by j9robinson | Nov 5, 2017
If you are just starting to write your four short UC essays (called Personal Insight Questions), here are ten simple tips that can help you crank them out. I’ve written longer posts on how to brainstorm and map out answers for each of these questions for the...
by j9robinson | Aug 9, 2017
Confused on How to Format Your Common Application Essay? Here are 9 Hot Tips The 2017-18 Common Application opened for business earlier this week (August. 1). Chances are you will soon need to know how to format your common application essay. If you are on the ball,...
by j9robinson | Jul 25, 2017
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...
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 | 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 | Sep 12, 2016
As you probably know, the University of California changed its required essay prompts for 2016-17. Instead of writing two longer personal statement essays, you now chose from eight prompts (which they call Personal Insight Questions) and write four short...
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 | Jul 28, 2016
Want to Go To College In California? Get Your Application in ASAP!! This year marks my 30th year living in California. I love this state! I moved here from across the country to join my future husband in 1986, and never looked back. The people are welcoming and...
by j9robinson | Jul 18, 2016
Some of my tutoring students skim through a college application essay prompt (such as the five options for The Common Application essay requirement), and in a flash, find one that speaks to them. Others come armed with a long list of topic ideas they have been toying...
by j9robinson | May 12, 2016
A Q&A With The Author of the Viral Costco Essay Last month, Brittany Stinson learned she got into five Ivy League colleges, as well as Stanford and many other top schools. When a newspaper reporter asked her to share her college application essay, Brittany...
