by j9robinson | Jun 10, 2015
The Best Way to “Show” in Your College App Essay When I started as a young reporter at my first newspaper job in Illinois, I was assigned to cover a half dozen small farm towns. I didn’t think much would happen out there. But after about a month,...
by j9robinson | Jun 2, 2015
or Why Bad Writers Write the Best College Application Essays If you think you can’t write, and you need to write a college application essay, this is your lucky day. There’s a higher-than-average chance you will write an awesome essay. (If you think you...
by j9robinson | May 31, 2015
Short Answer: ONE College Application Essay for The Common App The Common Application comes out officially August 1. But they already announced the changes for this coming 2015-16 season. The most important were changes to the five essay prompts. (You can write...
by j9robinson | May 30, 2015
The folks at The Common Application added a new prompt this year and I love it. It asks you to write about a problem. What’s so great about a problem? Problems = Stories = Great Essays! This may be the only time having a juicy problem is a good thing. So take...
by j9robinson | May 26, 2015
I’m not sure how many high schools require their English teachers to help students write college application essays, but those that do could give their juniors and seniors a huge advantage in the college admissions game. For many students, an assignment...
by j9robinson | May 21, 2015
Colleges Encourage Students to Write About $ and Work in College Application Essays The New York Times today published the seven college application essays it liked the best for its contest about writing on the topic of money. Most of the winners wrote...
by j9robinson | May 11, 2015
I’m always on the lookout for new voices in the college admissions industry who try to help students and parents and all of us keep a balanced and sane perspective on the frenzied quest for the perfect college. Kristin White, an educational consultant who...
by j9robinson | May 3, 2015
Here’s a guest post by a talented college application essay writing coach named Ethan Sawyer. I love what he shares about how important it is to have both an engaging story at the start of an essay, and then a key insight that reveals what it meant. From Ethan:...
by j9robinson | Apr 30, 2015
Get My Latest College Application Essay Writing Guide FREE on Mother’s Day on Amazon! Yup, it’s that simple. I’m celebrating the recent publication of the paperback version of my latest writing guide on Amazon by offering the Kindle...
by j9robinson | Apr 7, 2015
Storytelling “Clues” from a Master for your College Application Essay If anyone knows how to spin a great story, it’s this guy: Andrew Stanton. Ok, I hadn’t heard of him before either, but I certainly know about his films: All the Toy Story...
