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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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),…
Every year, especially in mid-October, college and transfer applicants share some version of the following: “I can’t get all my thoughts to focus on one idea.” “I’ve written several different paragraphs, but they don’t connect with each other.” “I have too much to say, how can I incorporate every idea into one essay?!?” Students often…
Teenage authors often punctuate their sentences with “very” and “really”, exaggerating the experience being described, which actually dilutes the meaning of their experience. For example, I really enjoy reading books. Does “really” add value to the student’s enjoyment? Or do you, as the reader, become suspect (even subconsciously) of the writer’s enjoyment of reading, exaggerate…
To effectively brainstorm topics for college essays, students must be interviewed by an experienced advisor, who not only knows the college admissions process, but applies their experience within the context of an anxious teenager seeking to define their life’s vision. When teens query themselves in some me-talking-with-me, thinking exercise, they will unwittingly dismiss ideas, not…
Every year, I remediate high school seniors’ and transfer applicants’ writing process. After elementary school, few teachers explicitly teach the writing process. Instead, teachers assign scripted “Essays”, hemming students into following a rubric (or risk a lower grade), based on a narrow prompt, replete with requirements of specific numbers of quotes or citations, and strict…
Self-reporting classes and grades on a digitalized college application may seem straightforward, yet the first challenge is families take a crash course in edu-speak. Block schedules, quarters, semesters, trimesters, one grade, two grades, three grades per class require precise manipulation of the standardized digital format so students accurately report their academic history. However, the actual…
“Never say never” is as true in college admissions as anywhere else. Despite popular belief, many college admissions officers are still seeking students for Fall 2022 enrollment. So, for recent Class of 2022 high school grads as well as transfer students, still seeking a college for Fall 2022, here’s the most updated list of “College…
The title should be the guiding principle of every college applicant. The college admissions process is inherently student-centric, driven by the student’s quest to identify the one institution of higher education where each person discovers more about their unique aptitude. Yet, today, students and parents perceive the admissions process as college-centric, forced to contort into…
The following is the second installment of our blog series for high school juniors turned rising high school seniors in preparing for the college application process. During Spring of a high school junior year, families are conscientiously selecting colleges for application to reduce the risk of educational malinvestment. To guide the selection process, students should…
