5 Tips for your College Essay to Stand out among thousands

By now, high school seniors should be starting their college essays. A growing number of colleges use the Common Application, which opened on August 1. The CommonApp offers a choice of prompts for its main essay, which gives students a range of topics to write about. Because the main CommonApp essay is sent to all colleges that the student selects, it is very important that students do not say anything specific to any college in their CommonApp essay. (The supplemental essays, however, should be very specific to the college.)

Admissions officers are reading hundreds (sometimes even 1000+) essays of prospective applicants so students need to write compelling essays. If you want your essay to stand out, it absolutely cannot be a run-of-the-mill, boring essay. I constantly remind my students that the college application essay comes from the heart!

To write an essay that stands out among thousands, here are my top 5 tips:

The Ohio State University Oval
The Ohio State University Oval is the heart of the Columbus campus.

1.Brainstorm before writing – most students will look at the choice of prompts and start responding with a first draft for the prompt that’s “easiest” to write. If you want to think and write at a deeper level, brainstorm ideas for each essay first. This exercise will help with recalling experiences that may go unnoticed but offer a more vivid example of who you are.

2.Take breaks in between drafts – rather than cranking out drafts in one sitting, you can improve your essay by writing a draft, then returning to the essay after several days to continue on the next draft. This, of course, implies working on the essay well in advance of the deadline! When working on the main CommonApp essay, I even suggest drafting 1-2 supplemental essays prior to finalizing the main essay. The time in-between drafts allows your thoughts to refresh and re-read the draft with a new perspective.

3. Read aloud – reading your essay aloud helps you to hear what the essay sounds like to the reader. It may feel awkward or uncomfortable but makes a difference, and it’s not the same as silent reading. Remember, if you don’t want to read your own essay . . . don’t expect the admissions officer to want to read your essay!

4.Revise off-line – the best way to spot errors and make edits to your essay is on a printed version. Yes, it may save paper and time to revise on your computer screen. Seeing the printed essay, however, gives you a different feel for the flow of the essay. Try it and please let me know if it works for you!

5. Avoid too many readers – 1-2 reviewers for your essay is plenty. When you have too many people reviewing your essay, you will more likely get contradictory feedback. Also, incorporating other people’s edits can change your voice. It will be obvious to admissions officers if your essay comes across as over-edited or too polished, which may hurt your admissions chances.

The net benefit of each of these tips is that it leaves the voice and control of the essay in the hands of the student. The most important quality of the college essay that stands out among the thousands of others is authenticity. The essay has to be real and that’s easy to do when it comes from the heart.

What has helped your college essay stand out? 

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Why You Want To Avoid This Essay Trap At All Costs

You have good grades. You have good activities, recommendations, and test scores.

You have all the right credentials to get into your dream college.

But guess what?

Thousands of other students have the same GPAs, SAT scores, and teachers fawning over how smart they are.

I’m not telling you this so you don’t feel special.

I’m telling you this to make sure your essays are as special as possible.

With your Common Application essay and your supplements, you have the chance to show admissions officers the value that only you can bring to their school.

Cliché essay topics and phrases must be avoided because you risk sounding like every other student.

Do not write about the time you got cut from soccer tryouts and worked hard to make the team the next year. Thousands of other students have the exact same story.  Do not write that you are a “hard-working person”—that will be clear from your transcript and your recommendations.

Admissions officers want you to show them, in detail, your drive, curiosity, and passion without using any of those words.

They want you to paint a picture of something that is important to you. Tell them something that they could not deduce from anything in your transcript, activities resume, or recommendations. This element of surprise will bring the best writing out of you and will be just as enjoyable to read.

The Best Essay I’ve Read

One of the best college essays I’ve helped edit was about singing in the shower. Why was it so compelling? They were able to describe singing in the shower with the same detail and emotion as someone would describe singing on stage at the Lincoln Center. It showed that they could bring their intellectual vibrancy to even the simplest activity.

Cliché topics are not limited to “hard work pays off” stories. For this year, I can guarantee that thousands of students will write about being isolated during the quarantine. They will talk about the quietness of their life, what it was like to be away from friends, and how they began a new bread-making hobby. Unless you truly have a unique, vulnerable, or creative moment to share about your experience with coronavirus, I suggest avoiding using the words “quarantine” and “coronavirus” because they will be so widely used this application season.

