Don’t Write Sucky Supplemental Essays!

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...

How to Write the Cappex Essays

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...

Strategies for the New UC Transfer Essays 2016-17

  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...

How to Find a Killer Topic

  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...