Many parents believe the greatest hurdle to applying for college scholarships is finding scholarships. Nope. Not by a longshot. For many seniors, the motivation to write one more autobiographical essay for a scholarship application is the largest impediment. For one, many are depleted of energy after writing a dozen (or more) college essays over the fall and winter. Plus, many…
On Friday, January 20, 2023, according to a newsletter sent to counselors, the University of Southern California (USC) admissions officers admitted its first ever class of approximately 2400 Early Action candidates, a 5.9% admit rate. 40,600 first year applicants requested admissions by the November 1, 2022 Early Action deadline, which was also the deadline for any students to be considered…
Thus, possibly for their parents… May students’ fingers be swift, memory banks quick to recall significant life-shaping experiences, and word snipping their quintessential memoirs to just 250 words be effortless. And, may all parents be assured that if servers crash, admissions officers (within hours) extend deadlines, and trust that their children’s efforts (be it last minute or not) are what…
Often when a written response is “optional” on a college application, especially when the admit rates are 3.96%, like at MIT, students accustomed to following every direction, and seeking every advantage in such a low probability admissions process, usually pause to consider, “How optional is ‘optional’?” Yet, after talking with admissions officers at MIT, optional really is optional. MIT admissions…
The short answer is, “Yes, one can always clarify their sentences to more accurately reflect the meaning intended, all in the quest to be understood by the admissions officer.” Students can use the definition of “to edit” as a guide when considering any changes: Yet, to “prepare (an autobiographical college essay) for [re]publication”, students must first consider the original story…
To borrow the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate…” any student’s choice to share their personal COVID-colored experiences. In an informal query of admissions officers around the United States from highly selective to not-so-selective universities, the consensus is be judicious, if choosing to share a COVID-related experience. Most admissions officers advise students to consider if the COVID-related…
For those of you applying to the University of California (UC), completing the Activities & Awards section can require several hours of brainstorming, drafting and editing, over multiple drafts. Thus, many teens will postpone drafting the detailed descriptions or conversely they may focus on drafting the descriptions, postponing their essay writing. To balance the work of both drafting the PIQ…
Serving others, suppressing our innate self-centered human tendency, can be a valuable lesson in generosity, the equanimity of humanity, and even in reverse, a confidence in oneself as a valuable member of society. In the race for the most elite college admissions, often many students have added (or been compelled by assignment and the chase for grades) volunteer work to…
Teenagers must write their autobiography as a requirement for college applications, which is a complicated task. Writing one’s life story requires reflecting on intricate, existential questions, like “Who am I?” and “What’s my purpose in life?” And, most teens quickly recognize they have little self-awareness, just the first in a series of writer’s blocks. However, as Tim O’Brien in The…
Teenagers are often inexperienced in self-reflection, thus lacking awareness about the meaning of their young lives, as well as confidence to assert what they do know about themselves. Thus, in college essays, many obscure awareness in metaphor, which not only exposes their lack of confidence, but also forces the admissions evaluator to infer (at best), and guess (at worst) what…