To ensure your essays are cliché free, I have a quick two-step process.

1.) Ask yourself—Is this a story only I can tell?

If you are writing about an experience that you know several friends could also write about, you have not thought of a story or topic personal enough to you.

2.) Show, Don’t Tell

This phrase should be written on a post-it note and stuck right above the computer you write your essays on. This is the number one rule that will make sure you are not using any clichés. That’s because when you go into detail and describe settings, emotions, and observations, you enter a world that is entirely your own. No one has your unique perspective and that is why all the best essays are written with this phrase in mind. 

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5 Application Deadlines That Every Parent Must Understand

College application deadlines are super-important because they can make a difference in where your teen is admitted and how much your family pays for college!

When my student, Debbie, was a senior, she became enamored with Tufts University. She was excited about Tufts because of its balance of challenging academic courses and a strong supportive community for her. Tufts had 3 of the 5 deadlines at the time. Before I share more about Debbie’s decision, I want to briefly explain these application deadlines.

There are 5 application deadlines that every parent of a college-bound teen must understand.

 

Early Action

Your teen will submit their Early Action application usually in November and receive a response by mid-December. Early Action is NON-BINDING. This is important because while the teen may know their admissions decision in December, they still have until May 1 to decide if they’d like to enroll. The student will therefore have time to learn admissions decisions from other colleges and their financial awards before deciding. I generally encourage students to apply to 1-2 colleges through early action.

 

Restricted Early Action

Restricted Early Action is the same as Early Action except you can only apply to ONE college if they have a Restricted Early Action policy. Here are the colleges that have typically had Restricted Early Action:

  • Harvard College
  • Princeton University
  • Stanford University
  • Yale University

Be sure to read the fine print for your college of interest.

 

Early Decision

Early Decision is similar to Early Action with one caveat . . . it is binding. This means that if your teen is admitted through Early Decision then they must enroll in that college regardless of any financial award. That can be a bit risky for families unless they are sure that they will qualify for a need-based award or sure that they can pay the tuition and fees in full without assistance.

When a student applies through Early Decision, the parent must consent. It’s that serious. When Debbie applied, Tufts offered Early Decision 1 and Early Decision 2.

 

Rolling Admissions

A rolling admissions deadline means that a student can apply at any time and usually receive a response in 2-4 weeks. The colleges on a rolling admissions basis accept students first come. However, one thing that students should know is that the seats fill early. Even though a college may state in their policy that the admissions is rolling until March, all of their seats for an incoming freshman class may be filled by late January/early February.

 

Regular Decision

The majority of colleges will have a Regular Decision deadline even if they do not have any early deadlines. Most regular decision deadlines are January through March. Students will learn the admissions outcomes in late March, early April. The universal response date for all regular decision deadlines is May 1. In 2020, some colleges extended their notification date to June 1.

Regular Decision was the third option for Debbie to choose for her Tufts application.

To recap, Tufts was #1 on Debbie’s college list. She had a choice of applying Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2 or Regular Decision. Ultimately, she attended Tufts and her family paid in full. Which deadline did she apply? Post in the comments below.

3 Easy Tips To Write Your Personal Statement And Get Admitted

3 Easy Tips to Write Your Personal Statement & Get Admitted

Does your dream college require a personal statement for their admissions process?

Many of my seniors who are applying to state universities will complete a personal statement for their application, rather than respond to an essay prompt. Prompts on the Common Application are typical for college admissions essays. Although the personal statement is also used to determine college admissions, it’s quite different.

What is a personal statement?

Think of the personal statement as a brief bio, about 1 to 1-1/2 pages. It should be just as interesting and creative as an essay. When I say “bio”, the first response from you may be to start with “I was born…” That’s boring and too far back.

Here are three tips I share with my seniors so that they write a compelling personal statement to get admitted:

1. Brainstorm about 3-4 highlights of your life story.

You can start by listing experiences, activities, or people that are important to you. Taking this first step will help you think more broadly about who you are and what matters to you.

2. Focus on an important experience that you think speaks to who you are.

Nothing is more boring to read than a laundry list of your accomplishments. This won’t help you stand out. Focusing on one experience will be more interesting to your reader because it will:

  1. a) have more depth
  2. b) grab the reader’s attention, and
  3. c) keep you from rambling.

