College Expert Advice

College Expert Advice No one would expect a student to dash off a perfect essay. In fact, more than one professional points out that students should not have already reached their writing potential before entering college. I know parents who believe kids who can’t sit down and write essays themselves aren’t ready for four-year college. Jager-Hyman said there are some who believe a 17-year-old need only “put one foot in front of the other” and apply himself to complete this task. But in reality, many otherwise-capable teens have no clue where to start. If a college suspects an essay is not the student’s work, they don’t automatically throw him out of the applicant pool, says Krahnke, but a negative vibe is placed in the counselor’s head. Heathman believes the job of the essay coach is to help students themselves find the right way to tell their story. These style tips can help you turn a bland and wordy admissions essay into an engaging narrative that improves your chances of being admitted. Visit our Writing Lab for more writing tips, pertaining both to your college essay, and to the array of other writing challenges you’ll face in college or graduate school. This advice applies to most creative writing situations. We assume some well-meaning English teacher shared this advice with you in high school. Admissions officers aren’t interested in a timeline of events or a bullet-list of accomplishments. What they’re really seeking is a story, a personal narrative, a reflection that carries subtext. That story shows your hard work, dedication, and generosity without ever referring explicitly to these fantastic qualities. She also worked as a consultant for the Boston Public Schools District and the Department of College Counseling. Ms. Then has presented her work for local, regional, and national organizations, including the National School Counselors Association and the National College Access Network . She holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston University and a master’s degree from Bridgewater State College in School Counseling. Here are some college application essay dos and don’ts for students to keep in mind as they complete their applications this fall. Applicants should realize that most admissions counselors are young and have a sense of what a teenage voice sounds like, Jager-Hyman says. If you fall into the excited category, consider this a complimentary resource. We’ll spotlight some of the essay prompts you’re likely to see, and we provide a few examples of essays that have actually earned students passage into the colleges and universities of their choice. Consider this a good set of references as you hammer out your ideas, and work through your essay drafts. Jodi Then is the High School Counselor at Boston Green Academy. Before joining BGA, Ms. Then spent 15 years working at a non-profit organization that specialized in college access and financial aid. The Common Application also gives you the option of responding to one of 7 different essay prompts. If you will be using the Common App, you’ll be able to choose, and write about, one of these prompts. If you don't plan on using the Common App, these prompts can still offer insight into a topic you'll likely be writing on for your school of choice. So whether you’re seeking flexibility in your college admission essay or you’re just doing a little preliminary research on likely essay prompts, the Common App is a good place to start. Some of the most frequent questions about the application process we get from students are about the essays. While you are always welcome to contact us with these questions, we provided some tips to get you started. Choose a topic that recounts “that moment when”…The most impactful and memorable college essays focus on an ordinary topic that resulted in deep self-reflection and increased self-insight. In your own voice, tell a story that reveals a defining moment that helped to shape who you are today and influences who you’ll be tomorrow. The B+ Grades A+ College Application author says, however, that some essays are afforded 20 minutes, and others just a perfunctory glance. In other words, an outstanding essay may tip the scales. Some teens think their college essay, or “personal statement,” will determine their entire future, and others bristle and balk when asked to finally write it, believing it will never be read. Practicing your writing skills in advance can help you prepare for college essays. Is there a way to find out what essay questions colleges are asking before you start the application process? Would it relieve some of your stress, or help you focus your search on fewer colleges, if you knew what essays you'll have to write? Reading your essays gives us insight into how you define yourself and how you will define yourself as a member of the Babson community. When you apply to Babson, you’ll be required to submit two essaysâ€"a Personal Statement and a Writing Supplement.

