by j9robinson | Dec 17, 2011
This fall, one of my tutoring students taught me a lesson about how cheating on these essays can backfire–even if you don’t get caught. He wanted to write his essay for the Common App on a trip he took to Guatamala to work with poor children. At one point,...
by j9robinson | Nov 4, 2011
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...
by j9robinson | Oct 14, 2011
College Admissions Essays: How to Answer the Supplemental “Short Answer” Prompt The Common Application requires one long college admissions essay. But it also has a short essay, a supplemental question that asks students to “briefly elaborate on one of...
by j9robinson | Aug 11, 2011
College Admissions Essays: How to Start Your Core College Application Essay If you are writing a college admissions essay that responds to a prompt that asks you to tell about yourself, or about “a time,” or describe a quality, background, interest,...
by j9robinson | Mar 27, 2011
I haven’t posted anything in recent weeks. My role as a college essay tutor wraps up in January and February. But if you are still working on an essay or personal statement, I would read through this blog for ideas and inspiration! This spring, I have also been...
by j9robinson | Jan 17, 2011
I heard of Wordling from a gardening friend over at a totally unrelated blog, called Lost in the Landscape. (Believe it or not, I do other things than read college essays!) Wordling is a program where you can drop in some text and it creates a colorful collage of...
by j9robinson | Oct 2, 2010
College Admissions Essays: How To Fine Edit Your College Application Essay You are finally finished with your essay. It’s time to copy it into the online application and send it off. You’ve worked hard. Why not make sure it’s fabulous? Follow...
by j9robinson | Sep 27, 2010
College Admissions Essay Title or No Title? I like titles. But they need to be good. A title should be short and witty. Not cutesy. The tone of the title and essay should match. The best ones don’t give away too much about the essay, and only hint at what’s to...
by j9robinson | Sep 20, 2010
College Application Essays: They Are Easier Than You Think! A friend just told me his daughter was not going to apply to the UC (University of California) schools because she would need to write two college admissions essays. Instead, she was going to stick to the Cal...
by j9robinson | Sep 16, 2010
College Application Essays How Far Out Should You Go? Interesting post on the New York Times’ blog on college admissions, called The Choice. The article was about whether to include your random interests–ranging from an obsession with Lady Gaga to riding...