Yes, it will take more time for you to write. But it will also have more impact.

3. Use your own writings but not the writing of others.

Your personal voice is critical in a personal statement.

Reviewing personal statements that others have written to get into college will get in the way of telling your own story. If you need more inspiration, you can incorporate what you’ve written in your other college admissions essays.

Remember that the personal statement, like the college admissions essay, is written from the heart (not the head). In short, that means it should not be treated as something you write for school, i.e. no five-paragraph essay allowed.

If you are applying to schools that require admission essays rather than personal statements, here are some tips for making your college essay to stand out among thousands of others. And what if you come across a college application with questions noted as “optional?” Should you still answer them? Click here to find out.

Whether you need to write a personal statement or a classic college essay to get admitted, it just takes a little planning to ensure your chances of admission success.

Which colleges are you applying to that require a personal statement?

If you’re looking for one-on-one guidance to help you get into (or pay for) college, click here to learn more. 

Want to see more posts like this? Don’t miss these: 

What to expect at freshman orientation

Top 10 must-dos for college-bounds juniors

7 ways to support your child during the college application process

This article was originally published on July 26th, 2016, and has since been updated. 

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Top 10 Must-Do’s for College-bound Juniors

ithaca college campus

College-bound high school juniors have a full plate of activities not only at school but throughout the rest of their lives, too.

Not surprisingly, I often hear from my juniors how tough it is. Junior year is a particularly challenging time because the course load may be more demanding. Often, this is when the stress of college is more piercing, too. 

Sometimes, juniors might even avoid the college conversation altogether. But the delay will only make it harder in the fall of senior year. 

Must-dos for college-bound juniors.

To help you manage stress and ensure your future success, here are 10 must-dos for every college-bound junior:

juniors spring campus visit

  1. Know why you want to go to college. This is the most important question to ask yourself before doing anything college-related! Your “why” will help you determine the right school, program, and path to getting where you want to be. 
  2. Take challenging courses. Even if you think your grade may be lower, taking a harder class will show college admissions officers that you push yourself.
  3. Read for pleasure. Yes—reading IS fun! If you have a lot of homework, you can read during holiday breaks. Reading for pleasure is the best way to improve your test scores and write better essays. 

Do you need a little help proving to your child just how fun reading can be? Here are 5 tips to help them learn to love reading!

  1. Research colleges. It’s easy to assume that you know all you need to know about a college. The truth is, not doing research will shortchange you. It can lead to a wrong college choice and you could pay more for college than you need to. Real research is reviewing the website in detail and being able to discuss why you’re interested in a college (beyond location and appearance).

 

 

  1. Plan several campus visits. Many colleges offer special junior preview visits. Take advantage of those opportunities as a way to see dorms, learn about the admissions process, meet students, and learn if you can see yourself there.

Campus visits don’t have to be a dreadful experience. Here are my 5 top tips for a stress-free campus visit. 

  1. Know your financial situation. Will you need to apply for scholarships or financial aid? It’s not too early to talk with your parents about the financial considerations for college.
  2. Get to know teachers. It’s likely that your junior year teachers may write your college recommendations. Start as soon as you can getting to know your teachers and letting them get to know you. Here’s how college-bound juniors can get best teacher recommendations before their first college application
  3. Set a summer goal. Do you want to learn more about an academic subject? Start a business? Get a job? Do a language immersion? Do community service? There are so many summer opportunities and programs for rising seniors. Achieving your summer goal will give you experience that will help you in your college search and writing essays.
  4. Take SAT or ACT, but not both. All colleges will accept either test so determine which test is best for you and stick with it. Plan your test dates so that you can take a second test before senior year, if necessary.
  5. Know yourself. What makes you special? What are your weaknesses? Who are you really? Do some deep self-reflection, journal, or take an assessment to answer these questions. Focusing on these aspects now will help your future application stand out and allow time to correct past mistakes.

Are you struggling to find the right college? Sign up for my FREE upcoming master class!

Start now.

Juniors can make this year their best year of high school by checking off this list in the months to come. Which of these items do you feel is the hardest to get done?

If you’re looking for one-on-one guidance to help you get into (or pay for) college, click here for help. 

