A big week for college acceptances and your college app essays. My stomach is in knots, waiting to hear news from all the students I advised on their Common App essays and applications. This is the first of the high anxiety weeks! Fingers X’d for all of you (& your families). — You’ll get 1 Continue Reading »
As an essay coach, I’m often asked, “What’s the Common App essay timetable? When should my kid start writing The Essay?” I’m so glad you asked! It’s not as easy an answer as “the 4th of July”– though that CAN be a good time to start. The Common App Essay, AKA the Personal Statement, is Continue Reading »
In this winter of so much change and unsettling news, the Common App essay prompts will stay the same — great news for students and families grappling with college admissions. That’s because they are such good sources of inspiration. These Common Application prompts consistently generate interesting personal statements from students across the country and around Continue Reading »
I was recently asked what a mother should tell her very sensitive son if he’s rejected at his first choice college when decisions come out next week. She was talking about one of the most selective colleges in the country, where only about 7% of the applicants are admitted. Aside from offering your child tea Continue Reading »
As a seasoned college essay consultant, I was recently asked to contribute to “7 Expert Tips for the Common App Essay,” published by BestColleges.com. It’s a beginner’s look at the personal statement. Once you read it, please come back and delve into my many posts on the subject. My strategies are based on decades as Continue Reading »
Reading a new testimonial and one sent to me five years ago that I somehow forgot to post (how did that happen?!), I have been thinking about what it is I do when I work with people. Students come to me with their talents, their accomplishments, and their stories. They know what their accomplishments are Continue Reading »
I don’t need to tell anyone reading this post that this is a spring for high school juniors unlike any other. Instead of being in school, you’re home, taking classes online. Instead of playing sports, maybe you’re playing ping pong with your siblings. Instead of visiting with your friends, you’re … well, wondering how long Continue Reading »
In these uncertain days of The Virus, every bit of good news is magnified by ten or maybe by 100. So I’m especially excited to share this year’s news from my clients about where they’ve been accepted. This year, clients got in early action/early decision to Harvard, MIT, Tufts, and Notre Dame, and regular decision Continue Reading »
For a student whose recent life has been rocked by tragedy and high drama, a little more drama has just come his way. From The Hill this morning: “A survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting said Monday that Harvard University has rescinded his acceptance after recently surfaced screenshots showed him using racial Continue Reading »
Future applicants to Princeton have a new requirement for applying: Instead of submitting test scores for the SAT and ACT Writing Sections, applicants must submit a graded paper, written in the previous three years of high school. Details are here and this page leads to a list of FAQs that should answer all of your Continue Reading »