Dig Deep for Your Application Essay Topic
five more simple guidelines that will help you find the perfect essay topic
The 2017 Common Application Essay Prompts
There were several changes to the Common Application essay prompts (www.commonapp.org) this year and I thought it would be helpful to offer a strategy for responding to them. I’ll start with the two new prompts (one is actually a revival of an older prompt), then circle back and offer some tips for answering the holdovers, and […]
Knowing Yourself = Writing a Better College Application Essay
Most college application essay prompts ask students to reveal, in one way or another, who they are and what is important to them. Yet “knowing yourself” (https://www.prolificliving.com/the-greatest-discovery-of-all-getting-to-know-yourself/) is not that easy, especially for a young adult who is still learning about the world and his or her place in it.So, for this blog, let’s put […]
MORE! College Application Essay Writing Tips
Here are two more guidelines that will help you write the best college application essay you can possibly write. Answer the Prompt While this may seem obvious, many students veer away from fully answering the essay prompt, and wind up hurting their chances for acceptance. Admissions Directors are expecting all aspects of an essay prompt […]
Writing the College Application Essay: The Parent Trap
Writing the college application essay is a family endeavor. Of course, this doesn’t mean that parents should actually write the essay, that job belongs solely to the student. But parents are part of the process and can help tremendously. Writing college application essays is stressful because … High school seniors usually don’t have much experience […]
Don’t Let Your College Application Essay Topic Get Too Cute!
A GREAT IDEA FOR AN ESSAY, OR IS IT? Cyrus had a great idea for his college application essay. In answer to Common App Essay Prompt #4 – about an intellectual challenge he’d like to solve – he would write a question mark. That’s it, one giant question mark. For the entire essay. The more […]
Outlining Your College Application Essay
Rolling with the College Application Essay Josh figured he’d write his college application essay like he did everything else – making it up as he went along. After all, wasn’t that how he became the freestyle skateboard champion of Bakersfield, CA? Bringing this approach to his Common Application essay, however, proved difficult. He would start an […]
Discovering the Essay Topic
Roger’s parents were determined he would write a college application essay that stood out. So they got him essay tutors, sent him to essay workshops, could not get through a family meal without peppering Roger with suggestions for his essay topic. But one day, Roger finally had enough. His mother burst into his room (always […]
Danger! Application Essay Samples Ahead!
The truth about college application essay samples There are many books on the market, and websites online, containing college application essay samples. They might be sample essays by students who were accepted to Harvard or simply “outstanding application essays.” Reading a few of these gems can be useful and the conscientious high school senior should […]
Why Your College Essay Shouldn’t be Perfect
I would like to clear the air regarding a major misconception about writing the college application essay. There is no perfect way to write an essay. That’s right. There is no perfect college essay. Sure there are lots of experts generating lots of lists (I’m one of them) about how to write an application essay. […]