How Will They Dub You?

by | Jul 27, 2013

Everyone is looking for that magic topic for their college application essay that will help them jump out from the essay pile, and shout, “Yes, that’s me!” I’ve written a lot about how you can go about landing on that unique topic. Here’s...

Grab Your Readers with An Anecdote

by | Jul 18, 2013

College Application Essays How to Write An Anecdote About Almost Anything   Before one of my college application essay writing workshops yesterday, I skimmed over some of the rough drafts the students had written last semester for their English classes. The...

Four “Bold” Sample College Admissions Essays

by | May 17, 2013

College Application Essays “Meant to Inspire” All Students Showed an “Appetite for Risk”  Earlier this year, a business writer for The New York Times invited students to share their college admissions essays on the topic of money, class,...

Common App Prompt 4: When Your Problem is a Good Thing!

by | May 15, 2013

How to Answer Prompt 4 for the Common App for your College Application Essay Prompt 4: Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal...

Where’s Waldo? and Creativity in College Essays

by | Dec 20, 2012

  College Admissions Essays It’s Official: Get Creative! Colleges tell students that they want their essays to show them what sets them apart from the pack and what makes them unique. Yet most of the college application essay prompts do a poor job of...

Personal Quality, Talent, Accomplishment…UC Prompt #2

by | Nov 27, 2012

UPDATE: as of March 23, 2016 The University of California announced NEW essay prompts for 2016-17. Read about how to answer them HERE. This post is now outdated. The information is no longer relevant!!    College Admissions Essay: How to Nail Prompt #2 for UC Essays...

Check out The Choice

by | Oct 4, 2011

  If you haven’t discovered the New York Times’ blog on college admissions, called The Choice, it’s worth checking out–for everything from how to narrow your list of choice schools to how to find discount college textbooks. Here’s...