Want to see more posts like this? Don’t miss these: 

Rolling admissions: benefits and drawbacks 

College application checklist

7 ways to support your child during the college application process


This article was originally published on September 14, 2015, and has been republished.

 

 

How to improve your chances of getting in to Yale

Beyond its Ivy League brand and selective admissions, there’s more to know about Yale to understand whether it’s a fit. Given how competitive it is to be admitted to Yale, it’s worth it for students to get to know the university beyond the surface of its New Haven location.

 

Admittedly, I love the artsy feel of the town itself. The prolific arts and culture scene are well-matched with the arts and entertainment figures who call Yale their alma mater. Two of my favorite actresses, Angela Bassett and Jodie Foster, graduated from Yale and there are several others.

 

Yale is a major research university with a historic commitment to undergraduate teaching. Research is a big component of academics. The curriculum across the undergraduate years is 1/3 distribution courses, 1/3 major courses, and 1/3 electives. Distribution course requirements cover the humanities and arts, social sciences, and natural sciences plus two courses that emphasize writing and another two that emphasize quantitative reasoning. Foreign language mastery is also a requirement. Interestingly, there are no minors at Yale, only majors. Juniors and seniors can take classes in any of the thirteen distinguished graduate schools.

 

Last year, Yale received over 36,000 applications for a class of approximately 1,300 students. The majority of the applicants are highly qualified which makes the admissions decisions very difficult. Students seeking admission to Yale are weighed according to these ABCs of getting in:

A- Academics [school context, teacher recommendations (from 11th or 12th), SAT/ACT testing, with subject tests]

 

B- Breadth and depth for extracurricular activities (i.e. stop doing a lot of activities for the sake of resume building)

 

C- Character (evidenced in essays)

 

Given the vibe of Yale and New Haven, arts supplements are even welcomed!

 

The keys to getting in to Yale is 1) knowing yourself, 2) being your authentic self in academics and outside interests, 3) researching Yale thoroughly and 4) applying to Yale only if there’s a sincere fit with their campus academically, socially, financially and vocationally.

 

 

Additional quick facts about Yale:

Acceptance: less than 5%

Freshmen retention: 99%

Freshmen from out of state: 93%

4-year Graduation rate: 86%

Most popular majors: economics, political science and government, history, psychology, molecular biology

 

Social: There are 32 Division 1 teams with several championships in men’s ice hockey, basketball, women’s volleyball and sailing. In addition to athletics, there are 500 active clubs including 50 performance groups and 60 cultural associations. Only 20% of students are involved in Greek life. Yale’s proximity to downtown New Haven affords students a vibrant artistic and cultural life, countless restaurants (I had the best Cuban meal ever at a local spot), and a myriad of academic and service opportunities within 15 minutes of campus.

 

Housing: There are 12 Residential colleges at Yale which are smaller communities where students live, eat, socialize, and pursue academic and extracurricular activities. Although undergraduates are required to live in the residential college for 2 years, most choose to live all 4 years there.

 

Similar colleges to consider: Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania

 

Financial aid: Yale offers only need-based scholarships, with 100% of need met. Although the cost of attendance is $76,000, the average need-based financial aid package is $60K. About 80% of students receive scholarships/financial aid. Yale covers financial aid for one summer, in addition to all academic terms.

 

What do you think about Yale? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Vassar College: For the Creative Teen with lots of Interests

college for teens with lots of interests

When I recently discussed the merits of Vassar with a family, the first response from parents was “Isn’t that a women’s college?” Over 50 years ago, indeed Vassar was a women’s college but since then has been coed.

Vassar students and academics

Vassar is known for its innovative curriculum across multiple disciplines and was the first college to offer an undergraduate degree in cognitive science.

 

The typical Vassar student is creative, proud of individuality, and has an independent spirit. Likewise, those natural inclinations match well with Vassar’s open curriculum. This “open curriculum” means that there are no core or required courses that all students must take. Instead, Vassar students must fulfill a language requirement, take a writing course during freshman year, and complete 1 quantitative course before graduation.

 

This type of program of study then frees students to design the plan of study that best matches their unique interests. The flexibility of an open curriculum allows over half of Vassar students to graduate with two majors. Upon graduation, a strong 70% of Vassar undergrads go to graduate school, with most of them going on to medical school.

