by j9robinson | Jul 17, 2016
No doubt about it. Supplemental essays are the nasty little vexation of the college application process. (And you thought the Common App essay was a pain!) I suggest students first tackle writing their core essay for The Common Application, or other applications that...
by j9robinson | Jul 15, 2016
Got a Burning Question About Your College Application Essay? (Leave it in the Comments!) After working with students like you for nearly a decade now, I’ve heard a lot of questions about these cursed essays. And you are so smart to ask them. How else can you...
by j9robinson | Jun 28, 2016
It’s been a big year for changes in the college admissions scene. I wrote this guest column about many of them in my local newspaper, The Laguna Beach Independent, this week. About the same time this was published, yet another college application system entered...
by j9robinson | Jun 9, 2016
Students Must Write Four, All-New Short Transfer Essays to Apply to University of California If you want to transfer to any of the University of California schools, you need to write four short essays. The UC changed the required essays this year (2016-17), and...
by j9robinson | Jun 7, 2016
The first step to writing a winning college application essay is to find that perfect topic. This is the most important step, and often the hardest. Once you land on one, you are ready to roll. Things fall in place. You map out a simple outline, sit down and...
by j9robinson | May 31, 2016
Learn How to Avoid Black-and-White Thinking to Add Depth to Your Essays It’s exciting to see that word is getting out to collegebound students, and those who support their admissions quests, that real-life stories power the most effective college...
by j9robinson | May 23, 2016
I arrived home to California yesterday from St. Louis, Missouri, after attending my son’s graduation from Washington University in chemical engineering. (Woot Woot!) As part of graduating from college (as well as high school), my son and other students are...
by j9robinson | May 12, 2016
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...
by j9robinson | May 11, 2016
Coalition Prompt 4: What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)? When I first read through the five prompts students have to choose from to...
by j9robinson | May 10, 2016
You Believe That? Coalition for Access Essay Prompt 3: Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs? So you need to write your core essay for the new Coalition for...
