by j9robinson | Jun 2, 2015
or Why Bad Writers Write the Best College Application Essays If you think you can’t write, and you need to write a college application essay, this is your lucky day. There’s a higher-than-average chance you will write an awesome essay. (If you think you...
by j9robinson | May 12, 2015
How To Write a College Application Essay: This mini, online tutorial e-course teaches you how to write a narrative-style college application in less than one hour! Upon enrollment, you will be sent a link and personal password for complete access to this self-directed...
by j9robinson | May 11, 2015
I’m always on the lookout for new voices in the college admissions industry who try to help students and parents and all of us keep a balanced and sane perspective on the frenzied quest for the perfect college. Kristin White, an educational consultant who...
by j9robinson | May 22, 2013
College Admissions Essays: The Common App. Prompt #1 My Favorite Out of the seven prompts you can chose from to write your application essay for The Common Application, I like the first one a lot. (UPDATE: As of 2017, you can now write about any topic you want. See...
by j9robinson | 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,...
by j9robinson | 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 This post is now outdated.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...
by j9robinson | Oct 19, 2012
College Admissions Essays: Finding topics in unlikely places I would never have believed that writing about the Twilight series could be a super essay topic–not in a million years. But below, I’m going to share how one of my brightest students...
by j9robinson | Sep 4, 2010
Use the “Find Help By Topic” index (over to the top right) to find the posts that will help you the most. Some are about finding topics (Do you know the secret of using a “mundane” topic, yet?). Others have great writing advice for once you...
by j9robinson | Aug 14, 2010
I just read a memoir where the author shared a piece of writing advice that Toby Wolff gave her. Wolff wrote “This Boy’s Life,” one of the best memoirs out there. Anyway, memoirs are books written about yourself. In a way, college essays are like...
by j9robinson | Oct 21, 2009
A new client, who I will call Sarah, met with me for the first time to talk about topic ideas. When I pressed her about her interests, her hobbies, her passions, she kept insisting that she was a well-rounded, strong student, but didn’t have any one thing that...