Comic Relief for College App Essay Writing

by | Nov 18, 2014

  This hilarious video is making the rounds on the Internet (my niece’s husband shared it with me on Facebook) just in time for many college application essay deadlines. It’s funny because the outrageous statements made by students are painfully true. A...

It’s Official: Out with the Big Words!

by | Mar 10, 2014

  Big changes in the new SAT test announced recently caused quite a stir, especially that they were dropping the essay component. I was most excited, however, that they also were going to stop emphasizing “obscure” vocabulary words. Not only do I...

Is Your Privilege Showing?

by | Aug 7, 2013

  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...

How Will They Dub You?

by | Jul 27, 2013

Everyone is looking for that magic topic for their college application essay that will help them jump out from the essay pile, and shout, “Yes, that’s me!” I’ve written a lot about how you can go about landing on that unique topic. Here’s...

How to Answer Prompt #1 of the New Common Application

by | May 22, 2013

College Admissions Essays: The Common App. Prompt #1  My Favorite  Out of the seven prompts you can chose from to write your application essay for The Common Application, I like the first one a lot. (UPDATE: As of 2017, you can now write about any topic you want. See...

Forget the 5-paragraph Essay

by | Jun 14, 2010

  It’s time to let go of the 5-paragraph essay format that most English teachers have pounded into your DNA by now. College admissions essays are very different from the formal academic essays you wrote in high school. How? Well, most are called...