College Essay

College Essay Now my friends in Switzerland come to me asking me for advice and help, and I feel as if I am a vital member of our community. My close friend Akshay recently started stressing about whether his parents were going to get divorced. With John’s advice, I started checking in on Akshay, spending more time with him, and coaching him before and after he talked to his parents. I started playing basketball, began working on a CubeSAT, learned to program, changed my diet, and lost all the weight I had gained. I started to make new friends with more people at my school and was surprised to find out that 90% of their parents were divorced. Because we faced similar issues, we were able to support one and other, share tactics, and give advice. If you have to copy-paste it into a text box, your essay might get cut off and you'll have to trim down anyways. College essay prompts usually provide the word limit right in the prompt or in the instructions. I have learned to accept my “ambiguity” as “diversity,” as a third-culture student embracing both identities in this diverse community that I am blessed to be a part of. I look around my room, dimly lit by an orange light. She just wants to protect me from losing it all.” The chicken replays the incident again. A fissure in the chicken’s unawareness, a plan begins to hatch. The chicken knows it must escape; it has to get to the other side. If it's a writing sample of your graded academic work, the length either doesn't matter or there should be some loose page guidelines. If you can truly get your point across well beneath the word limit, it's probably fine. Brevity is not necessarily a bad thing in writing just so long as you are clear, cogent, and communicate what you want to. Cautiously, it inches closer to the barrier, farther from the unbelievable perfection of the farm, and discovers a wide sea of black gravel. Stained with gray stones and marked with yellow lines, it separates the chicken from the opposite field. On a desk in the left corner, a framed picture of an Asian family is beaming their smiles, buried among US history textbooks and The Great Gatsby. A Korean ballad streams from a pair of tiny computer speakers. Pamphlets of American colleges are scattered about on the floor. If you have shownyour learning, you don’t need to tell them what you learned. If there really is no word limit, you can call the school to try to get some guidance. The chicken--confused, betrayed, disturbed--slowly lifts its eyes from the now empty ground. For the first time, it looks past the silver fence of the cage and notices an unkempt sweep of colossal brown and green grasses opposite its impeccably crafted surroundings. Other times, we exaggerate even the smallest defects and uncertainties in narratives we don’t want to deal with. In a world where we know very little about the nature of “Truth,” it’s very easyâ€"and temptingâ€"to construct stories around truth claims that unfairly legitimize or delegitimize the games we play. I analyze why I think this essay works in The Complete Guide, Session 6. Frozen in disbelief, the chicken tries to make sense of her harsh words. “All the food, the nice soft hay, the flawless red barn--maybe all of this isn’t worth giving up. A cold December wind wafts a strange infusion of ramen and leftover pizza. On the wall in the far back, a Korean flag hangs besides a Led Zeppelin poster. As with rock-paper-scissors, we often cut our narratives short to make the games we play easier, ignoring the intricate assumptions that keep the game running smoothly. Like rock-paper-scissors, we tend to accept something not because it’s true, but because it’s the convenient route to getting things accomplished. We accept incomplete narratives when they serve us well, overlooking their logical gaps.

