You are currently browsing the college application essays tag archive.
by Sundas Ali
All original essays have a unique theme, and it can take time and careful thought to identify what yours should be. If you go back to the essays we examined in the previous post in this series, you will see that the public health program applicant opened her essay by cleverly presenting her theme in the form …
by Steven Tagle
You are nearly finished with your application, but when you get to the section that asks you about your extracurricular activities, you freeze up. “I don’t really have any extracurricular activities,” you think. “What should I do now?” I’ve worked with countless applicants who have found themselves in the same nail-biting dilemma. They search frantically …
When crafting application essays – whether for graduate school, business school, or any other competitive program – candidates often focus on highlighting their accomplishments. And it’s easy to understand why. Most applicants want to showcase their significant achievements, such as leading a groundbreaking project, making a meaningful impact through research, or spearheading a successful community …
by Marie Todd
The University of California (UC) system consists of nine campuses that all use the same application. They are UC Berkeley (Cal), UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego. If you are applying to one or more of these campuses, you …
by Sundas Ali
What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay? Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. Diversity …
by Marie Todd
When you feel you have taken the draft of your college essay as far as you can on your own, share it with a few carefully chosen friends, mentors, and/or family members that you trust. Ask these individuals to keep the following questions in mind as they read your essay and to offer you their …
by Marie Todd
A common writing problem we see in applicants’ early drafts is that the writer will refer to something important but never fully explain what that thing is. For example, an applicant might claim that a particular fight his parents had affected the way he now views education, but he doesn’t offer any details about the …
by Sundas Ali
The personal statement is your opportunity to stand out and make a lasting impression on your target school’s adcom. How can you make your essay original? How much should you tell? And at what point are you crossing the line into TMI? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging …
by Marie Todd
There are many places to find sample college essays, such as here and in the many books written to help students apply to college. When reading sample essays, you want to pay attention to how they are structured and try to understand what makes them effective. Then, you can combine what you’ve learned with the …
by Marie Todd
Whether you are applying to be a first-year student or a transfer student, you will find that many undergraduate universities and colleges use the Common App. There are more than 1,000 Common App member schools in the United States, Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and worldwide. These institutions are united in their commitment to taking …
by Marie Todd
As you enter your senior year of high school, the pressure is on to write your college application essays. And for many people, the anticipation of writing their application essays is often more difficult and stressful than actually writing them. To maximize your chances of getting accepted to the school of your choice, you want …
by Sundas Ali
Teamwork – and its close cousin, leadership – are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. But if you haven’t worked in a team on any regular basis, don’t worry! You’ve probably got a number of examples of teamwork in your back pocket that you didn’t even realize were there. Consider the following four ideas when you …
Sign up for a free consultation to ask your most pressing admissions and application-related questions, get a profile evaluation, and find out how our team of professional admissions consultants can help you get accepted.
