by j9robinson | May 19, 2010
I realized today that I never shared a list of topics that usually result in lame essays. (It feels negative to emphasize this list of no-no’s, but it can save students a lot of time if they know to avoid these early on.) You can make any topic interesting, of...
by j9robinson | Apr 19, 2017
Should You Write About a Cliche Topic for Your College Application Essay? If you are just starting brainstorming ideas for your college application essays, one of the first pieces of advice you might stumble upon is to avoid “cliche” topics. I always warn...
by j9robinson | Jun 2, 2013
College Application Essays How Anecdotes Make Them Work One of the best ways to learn what types of topics make the most interesting essays is to check out what other students wrote about. Especially if those students had the right guidance and came up with...
by j9robinson | Oct 9, 2008
“Try to write in a directly emotional way, instead of being too subtle or oblique. Don’t be afraid of your material or your past….If something inside you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must...
by j9robinson | Jul 15, 2016
Got a Burning Question About Your College Application Essay? (Leave it in the Comments!) After working with students like you for nearly a decade now, I’ve heard a lot of questions about these cursed essays. And you are so smart to ask them. How else can you...
by j9robinson | Jun 24, 2013
College Application Essays Tips for Finding Topics That CBS Finds Worth Repeating A couple days ago, Lynn O’Shaughnessy, a journalist who covers college admissions issues for CBS, featured this blog in her column for MoneyWatch. How cool is that? She...
by j9robinson | Jul 15, 2026
Why the “Topic of Choice” Common App Prompt Works Best Since you’re reading this, it tells me that you are on top of your college application and specifically your essays. Good job! Based on my 15 years of working as a writing coach with these...
by j9robinson | Jun 30, 2026
How Do You Fight? Tips and advice on how to answer the Disagreement Supp Prompt Although it’s tempting, I’m not going into the loaded politics behind the new flurry of supplemental essay prompts that want to know how you handle conflict. They are called...
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...
