The foundation of this section is twenty five blogs I wrote under the heading of “Twenty Five Ways to Make Your College Application Essay the Best Writing You’ve Ever Done.” That, in my view, should be the goal of every student writing their admission essay and these blogs will help you get there. As all of you are aware, getting into college gets more competitive every year. You have one chance at writing an outstanding application essay and, to paraphrase a line from Hamilton – you don’t want to throw away your shot.
Many of the concepts for these blogs come from my own experience as a professional writer, teacher, and college application essay coach. They are reasonably short yet will provide a clear perspective on some mindsets to avoid, some to embrace, and some solid techniques for developing, writing, and refining your college essays. I believe that using the “Twenty Five Ways…” series as a resource throughout the writing process will help lift your writing to its highest level ever.
Also included in this section is a series of five blogs entitled, “Great Moments in Application Essay History.” In my unceasing quest to share what I know about writing the college application essay with students, each one is a short parable about a student’s “great moment” during the writing process. It’s a unique, humorous way to get this information across and I sincerely hope you enjoy and benefit from them. The blog “Don’t Let Your Application Essay Topic Get Too Cute,” for example, tells the story of a student who went totally bizarre with his topic, until he realized that wasn’t going to cut it.
Over the past years, I have written and posted more than a hundred blogs about how to write the college admissions essay. Some felt dated so I have eliminated them from the latest update of my website; those that remain should be of value to any senior applying to college. Taken in sum, and assuming you will put my suggestions into action, I firmly believe they will help you write the best college application essay you can possibly write. If you feel you need more assistance, please give me a call or send me an email, and let’s get to work.
As both teacher and college application essay tutor, I have found that while nearly all students are familiar with the writing axiom “show, don’t tell,”
Editing is a specific, hard to master skill that students are rarely taught, but are still expected to know. Self-editing can be even harder, as
Here’s another of my twenty five ways to make your college application essay the best writing you’ve ever done. #12. Include Personal Details and Specifics
The next way to make your college application essay the best writing you’ve ever done taps into a key difference between this particular form and
Here is another purely technical approach to making your college application essay the best writing you’ve ever done. #10. Vary Your Sentence Structure and Word
This method for making your college application essay the best writing you’ve ever done is technical, yet easy to execute. #9: Keep paragraphs short There
Have you ever noticed that today’s popular movies almost always begin with a compelling event, whether it’s based on action or a highly emotional moment?
Here’s the seventh of my twenty five ways to make your college admissions essay the best writing you’ve ever done. #7. Be Bold Your application
Building on #5 of the twenty five ways to make your college application essay the best writing you’ve ever done, here’s #6. #6: Follow the
Everyone going to college already knows the fifth way to make their college application essay the best writing they’ve ever done. Yet, too often, aspects
© 2024 College Essay Solutions | All Rights Reserved.