by j9robinson | Jun 1, 2017
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...
by j9robinson | May 25, 2017
In One Word: Focus! I’ve been reading college application essays for the last decade. I’m probably into the thousands by now. Looking back, I have identified the most common flaw in many of them. They are too general. Which make them...
by j9robinson | Apr 19, 2017
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...
by j9robinson | Apr 13, 2017
Can a Risky College Application Essay Get You Into the Ivies? Maybe… This time of year, a flurry of stories hit the national media about students who get into all the Ivy League schools (plus Stanford). The stories always include scrutiny and speculation...
by j9robinson | Oct 25, 2016
FAQ | College Application Essays I’m sharing below 20 of the most common questions about college application essays that I have been asked over the years, along with links to longer explanations and related helpful information. This spring I published a book...
by j9robinson | Jul 29, 2016
As I’ve been watching the Democratic national convention this past week, I realized how much election speeches are like college application essays. Both are sales pitches. Both candidates and college applicants want something—badly! Candidates want votes....
by j9robinson | Feb 13, 2016
Stand Out in Your Common Application Essay So you are ready to start writing your Common Application Essay? Congratulations! You have found the best source of specific tips and strategies on exactly how to brainstorm topics for each of the 5 prompts–and...
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 | 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 | 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...
