How Brittany Stinson Wrote Her Costco Essay

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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 didn’t think twice.

Within hours, her essay went viral. (more…)

Congratulations to the First Essay Jumpstart Experts!

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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 one of the counselors in Rancho Santa Fe, the nine women are now official “Essay Jumpstart Experts,” and can sport this digital “badge” (above) on their own professional web sites. (more…)

Waitlist Essays and Letters: 12 Tips to Game Them

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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 and months and now they get a “maybe?”

Which really means “probably not,” but keep trying anyway. (Sorry if you didn’t know that.)

That’s what I call admissions purgatory. (more…)

Watch How Personal College Application Essays Affect the Admissions Game

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 need to do to craft essays that will be engaging and memorable.

Take a couple minutes to watch this video, which brings you around a table of college admissions officers at Amherst College, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts, as they sort through applications. (more…)

Sample College Application Essays to Inspire You!

sample college application essays

 

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 future students.

In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn how to write your own than by reading sample college application essays. (more…)

How to Write a College Application Essay: In 3 Easy Steps

how to write college application essay

 

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 steps, I believe you will be able to craft a college application essay that will give you an edge in the admissions game.

How?

Each step makes sure that you share information about yourself that will make your essay effective and help you stand out from the competition. (more…)

Warning: 5 Ways to Blow Your College Application Essay

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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 that gives you an edge in the admissions game. (more…)

College Application Essays and the Admissions Puzzle

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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 admissions game for years. Most are just now shifting into high gear. And a few need to start tuning in.

My focus is on helping students learn to write effective college application essays. But these dreaded essays are only a part of the process. (more…)

Common Application Essay Prompts and Strategies for 2016-17

common application essay

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 learn to craft a powerful college application essay using a narrative (story-telling) style.

Start by reading through the 5 prompts, which I shared below.

(The folks from the Common Application just officially announced their essay writing prompts for this coming college admissions season of 2016-17, and it’s anticlimactic news, but they will be the same as last year. The idea is you know the prompts well before they start accepting applications in August, so you can get a head start on your essays.)

You just need to write a personal statement essay that addresses one of these prompts. The prompts are mainly to inspire you to write a personal essay about yourself that helps you stand out from the crowd. (more…)

10 Insider Tips for Your University of Texas Essays

university of texas essays

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
Shares Insider Advice

 

Are you planning on applying to any of the 14 University of Texas institutions, including the most popular in Austin, Texas?

(Or Texas A&M, and even some private Texas colleges, such as SMU, TCU, Baylor and Trinity College.)

I’m excited to share some tips from a former college admissions officer at UT-Austin with you. His name is Kevin Martin, founder of TexAdmissions, and he focused these tips on the one of the 3 required essays he believes is by far the most important, based on his experience.

University of Texas essays

Kevin Martin of TexAdmissions

The University of Texas essay is called Topic C, and the prompts asks:

“Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.” (more…)