by j9robinson | Oct 17, 2015
Advice for Students Who Are Underrepresented for Whatever Reason: Tell Your Personal Story In my previous post, I shared my experience working with teachers and students from the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, where I’m giving a series of workshops on how to...
by j9robinson | Oct 16, 2015
First-Gen Students Learn to Write College Application Essays Last month, I had the privilege to work with a group of teachers and students on their writing and college application essays from the Rio Grande Valley in the southernmost tip of Texas. Almost all...
by j9robinson | Oct 12, 2015
Last week, a new student came to my home for help on his college application essays. I asked this eager senior about his target schools. He told me Stanford was his top pick, but he was applying to most of the ivies, along with a couple UCs (Cal and UCLA). Then...
by j9robinson | Sep 12, 2015
Go Deep to Reveal Your Intellectual Vitality! When writing narrative-style college application essays, I advise students to start by sharing a real-life story that illustrates one of their defining qualities or characteristics. Once a student shares a real-life...
by j9robinson | Sep 11, 2015
Go Deep in Your College Application Essay! When writing narrative-style college application essays, I advise students to start by sharing a real-life story that illustrates one of their defining qualities or characteristics. All stories contain some type...
by j9robinson | Aug 4, 2015
The 2015-16 Common Application is officially out. If you’re applying to college, you will be making a lot of decisions in upcoming months. Important ones. What schools should you apply to? What should you write your college application essay about so you...
by j9robinson | Jul 25, 2015
The Best (and Worst) College Application Essay Topics Are Not What You Think! When I first started working with students on how to write college applications essays about eight years ago now, I put together a list of Do’s and Don’ts about picking...
by j9robinson | Jul 10, 2015
For more than 20 years, the magazine Vanity Fair has collected provocative and memorable details from the most famous people on the planet using their version of what is called the Proust Questionnaire. The famous French writer didn’t actually pen these...
by j9robinson | Jul 6, 2015
I loved a recent post by my friend, Lynn O’Shaughessy, who is a fellow journalist and now the international guru for creative ways to pay for college. (If you’re losing sleep over the insane cost of college, make sure to check out The College Blog.) Lynn...
by j9robinson | Jun 22, 2015
A lot of pieces go into crafting a college application essay that will help you stand out from the competition, and quite possibly push you through the door to your dream school: It needs to be engaging, especially at the start. (Here’s how you do that.)...
