June Newsletter 24

Now We're Cooking!

We're certainly in the thick of essay writing season now and I can tell when I talk with my students that they're feeling that heat!The good news in that regard, however, is that the heat in question here is of their own making. The ideas being generated by this group of talented young writers are tremendous - they're personal, nuanced, and really well thought out. Students aren't just coming up with topics, they're connecting those topics (and the associated stories) to meaningful parts of their lives or to the ideas they firmly believe in.And so far, there isn't a torn ACL in the bunch!That's a joke - sort of - on behalf of admission counselors who've been on the job a while because each year, it's a certainty that they will encounter more than their fair share of "recovered from a torn ACL" stories in the course of doing their jobs. Students often write these types of essays because they feel they need to prove that they've overcome some sort of adversity in their lives, when the simple truth is that admission counselors simply want to get to know students as three dimensional people through their essays. That's it. Tell them a story and tell it well.What will your story be when the time comes?

Want more essay advice?"At the end of the day, every admission office just wants to know more about you, what you value, and what excites you. They want to hear about your experiences through your own words and in your own voice. As you set out to write your essay, you will no doubt get input (both sought-after and unsolicited) on what to write. But how about what NOT to write? There are avoidable blunders that applicants frequently make in drafting their essays. I asked college admission leaders, who have read thousands of submissions, to share their thoughts."

Read the full article.

Do college admission terms remind you of alphabet soup?

My colleague Aly Beaumont from Admissions Village has you covered.

Check out her exhaustive glossary of college admission terms.