Seeking College Application Essays About Money From This Year’s Seniors

By Ron Lieber

College Essay Nods to Immigrant Parents

Regis High School student Lyle Li reads from his college application essay about the hard work of his immigrant parents to secure a better education and a better life for him.

By Deborah Acosta on May 17, 2013. Photo by Deborah Acosta.

Last year, I put out an open call for college application essays about money, work and social class and hoped that high school seniors would send them in. Several dozen young men and women did, and we featured the best of the essays in a Your Money column. I particularly enjoyed getting to know Lyle Li, now a New York University freshman, whom we featured in a video.

This year, we’re doing it again. If your high school senior or one you know wrote an essay along these lines, please have that student send it in to moneyessays@nytimes.com. If you know any high school English teachers, college counselors in high schools or college admissions officials, please pass this on to them. I’ll do a mini-post here in May pointing to the column that features the best essays.