Admissions

Admissions The Sonora Eagles were my means for dealing with the death of my loved ones to cancer. I was never fully aware of how closely humans rely upon each other until I read The Fall of Freddy the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia in freshman year. The allegory is about a leaf that changes with the seasons, finally dying in the winter, realizing that his purpose was to help the tree thrive. Each one of us leaves find a legacy as we for fill our purpose in life. I believe my purpose as a student is to encourage others to become active community members and motivate them to reach new heights. Yet I've realized that life is fickler than I had imagined; it can disappear or change at any time. Several of my family members left this world in one last beating symphony; heart attacks seem to be a trend in my family. They left like birds; laughing one minute and in a better place the next. Using equipment that a high school student could only dream of using, I was able to map apoptosis versus necrosis in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer line, after treating them with curcumin-bound nanoparticles. Using flow cytometry to excite each individually suspended cell with a laser, the scattered light from the cells helped to determine which cells were living, had died from apoptosis or had died from necrosis. As branch president, I organize events from small stands at public gatherings to 60-person dinner fundraisers in order to raise both money and awareness. I’ve learned how to encourage my peers to meet deadlines, to work around 30 different schedules at once, and to give presentations convincing people why my organization is worth their donation. But overall, ADPP has taught me that small changes can have immense impacts. My branch has helped raise almost $3,000 to build water sanitation plants, construct medical clinics, and develop health education programs in the small village of Zwedru. The difference between ADPP and most other organizations is its emphasis on the basics and making changes that last. The Sonora Eagles were students of different grade levels, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational ability. We joked and played football while volunteering. The most important moment occurred during the night’s luminaria ceremony, during which cancer patients of the past and present were commemorated. Our whole team gathered around, and I asked people to share how they have been affected by cancer. On this first day of senior year, I set out upon my task. I procure an ordinary plastic grocery bag from my backpack. The contents inside collectively represent everything about me in high school â€" they tell a story, one all about me. My fingers know instinctively, without a thought. They turn the dial, just as they have hundreds of times before, until a soft, metallic click echoes into my eardrum and triggers their unconscious stop. I exultantly thrust open my locker door, exposing its deepest bowels candidly to the wide halls of the high school. The bright lights shine back, brashly revealing every crevice, nook, and cranny, gleaming across its scintillating, bare surfaces. Using this collected data, it was possible to determine if the curcumin and/or the nanoparticles had played any significant role on the cervical cancer cells. Later, I was able to image cells in 4D through con-focal microscopy. From growing HeLa cells to trying to kill them with different compounds, I was able to gain the hands-on experience necessary for me to realize once again why I love science. This past summer, I had the privilege of participating in the University of Notre Dame’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program . Styled in a t-shirt, shorts, and a worn, dark green lanyard, I sprint across the quad from the elective ‘Speaking Arabic through the Rassias Method’ to ‘Knitting Nirvana’. After reading it, I was enlightened on the cycle of life and realized the tremendous impact my actions had on others. The exploration led me to the African Disease Prevention Project , a non-profit organization associated with several universities. I decided to create the first high school branch of the organization; I liked its unique way of approaching health and social issues. Rather than just raising money and channeling it through third parties, each branch “adopts” one village and travels there to provide for its basic needs. Like the phoenix I will continue to rise from the ashes, experienced and renewed. I will not waste time for my life is already in flux. Working towards those changes to solve real life problems is what excites me. So, I will forgive and forget, love and inspire, experience and satire, laugh and cry, accomplish and fail, live and die. This is how I want to live my life, with this optimistic attitude that every day is a second chance. All the time, we have the opportunity to renew our perspective on life, to correct our mistakes, and to simply move on.

Expanding Higher Ed Access With The Great College Essay Project

Expanding Higher Ed Access With The Great College Essay Project If you can make the reader laugh, say “I get that” or “me too”, you are on your way to a strong application. In addition, you are sharing something about yourself that is not anywhere else in your application. Finding a cure for cancer, saving the whales singlehandedly, or traveling abroad to build homes for orphans does not automatically make a great essay. Your passion about the topic will show through your writing and make your essay stronger. Your motivation to write will become stronger if you are excited about the topic. Discuss how your disability has made you the person you are today. Emphasize how it has made you stronger, think outside the box, or overcome adversity. Do not focus on the things you cannot do or highlight your weaknesses. Acceptance into college is dependent on your strengths and academic abilities. Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. This essay is about your relationship with the school, not solely the school itself. In fact, it’s really more about you than the college â€" how and why you will thrive there. To that end, use the space to explore why you’re a mutual fit. It can be especially helpful to use a story or anecdote (just not, “I’ve had a Yale sweatshirt since I was 10”). Focus on ways you have internalized and personalized academic research and demonstrate how this will enhance the university’s academic community. Anyway, writing about something due to of personal experience will be much easier than writing about something you have had to make-up. You may not always have a choice of your essay topic. However, you will always have a choice on exactly what you write about within the topic guidelines. If they’re willing, get one of your English teachers to read it. These people will point out things you never would have noticed on your own. John Hopkins University has a page full of essays that worked; one in particular, entitled“Breaking Into Cars”, showcases what the writer learned from his experiences well. This second version isn’t going to win any awards, and it definitely needs more work, but the specificity is there. Do not make things up or use things that have happened to other people. A strongly written essay about a fight you had with your parent and how you solved the problem will be much better than a made-up story. All colleges take integrity and honesty very seriously. Any uncovered dishonesty would have serious consequences on your future. It’s all about the delivery, the reflection, the conversational tone, showing not telling that will make for a winning essay. works as a high school English teacher at a school for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. She graduated from The George Washington University with a Master’s Degree in Secondary Special Education and Transition Services in 2013. Talk to at least one adult about disclosing your disability in your college essay. Make a list of the keys to a good college essay, then list why they are important. Generate a list of adults that can help you with the writing and application process. Trust that you are interesting and have powerful stories to tell. Writing about hiking the Appalachian Trail or obsessively reading “To Kill A Mocking Bird” is noble but not memorable. Simply recanting facts will not distinguish you from other candidates with equal class rank, grades and test scores. Making your scholarly endeavors personal will pique curiosity and demonstrate your potential to contribute to an academic community. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. To identify key ingredients of a good college essay. If I had to assign the MVP of the college application essay, it would be the very first sentence. Once you’ve proofread and edited the essay till you’re sick of it, let a few people you trust look over it.

