The first time I successfully did a handstand in yoga class, it was unexpected and almost effortless. My legs kicked up, and then, as if being lifted by string, I was supporting my body with my arms. When we talk about strategies for tackling the college essay, I like to tell the story of […]
Let us be the first to say it. CONGRATULATIONS! You made it through the 2016 college application season. With most major deadlines approaching in just a few days, finally you can breathe. All the stress releases with the click of the “submit” button. Today, we’re here to tell you that it’s your time to sit […]
How did it come to this? It’s the last week and you still have essays left to write. It happens every year and you are not alone. Bolt the doors. Throw your phone into the ocean. You are on college essay lock down. You still have time to walk yourself through the basic paces of […]
The day has come… almost. Regular decision deadlines are just a few weeks away, and soon it will be time to kiss those admissions essays goodbye and send them off into the wide world. They grow up so fast. After spending so many hours laboring over each individual application, it can be hard to let […]
A popular format for supplement questions is short answers. Don’t confuse these with the why, activity, community, or oddball essays. These are an entirely different beast. These little critters provide a different kind of creative challenge for aspiring college-goers. Take this set of short answer questions from the 2014 Yale application: “What excites you intellectually, […]
There are certain schools, like the University of Chicago, who have always taken special pride in developing craft questions for their applicants to answer. In recent years, more schools are jumping on the bandwagon, luring students to their applications with questions like “What does #YOLO mean to you” (Tufts, 2013). This is both fun and […]
The community essay is a standard supplemental rascal that mines for information about your social habits and favorite causes. Prompts that ask about a “community you belong to” often leave themselves open to interpretation: Are you part of a community of sports fans around the world who can connect with other strangers over the amazing […]
If you’re on this page, then you have probably encountered a prompt or two on your supplemental essay safari that we at College Essay Advisors call “The Why Essay”. The school you’re applying to is essentially asking: Why do you really want to go here? This shape-shifting question can come in many forms as it […]
Black Friday usually entails going to the mall, waiting in long lines, and spending all of your hard-earned money. However, for this year’s college and grad school applicants, it means FREE essay advice, all day long. This is the Black Friday Deal you won’t even have to leave the couch for. So get comfy, log on […]
The excitement of early applications has fully worn off and the regular decision slog is on. You are working your way through a seemingly infinite list of essays, but hold on, it looks like time is racing, hurtling you toward those final deadlines. WHO CREATED THIS PARADOX? In the face of the anxiety and burnout […]
We thought so.
