Reserve your spot on our 2025-26 roster while you still can!

Resources & Tips

Ivy Divider
Ivy Divider

CEA Blog

6 Lame Excuses You’re Using to Postpone Starting Your College Essay

Topic: Essay Tips  |  Posted on July 28th, 2016  |  Written by CEA HQ

The summer is winding down, which means you’re going to be heading back to school in just a few weeks! If you’re looking at this, chances are you still haven’t started your college essay. What’s your excuse? Yes, we know, it’s hard. But, the closer it gets to the deadline, the harder it’s going to be […]

How a Summer Journal Could be Your Ticket into College

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips  |  Posted on July 21st, 2016  |  Written by CEA HQ

Chances are, you have probably kept a diary or journal at some point in your life (or at least read through your older sister’s). Maybe this journal held the highlights of your family’s many vacations and life-changing experiences, or maybe it’s filled with more day-to-day events – like that time you got the highest grade […]

4 Ways to Turn Your Summer Internship into an Amazing College Essay

Topic: Essay Tips, Resume Help  |  Posted on July 7th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

So, you got a summer internship? Well, we have good news and bad news. We’ll start with the bad news. You have to work all summer. This is really going to take time away from all of the college essay writing you planned to do this summer (but what are lunch breaks, evenings and weekends for, right?). […]

The Perfect Pace for Working on College Applications over the Summer

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, International Students, Most Popular  |  Posted on June 30th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

Summertime has officially arrived. The “strawberry moon” solstice has passed and there’s some good energy in the air (if you believe in that sort of thing!). Two major soccer championships are underway and the Summer Olympics are right around the corner. Big things are happening, guys! As any good stargazer or athlete knows, timing is […]

Free College Essay Help All Day!

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, International Students, Most Popular  |  Posted on June 27th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

The day has come! Time to kick off your summer right with some college essay writing goodness. Beat the heat by writing the coolest essay ever. You’ve got three amazing advising options, so pick one, two or all three! Tweet, post, comment all of your college essay-related questions at us on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr! […]

Free College Essay Topic Help: June 28, 2016!

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, International Students, Most Popular  |  Posted on June 22nd, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

School is out. The sun is shining. The beach is beckoning. But you’ve got college essays to write. We know. If we were you, we’d want to prioritize bronzing over brainstorming, too. That’s why we’re giving away tons of free advice and goodies on Tuesday, June 28. Kick off your summer writing season with a […]

4 Surprisingly Simple Strategies for Tackling Supplemental Application Essays

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, Supplemental Essays  |  Posted on June 16th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

The deluge has begun. The earliest supplemental essays have started to trickle out and it’s time to bust out your rain slicker and boots… maybe even a canoe if you have one on hand. For the uninitiated, supplemental essays are the school-specific writing assignments that many colleges and universities require in addition to the Common […]

Don’t Forget About Your College Essay This Summer: CEA’s Weekly Link Roundup

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips  |  Posted on May 27th, 2016  |  Written by CEA HQ

As the school year starts to wind down, we can lay back, relax, and start thinking about our impending college search and application process. Nothing stressful about that, right? With senior year just around the corner, college is probably one of the only things on your mind. The summer is a great time to begin […]

Bragging Writes Winner: A Real College Essay that Really Worked!

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, International Students  |  Posted on May 25th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

We are thrilled to announce that Kelly Porter’s essay, “En Español, Por Favor,” is the First Place winner of CEA’s Bragging Writes college essay contest. Her thoughtful approach to the Common App’s fifth prompt, about the transition from childhood to adulthood, stood out from the pack. Kelly’s essay caught our attention from the first line, […]

Bragging Writes College Essay Contest First Runner-Up

Topic: College Admissions, Essay Tips, International Students  |  Posted on May 25th, 2016  |  Written by Thea Hogarth

Summer Allen is the First Runner-Up in CEA’s Bragging Writes college essay contest. She tells a story of swashbuckling intellectual curiosity as she spends one summer racing her father to the finish of Robinson Crusoe. Summer’s submission is the perfect example of how a great essay can come out of a small, personal life event. […]

1 7 8 9 10 11 19