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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: How much should I charge students to correct their college entrance essays?
I have lots of experience teaching SAT and TOEFL, but I've never done any work on college entrance essays. The students will NOT be in the classroom with me - they will just give me their essays for me to check (and most likely revamp). Each student will be applying to roughly 10 universities in America, so I'll have at least 20 essays (per student) to check and edit.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Some professional services charge 500-1000 RMB (or more!) for a single essay. It seems a little high, but like I said I don;t have any experience with this.
In addition to fees, does anyone have any suggestions on how to manage the process? I'll probably have 3-4 students, so I'm going to be absolutely swamped. Also, I would like to actually help the students improve their writing ability, but from the sounds of it, I'm just going to be doing their work for them.
BTW, this job is in Dalian, Liaoning.
Any suggestions, concerns, or experiences are welcome. Thanks!
10 years 29 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
If you want to go down this road of 'helping' students, the amount you charge is completely up to you. You should advise the students that should they be successful based on your 'help' they won't receive any once they are studying in America. And should they be caught cheating while there, the consequences for them could be severe.
Hulk:
Actually, a lot of American universities turn a blind eye to Chinese cheating. I watched several of them blatantly cheat on their papers, and the professors never batted an eyelash.
I'm downvoting you because this is exactly what's ruining American education: droves of Chinese people cheating on their entrance essays, and on their examinations once enrolled.
The universities already KNOW this, and are allowing it because Chinese pay the full tuition up front. It helps struggling colleges, and it lines the pockets of greedy administrators. American Universities are turning into degree mills for Chinese students.
If I were you, I'd take the job and keep a list of these essays that I fixed / wrote, and then expose the schools, students, etc.
I would say do it for free because when I was in college (granted in the US) every time I had a paper that needed to be gone over my professors did it without hesitation and with the thoroughness of their greatest expertise. But this is just from my experience and its totally up to yourself.
craigjj505:
Hahaha pretty much, here once before as a student... when I commented I figured the person was just going to look them over .... as I read the other answers I guess the person is rewriting the whole thing lol didn't know
500-1,000 per essay seems high? Yes, you obviously lack experience with essays. After you spend 3 hours rewriting an incomprehensible essay for 200 RMB, you might change your mind.
Yes, looks like you'll be busy. Keep editing/writing.
No, they're not interested in writing instruction, they want you to edit/improve/completely rewrite their essays. Make no mistake about that.
Just my 2 pence.
Basically, they'll be wanting you to rewrite their essays for them. In which case 1,000 is quite reasonable as far as rates go unless the students are already exceptionally good and don't need much 'help'. Also, it's pretty unethical, but I guess TIC, right?
At least double of the market price, payment 100% upfront, no any guarantee to succeed, keep on saying Mei Wen Ti.
Act otherwise, and they'll believe you're not good enough.
derek:
Yes, always demand payment in advance. I would never take on a student or even read a paper without the cash up front.
whatever the price is going to be, could you post the originals here for shits and giggles ? I think it is wrong to have help with this. Charge less per essay, don't edit it, just give feedback. If they can't figure it out then maybe they should go back to the village and become farmers.
andy74rc:
Let them contribute to the economy of the west. They'll be spending money abroad. In any case, apart few of them which would pass the entrance essay anyway, they will bring no knowledge back.
Scandinavian:
but as Hulk writes, it undermines the education system, and higher up in the food chain some of us will have to be bothered with having to sack these people after they have fooled you into giving you a job with their amazing education that turns out to be bought and in fact the people are useless.
CourteousCurtis:
For the record, my students do speak English reasonably well. They would have very few problems "surviving" abroad. In fact, after a couple years, I am sure they would become fluent in the language. Will future universities and employers be duped into believing that some of these students are beacons of intelligence? Perhaps. But not my students. ;-)
In any case, their parents are pressuring me to check their children's essays. I understand that my actions may be unethical, and the education system is corrupt. But at the same time, thousands of students are applying for universities abroad, and the students need any kind of edge they can get.
Good luck with that. Aside from my moral aversion to this kind of thing, it will drive you insane.
I did editing for technical companies and also brochures for schools. It is a hell of a lot of work as you basically have to rewrite the stuff you are given.
Judging by the standard of the writing I saw when I was an IELTS/TOEFL teacher, you'll get about three into it and decide it's not worth the truck.
Correcting Chinese writing is the biggest headache inducing activity in the world.
The whole thing will have to be rewritten,don't worry about that, but how do you go about it? As the student isn't with you you'll have no way of trying to work out what it is they're writing about.
The whole writing thing is such a joke.
Mate, there's easier ways of making a quid!
Cheers
I charge 500 yuan for up to 600 words to polish any document for a translator, or for a student with reasonable English, increasing in increments as the word count increases.
For poor English, I double the price. If the English is abysmal, it just isn't worth my time to bother with it.
hey mate, I work for a company and we used to do that, the guy was training me for it and emailed me a ton of rough and edited essays I could email u some if it would help.
He was getting paid by our company and was going to be making some serious cash, however the company stiffed him and never paid him. 500-1000 sounds fine I think.
How many edits will you need to make?
What about a bonus if they are accepted to any good unis?
1 million rmb.....i was taught always set the standard so high so in the end you won't be that disappointed....