The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips Youll Ever Need

The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips You'll Ever Need Regular Decision applicants must submit all application materials, including the Rice/Baylor supplemental application by December 1. Applications that are not submitted until the Regular Decision deadline of January 1 will not be considered for Rice/Baylor. Early Decision applicants must commit to Rice by January 1, regardless of the Rice/Baylor decision to be made later in the spring. Early Decision applicants to Rice must submit all Rice application materials by November 1; however, the Rice/Baylor application does not have to be submitted until December 1. Due to limited availability, you will need to submit your application for admission before requesting an interview with RAVA. You must provide evidence of high school graduation or in the process of graduating from high school or completing GED certificate. Applicants with a GED must submit official GED test scores. Then access your online applicant portal and request your virtual interview by the deadlines below. A limited amount of interviews with current Rice University seniors will be available beginning in mid-August through our campus visit website. Learn more about guaranteed transfer admission and our partner colleges and universities. The Office of the Registrar evaluates courses taken at other regionally accredited colleges or universities that are appropriate to the Rice curriculum for potential transfer credit. The only valid notification of an admission decision is a formal communication from the Rice University Office for Enrollment. We reserve the right to close your application if you are admitted under a binding Early Decision plan at another institution. For example, this could include an employer, supervisor, coach, mentor, or another teacher. Supplemental recommendations must include the applicant’s full name, date of birth, or applicant ID and should be submitted through the application platform or to Students applying for Fall 2022 or later will be required to submit results of either the SAT or ACT for admission to Rice. Should further disruption to standardized testing persist into 2021, a reconsideration of our testing policy will occur at that time. The university does not collect personal information as you browse. Mechatronics technology student; planning to earn a certificate in 2016. Automotive technology student; planning to earn his A.A.S. in '16. While enrolled at CLC, you could be admitted to one of our local, regional or international partner institutions by meeting program requirements. InterviewsWe recommend an interview for first-year applicants, though they are optional and not guaranteed. Interviews are a great way to demonstrate interest in Rice and an excellent opportunity to showcase academic and personal successes while learning more about the campus experience. An inability to schedule an interview will not negatively impact your application. The required counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations provide the Admission Committee with all the information we need to make an informed admission decision. However, if someone has unique and personal knowledge about an applicant's accomplishments or talents, the applicant may have that individual submit a supplemental recommendation. You will have to submit payment if you do not qualify for a fee waiver. The fee must be received to complete your application. Send the application fee waiver form to Undergraduate Admissions. To begin the process, you must submit an application andnon-refundable $30.00 application fee. This website stores cookies on your computer to improve your browsing experience. Official high school/secondary school transcripts must include grades from 9th through 11th grade as well as courses being taken in the 12th grade. Early Decision applicants are encouraged to submit first marking period grades, when they become available. Regular Decision applicants will be required to submit mid-year grades from 12th grade, when they become available. They must also have at least a SAT total of 1070 or an ACT composite score of 21. The sub-scores of each test must be above the minimum admission requirements. Transcripts must include courses completed from 9th through 11th grade. A final high school transcript, which contains a graduation date and completed courses, will be required prior to the start of your first semester at FGCU. You do not need to have submitted your admission application to schedule an interview with a current senior, but interview slots are on a first-come, first-served basis. Please follow the deadlines below when scheduling an interview with a current senior. Due to Covid-19, all interviews for the application cycle will be conducted virtually through platforms such as Zoom, Skype, etc. A trained alumnus or current Rice University senior will virtually meet with you to learn more about your accomplishments and academic interests and to answer your questions about studying at Rice.

