2 Sample Outlines for “Why You?” Supplements

Oops. Not again! We are talking about supplements for college application essays. Not vitamin supplements. Geez! Even though supplemental essays usually are short—usually a paragraph or two—many students are stumped on how to structure them. Or on just how...

What’s Sup? 10 Hot Tips to Power Your Supplements

Oops. Wrong SUP. We are talking college application essay supplements here. Haha. I just gave a workshop on how to write college supplement essays to a group of college-bound students yesterday, and wanted to share some of the advice and tips on how to make them stand...

No Excuses Book Offer!

The middle of August is when I first notice a dramatic spike in visitors to Essay Hell. A few students get that early start on their college application essays at the beginning of summer, but the majority seem to wait until now through fall. I thought I would try to...

Marriage of Hell and Heaven in College Application Essays

Parke Muth, a veteran college admissions counselor and writer from Virginia, interviewed me recently about my opinions and advice regarding college application essays. I thought I would share the interview, which he featured on his own highly informative blog. ...

College Application Essay Grabber Trick: Show First!

  When you write a college application essay, you want to “grab” the attention of your reader from the start. My favorite writing technique to hook readers is to engage them with an anecdote, which is a real-life moment or incident. You might have...

Free College Application Essay Writing Guide Offer!

I watched this inspiring trailer video today about students from Stockton, California, who are learning to tell their stories using both poetry and investigative journalism (digging up facts.) Since the economic downfall starting in 2008, their city turned into a...