by j9robinson | May 12, 2016
A Q&A With The Author of the Viral Costco Essay Last month, Brittany Stinson learned she got into five Ivy League colleges, as well as Stanford and many other top schools. When a newspaper reporter asked her to share her college application essay, Brittany...
by j9robinson | Apr 28, 2016
College Admissions Consultants Learn Essay Coaching A group of nine college admissions consultants from the San Diego area helped me kick off my College Application Essay Writing Bootcamp this week. After participating in my two-hour workshop at the beautiful home of...
by j9robinson | Apr 11, 2016
For the first time in the eight years I’ve been helping students with their college application essays, I’ve had a flurry of requests from students asking for help with waitlist essays and letters. What torture for them! Most have been waiting for months...
by j9robinson | Mar 23, 2016
When I give writing workshops to students on college application essays and what makes them effective, I love to show this short video on YouTube. It’s just over two minutes long, but in that brief time, I believe many students quickly get a sense of what they...
by j9robinson | Mar 14, 2016
This is the time of year when my former students drop me emails letting me know where they have been accepted for the fall. I love hearing from them, and am emboldened by how many land in their dream schools. And I usually ask if I can share their essays with...
by j9robinson | Feb 19, 2016
After working with thousands of students from all over the world on writing the dreaded college application essay for the last eight years, I’ve finally been able to boil down the process to three simple steps. Yes, just three steps. If you follow these...
by j9robinson | Feb 16, 2016
How to Avoid College Application Essay Booby Traps No matter where you are with writing your college application essay, you should double check that you are on the right track. It’s way too easy to inadvertently torpedo your chances of writing an essay...
by j9robinson | Feb 15, 2016
College Application Essays: One Piece Of the Admissions Puzzle This is the time of year many high school juniors start to get serious about their college admissions strategy–including their college application essays. Some have been all over the...
by j9robinson | Feb 13, 2016
Stand Out in Your Common Application Essay So you are ready to start writing your Common Application Essay? Congratulations! You have found the best source of specific tips and strategies on exactly how to brainstorm topics for each of the 5 prompts–and...
by j9robinson | Feb 13, 2016
IMPORTANT: The UT has NEW prompts for 2017-18, so much of the information in this post is now outdated. Here’s the link to the update-to-date information on UT prompts: New Essay Requirements for UT. Former Admissions Counselor at University of Texas-Austin...
