by j9robinson | Jun 10, 2013
If you are working on your Common Application, you have five prompts (or essay questions) to choose from for your essay. The challenge is to pick the prompt that you can answer to write your best, most effective essay. In previous years, you had the option to...
by j9robinson | 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...
by j9robinson | Sep 13, 2012
College Application Essays How to Stay On Top of the Heap For some reason, “top students”–aka high achievers, go-getters, A-types, test-takers, straight-A students, you know who you are!–often have the hardest time writing these essays. At...
by j9robinson | Jun 12, 2012
College Admissions Essays How to Write About Your Sport–Or Think Again If you are a serious athlete, and intend to play your sport in college, it’s hard to pick a topic for your college application essay that’s not related to your sport. Chances...
by j9robinson | Jun 6, 2012
The college admissions season never really ends. I’m not a big one for starting too early. Parents who start talking colleges with their kids in junior high and even the start of high school kind of bug me. I understand that it’s valuable for students to...
by j9robinson | Mar 27, 2011
I haven’t posted anything in recent weeks. My role as a college essay tutor wraps up in January and February. But if you are still working on an essay or personal statement, I would read through this blog for ideas and inspiration! This spring, I have also been...
by j9robinson | Jul 6, 2010
My students have discovered some of their best topic ideas for their college application essays from their job experiences. I’m not sure why they make great fodder for college essays, but I believe that simply working for others naturally reveals a complimentary set...
by j9robinson | Jul 20, 2018
Okay, so this is a bit of hyperbole on my part. All students have plenty to write about for their college application essays. However, from what I’ve seen working with college-bound students for the last decade, many of our most talented, driven and intelligent...
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 | 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...
