#go to college
One of the most daunting aspects of applying to college is the sheer number of essays you have (wait, get to!) write.
What do I mean? Say you’re applying to eight to ten schools. Each has anywhere from one to five (hi, MIT!) supplemental essays. Quick math tells us that’s between eight and fifty college essay prompts to respond to. And that’s after you write the personal statement for your Common App.
But guess what? ❗YOU TOTALLY DON’T HAVE TO WRITE 50 ESSAYS. In fact, you may end up writing fewer than ten.
Why?
I’ve developed a pretty simple step-by-step process to help you see which essay prompts can overlap. Follow my lead and it may not only save you dozens of hours or writing, it could improve the quality of those essays.
How?
The secret involves doing a little bit of research and creative brainstorming before deciding on your topic.
Read the full story here.
I really like Thai food. Speaking of which, I just started an amazing documentary series on national parks. Speaking of which, the Pacific Ocean is beautiful in winter. Which makes me wonder how confused you feel right now.
You’re probably pretty confused. And if you thought we wrote the above seriously, you’d maybe not trust us a whole lot (as writers) heading forward.
Those two things (avoiding confusion, building trust) are great qualities to develop in your writing.
How?
By building better transitions.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- What good transitions look like
- Why good transitions are important
- Why building trust with your reader is important
- Two ways to earn your reader’s trust
- A quick diagnostic tool to determine if your transitions really are the issue
- When’s the best time to start over/brainstorm new ideas
- 9 different transition techniques
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Read the full guide here.
If upholding Christian values is a priority to you in a college setting, Pepperdine University might be a great fit. For this private Christian university in Southern California, a traditional liberal arts academic curriculum and strict religious philosophy go hand in hand. If you’re interested in the highly moral and conservative atmosphere at Pepperdine but aren’t sure how to approach answering their supplemental essay question, we’re here to help.
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In this video, I’ll break down five Common App essay tips that should help you tell a unique story even if you haven’t faced any challenges. I’ll also show a few great Common App essay examples and explain why I think they work so well.
Show Notes
My guest for this episode is Edward B. Fiske (known to most as “Ted”). Ted served as Education Editor for the New York Times from 1974 until 1991, and is well-known to college bound students and their parents as the editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges, a staple of any high school counselor library and the nation’s best-selling college guide. He has co-authored a range of other books on college admissions with Bruce G. Hammond, including the Fiske Guide to Getting Into the Right College, What to Do When for College, Real College Essays that WorkandAcing the New SAT.
Ted’s book has been a go-to reference for me (and many other counselors) in our work with students and I loved getting a chance to go behind the scenes and hearing how the sausage is made. We discuss, among other things:
- Why did the Fiske Guide happen in the first place?
- How does Ted avoid sounding generally positive about all schools?
- How the Fiske Guide ratings systems differs from that of US News and World Report
- Who actually writes all 882 pages of the Fiske Guide
- The best approach for students who have no idea what they want
- Some of the biggest mistakes students and parents make when searching for a school
- The dangers of narrowing your college choices too early on.
- One quality Ted finds essential to having an amazing college experience
his series of short exercises, I’ll help you try to find your personal statement topic. In fact, by the end of this video, you should be able to have 7 great personal statement topic ideas that demonstrate your skills, qualities, values, and interests.
Grab your favorite drink, throw on your headphones, and let’s do this.
“How do I write about my challenges without sounding like a sob story?”
This is a question that comes up often. And, to be frank, there are many ways to write about challenges in your college essay.
♂️Here are three good techniques.
