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CEA Blog
Yale Welcomes the Use of Technology in College Applications
Are you the next Steven Spielberg? Quentin Tarantino? Ava DuVernay? Well, now is the time to work your cinematic magic, because Yale has opened its arms to digital uploads in place of a short essay! Since more and more of us spend time viewing content than reading it (summer reading list) in our daily lives, […]
Why Summer is the Best Time to Write Your College Essay
Listen, we get it. The waves are crashing, sun is beaming, and all you want to do is chill. You’ve been working all year long to make sure your grades are up to par and that you’ve put enough energy into your (nine-thousand?) activities to make a real impact on your community and make an […]
The Common App Announces New Application for Transfer Students
The Common App has been a staple for college applicants for years, allowing undergraduate hopefuls to apply to multiple schools through the power of one application (with the choice of one essay prompt). The problem, however, was that all applicants found themselves facing an application meant for high school seniors, when only a fraction of […]
The 3 Most Common College Essay Topics: Why CEA’s Founder Thinks You Should Write About Them Anyway
The whole point of writing a college essay is to differentiate yourself from other applicants and place yourself ahead of the pack. For this reason, many students shy away from writing about common college essay topics. CEA’s Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, believes this doesn’t have to be the case. Stacey recently published an […]
Why Duke is Accepting More Transfer Students than Ever
They say orange is the new black and it seems like transfer is the new freshman. Duke University, a school with an incredibly low acceptance rate, is spreading its wings and accepting more transfers than ever before. But why?! “We want to increase the number of transfer students gradually because there’s an acknowledgement that transfer […]
How this Student Got Into All 8 Ivy Leagues
Yes, he’s done it. Martin Altenburg, a 17-year-old from Fargo, North Dakota has gained acceptance into every Ivy League plus a couple more schools for good measure. You might be asking yourself, “But don’t Ivy Leagues have some of the lowest acceptance rates in the country?” Yes, they do! But Altenburg figured out the […]
The Main Takeaways From the NYT ‘Modern Love’ College Essay Winners
“You can blame it all on Percocet.” This is the opening line of the winner of The New York Times “Modern Love” college contest. Out of 2,000 entries from college students from all across the country, there was one winner and four finalists; all of the essays were published in The New York Times. The […]
This High School Senior Wrote Her College Essay about Pizza and Got Into Yale
We at CEA love pizza. It is one of our greatest passions and our favorite fuel for advising brainpower. It is no surprise, then, that we were brimming with joy when we saw that a High School Senior scored acceptance to Yale with an essay about Papa John’s. With an acceptance rate of just 6.3%, […]
How to Dress Your Resume for Success: CEA’s Founder Gives Tips for Landing The Job
Besides being a pasta fanatic and college essay expert, our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, knows a thing or two about reaching academic and professional goals. Sure, each year she helps hundreds of students get into their dream schools by arming them with the tools required to craft the perfect college essay, but she […]
Guide to The NY Times’ Five Best College Essays on Work, Money and Class
Every year, The New York Times issues an open call for college application essays on the subject of money, work, and class. Money becomes a lens through which identity, family, and dreams, can be glimpsed. Out of the many submissions they received this year, The Times published the five best essays (four were published in […]
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