So, you’ve come to the end of the list of options for the Common App essay and found yourself in the open sea of possibilities that is #7: “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your […]
No matter who you are or what kind of life you have led up until this point, there is an engaging Common App essay topic already inside of you. In fact, there are numerous amazing topics hiding in that noggin of yours; your challenge is to knock those gems loose so we can look them […]
What do the 2024-25 Coalition Application essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA’s Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break it all down.
For students who hope to submit applications to a range of colleges, including the UCs, we always recommend writing your Common App 650-word personal statement before your UC personal insight essays. (And for good reason!) Here’s why: 1) The Common App Prompts are Confirmed First The Common Application prompts are usually confirmed in January or […]
So you’ve decided to apply for grad school—hooray! Now comes the fun part: more standardized testing, accumulating transcripts, and drafting essay after essay. As you go through your schools’ requirements, you may see requests for “personal statements” or “statements of purpose.” They’re the same thing, right? Not quite. As the names suggest, the personal statement […]
If you’re hoping to transfer to a University of California (UC) school next fall, you will have to write four essays. Transfer applicants are asked to respond to one required question (more on this below) and choose three of seven remaining prompts to respond to in 350 words or fewer. These seven prompts overlap with […]
Every year it happens. September rolls around, Labor Day BBQs end the summer with a side of slaw, and students all over the world wake up and realize that, in addition to schoolwork, they have to start working on their college admissions essays. As someone who has been advising students on their college essays for […]
What do the 2023-24 Coalition Application essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA’s Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break it all down.
What do the 2022-23 Coalition Application essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA’s Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break it all down.
Most institutions of higher education celebrate diversity. What does this word mean to you? And what role will diversity play in your undergraduate life? The diversity essay can take many different forms, but at the core of this type of supplemental essay is one important question: How do you engage with people whose lived experiences […]
We thought so.
