WRITING THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY – DIARY OF A COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY #2
July 2, 2013 I have not stopped thinking about my college admissions essay. My original schedule had me finishing a first draft by the 4th of July but that is not going to happen so I have redone the spread sheet; you have to be flexible. Besides, the Grandpop Walker idea didn’t go anywhere. It […]
FIVE THINGS I LEARNED FROM THE 2012 COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEASON The college admissions “season” runs generally from mid summer to the end of the year, although applications are certainly filed during other months. The 2012 season was a fantastic experience for me; here are five things I learned. 1. The students moving on to college […]
Writing the College Admissions Essay: Last Minute Changes
The day students submit their college application essay brings intense feelings of accomplishment , joy and yes, relief. But it is also a time of danger. As they read their essay one last time, students are sometimes tempted to make one last tweak, change one last word, delete a phrase that never felt right to […]
Writing the College Application Essay: Guidelines for Writing Emotionally
Many of the best college application essays have a strong emotional content. They express and reveal the emotions of the writer – the applicant – and they stimulate emotion in the reader – the college Admissions Director. This fact is one reason many students find writing the essay so challenging. Throughout high school, students are […]
WRITING THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY: SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS: Why That School?
Many colleges request supplemental essays, in addition to the Common Application or other required essays. Subjects range from one word responses to page and a half philosophical explorations but one of the most common is the simple question, “Why (Your School Here)?” In answering this prompt, one of the keys to a good essay is […]
WRITING THE COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY: Diary of a College Application Essay
October 26, 2012 Finished my essay about two days ago, then let it “cook.” Didn’t read it, tried not to think about it although it seems that’s all anyone at good old SoLa is talking about these days. Then, the big moment… I read it again and… I liked it! Well, most of it. There […]
Writing the College Application Essay – MANAGING THE FEEDBACK
Once you’ve completed your college application essay, it’s always a good idea to get feedback from other people. But who those people are, and how you manage their feedback, can often be the difference between a good essay and a great one. Here are six ways to manage that feedback, and use it to your […]
WRITING THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY: HOW TO HANDLE THE WORD COUNT #2
Here are five more methods that will help you wrestle your college admissions essay to the appropriate word limit. 6. Cut adjectives. In the desire to write descriptively, students will sometimes load their essays up with too many adjectives. Faced with the need to cut, look for places where you might have used two adjectives […]
THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY: Dealing with the Word Count
Dealing with the word count for your college essay can be tricky. You’ve worked hard, love what you’ve done and don’t want to lose a single word. But College Admission Officers have a very good sense of when an essay is too long, so you really don’t have a choice. Some ways to handle your […]
The College Admissions Essay – WHAT TO DO IF YOU HATE TO WRITE (Part 2)
For those seniors who don’t love writing (yes, there may be a few), here are five more methods to make facing that empty screen less daunting. 1. Be comfortable with your subject. Make sure that you are enthused about writing this essay. 2. Prepare. Do as much pre-writing work as possible. Make sure you create […]