 

Given its 2,500 student body, introductory courses, often taken in freshman year have an average class size of 21 students. All classes are small seminars. When it’s time to do research or simply get help with a project, each student is matched with his/her own librarian. Art majors get their own studio in senior year which can be a huge time-saving perk.

 

In terms of freshman year, a unique offering at Vassar is that freshmen are assigned to a group of 10 fellow classmates, which is led by an upperclassman leader to help with the transition.

 

Additional quick facts about Vassar:

Acceptance: 25%

Freshmen retention: 95%

Freshmen from out of state: 73%

4-year Graduation rate: 88%

Student to Faculty Ratio: 8 to 1

Most popular majors: economics, political science, biology

 

Social: There are 23 Division 3 teams at Vassar with about a quarter of the student body participating. There are over 50 theatre productions during the year and 100+ student clubs. With over 1,000 events held on campus each year, there is plenty for students to do and enjoy outside of class. There is no Greek life at Vassar.

 

Housing: On-campus student housing is guaranteed for 4 years. Interestingly, 70% of faculty also live on campus. Each residence hall has 1 or 2 faculty as house fellows.

 

Similar colleges to consider: Amherst, Brown, Columbia, Pomona, Swarthmore, Tufts, Wesleyan

 

Financial aid: Vassar meets 100% of need for domestic and international students for all 4 years. In addition, theres a low or no-loan policy for lower income families.  The cost of attendance is $73,000, with 60% of students receiving a range of scholarships from $1,200 to $60,000. The average aid package is $52,000.

 

What do you think about Vassar? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Five Tips for Teaching Your Child to Love Reading (and How This Can Help Them Get Into College!)

Summer reading for teens who hate reading

What if I told you helping your child develop a love for reading is one of the best gifts you can give?

It will benefit your child throughout her life—teens who love reading have a better likelihood of getting into the college of their choice. (More on that later.)

One of the first questions I ask college-bound students is, “Tell me about the last book you read for pleasure.” 

Usually, there’s a pause. Then they mention a book that’s clearly from a school reading list like “Catcher in the Rye” or “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

“Really? For pleasure?” I ask. 

Once I call them out on it, they usually confess that the last one was a Harry Potter novel from several years ago. 

My bolder students will come out and admit that they “hate” reading.

Over the years, about 25 percent of the students I’ve worked with have been avid readers who truly love diving into a good book. 

Those are the students who’ve been admitted to the most selective colleges, like Stanford, Harvard, University of Chicago, MIT, and similar.

What’s interesting is that when I ask parents if their child is a reader, about 75 percent say their teen “used to be” a reader. 

When I then ask them when their child stopped reading, the most common response is: “Sixth grade.”

Why teens stop reading in grade 6.

There are several reasons why teens stop reading:

  • Screen time
  • Pressure to “be cool”
  • Friends don’t read or talk about books
  • Parents stop reading aloud to them

Yes, I did suggest that parents should continue reading aloud even through high school! 

Why parents should read aloud to their children (even when they’re teenagers!)

Reading aloud to your teen is a great way to model reading and expose your teen to an expanded vocabulary and important ideas. 

It goes back to the James Baldwin quote: “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

Middle School Reading List

To help your child develop a love of reading in middle school, try offering the following books.

[mk_table style=”style2″ el_class=”mytable”]

6th Inkheart
Cornelia Funke		 The Cay
Theodore Taylor
  Hatchet
Gary Paulsen		 Among the Hidden
Margaret Peterson Haddix and Cliff Nielsen
  Mysterious Benedict Society
Trenton Lee Stewart		  
7th Chains
Laurie Halse Anderson		 Chasing Vermeer
Blue Balliett
  Al Capone Does My Shirts
Gennifer Choldenko		 Supernaturalist
Eoin Colfer
  Code Orange
Caroline B. Cooney		  
8th The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett		 Red Kayak
Priscilla Cummings
  Hattie Big Sky
Kirby Larson		 Uglies
Scott Westerfeld
  To Be A Slave
Julius Lester		  

[/mk_table][vc_row][vc_column]

What is your teen reading this summer?

I understand that the school year is busy and your teen has a lot of homework. 

That means summer break is a good time for your teen to read! 

Many studies, including this article from The School Library Journal, have shown that students who don’t read consistently over the summer see their reading abilities stagnate. 

