by j9robinson | Oct 30, 2026
Essay Hell: Last-Minute Help If you’re all done with your college applications, including the essays and supplements, huge congrats! For those of you still struggling, there’s no need to panic. As long as your deadlines haven’t passed, there’s still time. And...
by j9robinson | Aug 6, 2026
Find Your Problem = Find Your Story I’ve written a lot about how to use your past problems to power your college application essays. Here’s the formula: once you think of a problem, big or small that you experienced, you’ve also found a story....
by j9robinson | Aug 6, 2023
Feeling Pressure to Write About Race? Don’t Do It! Colleges and universities can no longer use your race as a factor in determining whether to accept you to their schools, since the landmark Supreme Court ruling on June 29th abolished most of Affirmative...
by j9robinson | Jul 10, 2020
A Great Essay Topic? Anything But the Coronavirus! When counseling students on finding great topics for their college application essays, I often direct them to explore problems they have faced in their lives. Problems provide the perfect springboard for writing a...
by j9robinson | Jun 24, 2019
***Need in-person help getting starting? Check out my Jumpstart Webinars. Only $30! FREE if you can’t afford them. Two left this month! Tips on Turning Problems into Hot Topics So you have thought of a topic you want to write about in your college application...
by j9robinson | Jul 20, 2018
Okay, so this is a bit of hyperbole on my part. All students have plenty to write about for their college application essays. However, from what I’ve seen working with college-bound students for the last decade, many of our most talented, driven and intelligent...
