by j9robinson | Apr 23, 2018
What You Can Learn From Michael Brown’s College Application Essay I must have watched the viral video of Michael Brown learning he got into Stanford at least three times in a row. Such a feat and well-deserved accomplishment for what seems like an...
by j9robinson | Mar 25, 2018
Let Lynda Barry Help You Find and Tell Your Best Stories! Try One of Her Awesome Brainstorming Exercises If you’re starting to brainstorm that perfect topic to craft your dreaded college application essay, I have a new writing technique you might find helpful....
by j9robinson | Feb 23, 2018
Learn How You Can Stand Up for Your Rights Join the Parkland Students and Rally Your Own High School! For the last decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of high school students every year on the notorious college application essay. Once these teenagers start...
by j9robinson | Jan 28, 2018
Don’t Despair over College Rejection Sometimes You Discover a Better Path It’s the time of year when high school seniors are learning where they got accepted to colleges or universities. Yay! Good for you! Time to celebrate! Many are also opening...
by j9robinson | Nov 5, 2017
If you are just starting to write your four short UC essays (called Personal Insight Questions), here are ten simple tips that can help you crank them out. I’ve written longer posts on how to brainstorm and map out answers for each of these questions for the...
by j9robinson | Sep 15, 2017
Don’t Even Think About Writing About the Eclipse And What to Write About Instead When I was invited to give one of my college application essay writing workshops to students at Colorado Academy in Denver, Colorado, I had no idea it would be on the day of...
by j9robinson | Aug 9, 2017
Confused on How to Format Your Common Application Essay? Here are 9 Hot Tips The 2017-18 Common Application opened for business earlier this week (August. 1). Chances are you will soon need to know how to format your common application essay. If you are on the ball,...
by j9robinson | Aug 3, 2017
Students Stress Over College App Essays Because for the First Time They Want to Write But Realize They Don’t Know How The New York Times ran an article yesterday called “Why Kids Can’t Write.” Great piece, but I didn’t agree with the...
by j9robinson | Jul 25, 2017
Who Writes Better College Application Essays: Boys or Girls? When I gave one of my summer college application essay writing boot camps this last weekend in my hometown of Laguna Beach, I had 11 boys and one girl. As the students showed up, I casually mentioned this...
by j9robinson | Jul 20, 2017
Helicopter Parents Aren’t All Bad (They Just Need to Know When to Drop In) I received an email from a mom recently inquiring about my tutoring services for her college-bound daughter. In her email, she included a story about their family history that she thought...
