My 2022 Essay Primer to Get You Started

Are you stuck in Essay Hell yet? The season is upon us.  Woot woot! Finding a great topic can be challenging. And then turning that into a written piece that sets you apart from other college applicants, and reveals your unique personality and character, even harder....

The Main Point of Your College App Essay

Know the Main Point You Want to Make About Yourself In Your Essay! Or else…   I don’t know why I haven’t written about this before. It’s soooooo important to writing a college application essay that will give you that edge in landing your...

How to Record Scratch Your College App Essay Stories

                       How to Background an Anecdote (Includes 5 writing examples at the bottom!) If you’ve done your homework on how to write an effective college application essay, you probably know the place to start is with your real-life stories. The...

How to Self-Reflect for College App Essays

Who Are You? Tips and Resources to Think About Yourself If you are working on your personal statement for The Common Application or other college applications, the first step is to start to think about yourself. Sounds easy enough. Who am I? What am I like? How did I...

Essay Lessons From a College Applicant Superstar

What You Can Learn From Michael Brown’s College Application Essay   I must have watched the viral video of Michael Brown learning he got into Stanford at least three times in a row. Such a feat and well-deserved accomplishment for what seems like an...

Why Kids CAN Write–If You Teach Them How

Students Stress Over College App Essays Because for the First Time They Want to Write But Realize They Don’t Know How The New York Times ran an article yesterday called “Why Kids Can’t Write.” Great piece, but I didn’t agree with the...

The Trouble with Boys and College Application Essays

Who Writes Better College Application Essays: Boys or Girls? When I gave one of my summer college application essay writing boot camps this last weekend in my hometown of Laguna Beach, I had 11 boys and one girl. As the students showed up, I casually mentioned this...

Cultural Backgrounds Fuel Standout College App Essays

  Everyone Has a Cultural Background Yours Could Make an Awesome College App Essay Topic! I love working with students from all over the world. I’m always surprised, however, how many of these students overlook their rich backgrounds when brainstorming...

How To Give College Admissions Officials Essays They Want

Colleges Love Your Stories Especially Those That Seem Almost Ordinary!   I’ve read several news articles in recent weeks featuring college admissions officials sharing what they liked about college application essays they read over the last year. This...

3 Fixes for Cliche College Application Essay Topics

Should You Write About a Cliche Topic for Your College Application Essay? If you are just starting brainstorming ideas for your college application essays, one of the first pieces of advice you might stumble upon is to avoid “cliche” topics. I always warn...