The Emotional Side of Applying to College

Most students expect that completing college applications will be a short-term effort, temporarily inconvenient to the rest of their schedule, but generally able to be subsumed within their daily lives.  In reality, the challenge of opening one’s life to analysis, in order to write autobiographical essays required in applications can create an unexpected emotional response,…

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Thank Your Third Grade Teacher: She Was Right About the Thesaurus

Every word counts, when there’s a word count.  A common complaint amongst college essay writers is the the wish for more words.  The tedium of examining, re-examining, thinking through each word chosen when writing a college essay can be a test of patience, as much as a test of intellect.  The Thesaurus, dictionary and books…

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The Truth About College Essays

College essay writing is difficult enough already without believing the myths about what makes a strong college essay.  Creative Marbles latest video dispels two urban legends about college essays: one, that a dramatic event is THE ONLY topic that creates a compelling college essay, and two, that a personal statement drafted with sophisticated written language…

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College Affordability: Doing More With Less

While college costs have continued rising, median incomes over the same period have not increased at corresponding rates, as we first posted here.  The failure of income to rise at the same pace as college costs increases can place greater pressure on family budgets, potentially restraining college choices.  Thus, families may spend more effort in investigating potential…

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The Growing Pains From Applying to College

Completing college applications challenges the patience and confidence of any applicant.  However, given a lack of experience, many applicants don’t expect to be tested.  Applying seems simple–fill in a few boxes, write an essay quickly and painlessly, then click “submit.”  Unfortunately, the actual experience is more complicated.  Writing an autobiography, which summarizes seventeen years of…

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