helle alike. For Helle, he’s always wanting to help support his students with the college admissions process and this is a way for him to not only help his students improve their essays but to also learn more about them as an individual.
“I have always wanted to be that support for my own students. One of my largest takeaways regarding the essay was often repeated: at the end of the essay, I can either form a mental image of the student, which means the essay is successful, or the student overgeneralized their experiences and it goes in the rejection pile. I’ve learned that everyone has unique and compelling stories to tell,” Helle said.
