Passive vs. Active Voice

Why a Multi-Step Brainstorm Matters

Many students approach writing as if it were a one-pot recipe: brainstorming, drafting, and editing—all tossed together in a single step. While seemingly efficient, often students rush their ideas, under the pressure of production by the deadline. Thus, their reflections can be shallow, and repeating frustration over sentences “not sounding right.” Yet with a thorough,…

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Put Down Your #2 Pencils: The University of California Eliminate SAT/ACT Scores, Comprehensive Review: Part 7

In the seventh post in the series, Put Down Your #2 Pencils: The University of California Eliminates SAT/ACT Scores, Comprehensive Review, where each of the 14 Comprehensive Review points which UC admissions officers use as a guide for their application evaluations are analyzed, high school students can understand how they’ll be assessed during the admissions…

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Put Down Your #2 Pencils: The University of California Eliminates SAT/ACT Scores, Comprehensive Review, Part 5

As the UC eliminated the SAT and ACT testing requirement for Fall 2021 and beyond, the subjectivity in the admissions evaluations will likely increase, as admissions officers will interpret applicants’ qualifications for admissions without the more objective test scores as a metric. In this fifth installment in the series about the University of California’s (UC)…

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Guest Post: Inside the mind of your average high school senior post-applications

By Sanika, an anxious yet sentimental senior from the Class of 2019 Post application period is a very odd, stressful and overall confusing time. As you hear your friends get acceptances into top IVY’s or UC’s  while you on the other hand hear literally nothing from schools, it’s hard to not feel [unmotivated]. But, there’s…

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Our Fervent Wish

…is that every high school senior and transfer college applicant and their parents temporarily develop multiple hands, whose swift fingers dance with the wind across the keyboard to craft brilliant essays well before the deadline. Deadline approaching. pic.twitter.com/CszGLJyrA1 — Academia ɐɹnɔsqO (@AcademiaObscura) September 4, 2018  

Writer's Block Image

How Dr. Seuss Helps In Writing the “Perfect” College Essay

For all the college essay writers who believe that crafting their statements will be done in one (maybe two) drafts, take heed of  Dr. Seuss’ (AKA Ted Geisel) experience on the painstaking care author’s take while ushering, shaping, crafting and editing their story until just right.  From the Publishers’ Notes at the end of “What…

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Let Your Light Shine.CMC

Carpe Diem

From the Business Insider, an interview with Mr. [Jeff] Bezos about choosing “service and adventure” over “ease and comfort”. “Bezos said everyone has two options for creating their “life story.” Either you go for a life of “ease and comfort” or a life of “service and adventure.” Bezos is clear about which is the right…

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The Final Lap

California’s high school seniors (and increasingly non-Californian high school seniors) will be eating  turkey, yams and mashed potatoes and gravy in the glow of a computer screen, as they complete their University of California (UC) applications.  Any parent who believes that Thanksgiving will be an incentive to finish college applications early will be sorely disappointed.   In fifteen…

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College Admissions: An Unexpected Treasure

In a recent text conversation with Megan, a second year student at MIT, she reflected on the benefits of the college application process.  _____________________________________ Creative Marbles Consultancy: Any advice for seniors going through the application process, especially when applying to MIT? Megan: While it’s hard, I think they should try to enjoy the application process…

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