So you’re two hours deep into your college essay and you just can’t seem to get anything good down on paper! We know what that feels like, we’ve all been there! Here are 4 tips on how to overcome the beast that is writer’s block. Flip your topic on its head Maybe the way […]
Your college admissions essay is a required writing assignment, yes, but try not to think of it as more work that will stress you out. YOU OWN THIS ESSAY. How can you be the boss of this assignment instead of letting it be the boss of you? It’s easier than it seems. Just do these […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is always among the first American universities to release its supplemental essay prompts, and this year is no exception. As a forerunner in the college application release pack, UNC’s prompts can often help set the tone for what to expect from other schools. Last year, the array […]
There was a tie for Second Runner-Up in CEA’s Bragging Writes college essay contest. We just couldn’t decide between Ha Hoang’s creatively-paced piece “The Tear Catalyst” and Eva Su’s tale of accidental entrepreneurism. Both essays find creative ways to connect personal experiences with global issues and communities, either in their structure or content. This fall, […]
You probably never knew that taking French could help you with anything other than learning the correct pronunciation of “macaron” and the crucial definition of “escargot.” Who knew it could also help you with your college applications? Whip out those dual-language dictionaries and look up the word “résumé.” The translation is pretty simple: a summary […]
We thought so.
