Parents often want to help their kids with their college essays. The question is, how much “help” is too much? How can you truly help your child craft a college essay that will best represent them, and where are you stepping over the line? Suzie Wynne, Diana Hanson and I (Evelyn Jerome-Alexander) have been … Read more
It’s become a staple of the college application process – the “Why Us?” supplemental essay! As colleges review applications in a holistic manner (what does that mean?), they look at grades, test scores (sometimes but also sometimes not!), activities and leadership, recommendations from your teachers, the quality of your writing, and finally, in many … Read more
If you missed our “Four Keys to Success in College Admission” webinar, it’s here to the right, and the slide deck is below. These tips are specifically geared to help YOU – parents of high school seniors – through your child’s college admission process, while maintaining your sanity and your relationship with that very … Read more
When we parent-aged people applied to college years ago, we knew that the super-selective colleges were looking for “well-rounded” students with top grades and test scores. There was no holistic admission back then; top grades and scores were the driving factor. The Shift to Holistic Admission However, things have changed. Over the past decade, more … Read more
As colleges place less importance on test scores, they’ll look even more closely at students’ activities and college essays, as they try to really figure out who you are and how you’ll contribute to their campus community. There are a lot of resources out there about college essays, but we’ve compiled our top tips and … Read more
The passive voice is a style of writing that emphasizes something other than what you really want the reader to focus on. It’s common for high school students to write in the passive voice, because they’ve been taught by their English teachers for years that they should not be the subject of their writing … Read more
For the Class of 2021, both the Common Application and the Coalition application offer an extra space for students to talk about their experience during the COVID-19 spring, summer and fall through a specific COVID-19 essay prompt. Most non-Common App and Coalition colleges will give you space to talk about your COVID-19 experience as well. … Read more
Rising high school seniors sometimes approach their college essays in the same way they approach their English class essays. They are two totally different things! And therefore, students should approach college essays differently. Here are some basic differences: There’s no thesis statement. This is not an analytical work – you aren’t comparing or contrasting literature, … Read more
It’s mid-October, verging on late October (where exactly is that dividing line?). You’re looking for things to do to avoid working on your college apps, aren’t you? It’s really just the essays, right? Well there are lots of other ways you can be moving the ball forward as deadlines approach. Here are some suggestions: SEVEN … Read more
[Note: this is a pretty long article – but chock-full of great info if you are applying to the UCs! There’s a “quick tips” post on applying to the UCs here.] Lisa Przekop’s son was denied admission at UCSB a few years back. She’s in good company – many students were not admitted – but … Read more