Even worse, this effect grows more prominent as they advance into high school.

Not every child naturally loves reading. Sometimes you might need to help them along, and summer is a great time to do so!

Here are 5 tips to help your child learn to love reading this summer:

  1. Have your teen set a summer reading goal and keep them accountable.
  2. Have your teen choose their own book to read, whether it’s graphic novels, cookbooks, or romance novels about vampires. . .reading is reading.
  3. Encourage your teen to read a book they enjoy for at least thirty minutes a day.
  4. Model reading for your teen. The more they see you reading, the more likely they are to follow your example.
  5. Have your teen sign up for the summer reading challenge at a local library. This could be a fun form of competition and a way to meet other teen readers.

It’s not too late! To help your teen pick out books to read this summer, we’ve compiled this list from several libraries and organized them by grade. 

High School Reading List

[mk_table style=”style2″ el_class=”mytable”]

9th Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina
and New Orleans
Don Brown		 We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
  Midwinterblood
Marcus Sedgwick		 Between Shades of Gray
Ruta Sepetys
  Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein		  
10th Ready Player One
Ernest Cline		 The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch
  Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer		 Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
  Bone Gap
Laura Ruby		  
11th I’ll Give You the Sun
Jandy Nelson		 Debunk It!: How To Stay Sane in a World of Misinformation
John Grant
  Defy the Stars
Claudia Gray		 The May Queen Murders
Sarah Jude
  In the Shadow of Blackbirds
Cat Winters		  
12th The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
Jeff Hobbs		 Enter Title Here
Rahul Kanakia
  American Girls
Alison Umminger		 Dirt Bikes, Drones, & Other Ways to Fly
Conrad Wesselhoeft
  Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History
Molly Schiot		  

[/mk_table][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Becoming a real reader can improve your teen’s vocabulary, make them a better writer, help them get into college, and enlarge their breadth of understanding of the world around them. 

What books would you add to these lists? Let me know in the comments below. 

Need a little more guidance?

For one-on-one support and other resources to help you or your child get into (or pay) for college click here.

If you’d like to learn more about helping your teen get into college, don’t miss these posts:

How to Save Time When Seeking Money for College
College Essay How-to: Who is someone you admire?
Get In and Get Money: 5 Tips for College-Bound Juniors

 

College Essay How-to: Who is someone you admire?

This article was originally published on April 23, 2012, and has been updated.

For many students, one of the most stressful and confusing parts of the college application process can be answering the essay questions.

To help you prepare for answering the 5 common college application questions, we’ll break each of them down. We’ll also go over some useful tips for answering these questions effectively and making your application stand out.

The second of the five most common questions you’ll see on a college application is:

“Who is someone you admire?”

On the Common Application, a similar question is worded as, “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and describe that influence.”

Even if your college application has the simple phrasing of, “Who is someone you admire?” applicants should go further into detail when they answer the “why” part of that question by describing that influence.

And to elaborate on what I mean by this. . . .

It should only take you about 5-10 words to tell “who” you admire. Then, the other 150+ words should show the readers “why” you admire that person.

As the applicant, you have a lot of leeway here in terms of who you choose, and that means you shouldn’t always opt for the low-hanging fruit.

Wondering what I mean by that?

Opting for the low-hanging fruit on a college essay question means writing about safe people, including historical figures like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, or even your mom or dad.

These aren’t necessarily bad choices, but they’re considered safe options that every other student will likely choose as well.

If you want your college application to really stand out from thousands of others, don’t opt for low-hanging fruit on the essay questions. Instead, dig deeper when you’re choosing what or who to write about.

Now you might be asking, okay, like WHO?

To start thinking about who you should write about, ask yourself these questions:

  • What is a meaningful experience I can describe well? (And when I say “describe well,” I mean that you should be able to write about this experience in a way the reader feels they were there with you)
  • What happened in that meaningful experience?
  • Who was there with me during this meaningful experience?
  • What characteristic of a specific person present during this meaningful experience was most memorable?

While you think about your responses to these questions, please free-write your initial thoughts. (And yes, I do mean to handwrite. You can read more about that here.)

Your responses will start you on a path to writing a strong college application essay that stands out above the rest!

Who did you choose?

Next, I’ll cover the 3rd most common essay question:

#3. Why do you want to attend this college?