Is Your Privilege Showing?

  College Application Essays Humility Goes a Long Way   Many of the students I work with are from privileged backgrounds. (Hey, it’s expensive to hire a tutor!) They live in affluent communities, go on extravagant vacations and enjoy pricey hobbies and...

Why The Real Risk Is Playing It Safe

   College Admissions Essays Must Be Interesting  How To Stay Bold And Avoid the Trap of a Dull Essay   After six years working with students, parents and college counselors on writing college admissions essays, I’m more convinced than ever that...

The Top Student=Bad Essay Paradox

College Application Essays How to Stay On Top of the Heap For some reason, “top students”–aka high achievers, go-getters, A-types, test-takers, straight-A students, you know who you are!–often have the hardest time writing these essays. At...

How Far Will You Go for A Great Essay Topic?

College Admissions Essays:  Don’t Try to Impress! I just read an interesting article in the New York Times about how high school students are seeking out exotic trips, usually to foreign countries, mainly so they will have an intriguing topic for their college...

The Catch-22 of College Admissions Essays

It feels like a set-up. First, you are supposed to reveal how wonderful you are in 500 words–about the number you can cram onto a postcard in your teensiest handwriting. Second, you must sell yourself to the college of your dreams—setting yourself apart from the...