How to Improve Your Mediocre Extracurricular Essay in 30 Minutes
Related Reads: Ira Glass, in his very excellent four-part video series on YouTube (which is 20 minutes well spent) says a great story must have two basic parts: a great story and a great “so what.” I have to agree. Below are examples from a…
DOs and DON’Ts for Your “Why Us?” Statement
Oh, as opposed to that other university where the professors aren’t dedicated to helping students succeed. So how do you write sentences that sound like you actually want to go to the school? Like this: I believe USC is perfect for me because, though other…
Ten Tips for Writing a 1337* UC Essay
B. if writing on an extracurricular activity, first Make a bullet point list of your content How? TIP #5: Jot down answers to these three questions: 1. What have you done? Literally, what were your actual tasks? How did you/have you spent your time? 2. What…
What to Do If You’re Lost
Don’t panic. If you’ve tried all these things and still haven’t decided what to write about in your essay, don’t worry. There’s a great story inside you waiting to be told. Consider these questions: What’s the toughest lesson you’ve ever had to learn? What’s the hardest…
How to Choose a College: A Step-By-Step Guide
How do you choose a college that’s right for you? What a daunting question! The good news: there are more than 4,500 colleges and universities in the US. Even better news: most schools accept most students, with the national average at 65.8% in 2014 (source)….
An Open Love Letter to the Authors of the (now extinct) UC Prompt #1
My wife is a wonderful Asker of Questions. Her questions turn me inward, inviting me to discover my own truths, and I’ve always thought of her questions as gifts. This prompt was no different. And it was such a simple, eloquent little thing: I love…
What is Holistic Review?
Holistic review is a process, recently adopted by the University of California school system, in which student applications are reviewed in the context of particular challenges a student has had to endure. (To put it bluntly, under holistic review, a minority student growing up in South Central…
Brainstorm: 21 Details
Make a list of 21 details from your life, interesting facts that describe some small, random part of who you are. Here are 11 of my 21 details: We moved 20 times while I was growing up and I attended 13 schools. My biggest pet…
Brainstorm: 5 Contradictions
Humans are complex, contradictory, creatures. Contradictions can add texture and complexity to your essay. Here are five contradictory things about me: I love beating my younger brother in chess, but afterwards I always feel guilty. In college I had no problem giving my girlfriend a…
Which Common App Prompt is Best?
Prompt 2: Tell us how you failed and what you learned The second prompt is can work fine, but chances are if this incident was important enough to be your college essay topic, then it’s a story that’s “central to [your] identity,” which brings us back…