How to Ignore College Application Essay Hype

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What Do Admissions Officers Really Really Want?

College Application Essays Hot Writing Tips from The Other Side!   If you haven’t noticed, I have a lot of opinions about what makes a great college application essay. But who am I? I’ve never been an admissions officer, so how do I know what they...

Essay Topics That Worked–And Why

College Application Essays How Anecdotes Make Them Work   One of the best ways to learn what types of topics make the most interesting essays is to check out what other students wrote about. Especially if those students had the right guidance and came up with...

The Perfect Topic: Right Under Your Nose

  College Application Essays: Search For the Perfect Topic It’s Closer Than You Think   I’ve learned a lot about what makes a great essay topic over the last six years I’ve helped students with their college application essays. If you’re...

Find Your Defining Qualities

No matter what the prompt asks for, almost any effective college essay should showcase one or several of what I call your “defining qualities.” If the prompt asks you to write a personal statement (for The Common App), tell about yourself or wants to know...

How to Land in the “Yes” Pile

College Application Essays Five Places to Start After helping students discover their own unique topics over the last five or so years, I can spot a great topic the minute a student mentions one. And I suspect it’s no different for the college  admissions people...