Never Do These 10 Things In Your College Application Essays

Never Do These 10 Things In Your College Application Essays Each week, I ask students to plan one episode of their story with the help of their groupmates. For homework, I ask them to write the current episode in the story, eliminate all avoidable errors using the Virtual Writing Tutor, and submit it to me for points. Writing that contains avoidable errors is penalized for not having applied the necessary revision strategies. One of the best ways I have discovered to incorporate an online grammar checker into my ESL lessons for my non-fluent learners is to create a series of steps in a collaborative narrative writing project. Both my Actively Engaged on the Job and Actively Engaged at College textbooks involve collaborative narrative writing projects. She really knows how to connect with high schoolers and her advice and tips were very helpful. In addition, thousands of high school seniors across the country have begun the process of filling out college applications. It turns out, Brown favors essays about volunteer and public interest work, while these topics rank low among successful Yale essays. In addition to Harvard, successful Princeton essays often tackle experiences with failure. In this way, they get to practice a more target-like form of English in a meaningful and social way. The Virtual Wrting Tutor is primarily an English Second Language grammar checker. One of the most intimidating elements of the college application for many students is the essay or personal statement. As students begin their applications, here are some tips from the pros to make the process a little less panic-inducing. The personal essay was originally designed as a way to get to know individual students. However, with the rise in companies specializing in writing these essays and access to numerous copies on the Internet itself, that purpose is not being served. As a writer, a personal essayist no less, I admire the craft and precision of the personal essay, the skill of taking one’s life and carefully dissecting and portraying it in a way that moves someone else. Meanwhile, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania tend to accept students who write about their career aspirations. Essays about diversityâ€"race, ethnicity, or sexual orientationâ€"tend to be more popular at Stanford, Yale, and Brown. Each student creates a fictional character, describes him or her using the first person, and makes his or her character interact with the other students' characters within the context of the shared story. Depending on the level, the characters live together as roommates or work together as colleagues within the collaborative narrative. The following week, I ask students to read what they wrote to their groupmates. I encourage them to use the VWT's text-to-speech function to help them with their pronunciation. These days, it takes more than impressive grades, a full roster of extracurriculars, and a deep commitment to community service to get into a well-ranked school. Experts say that a stellar essay is the linchpin that will win the admissions department over. But what is less well known is that different colleges favor particular topics and even specific words used in essays. And even Joan Didion herself wouldn’t get into college on her writing skills if she had lackluster grades or scores. It is designed to provide feedback that is explicit enough to help the writer not only eliminate an error from a current text but also understand how to avoid it in future writing tasks. As such, my goal is to make the Virtual Writing Tutor the best ESL grammar checker to help learners of English as a Second Language. It may also help dyslexics, professional bloggers and university students. The price is right since the Virtual Writing Tutor is 100% free. If you write essays in your second language for high school or college, check your essay for embarrassing errors that a teacher would deduct points for. For more information about all of the advantages of using the Virtual Writing Tutor essay checker tools. There are IELTS and TOEFL rubrics that you can use to provide feedback on essay quality if you like. Heather radiated kindness and calm as she helped my daughter and her friends begin the process of thinking about college essays.

Successful College Essay Examples From Top

Successful College Essay Examples From Top Remember, in the grand scheme of the college admissions process, the application essay is a unique opportunity â€" and an opportunity to be unique. Don’t rely on spell check alone to catch all of your mistakes, either. Be sure you are using the correct form of words too (they’re, their, there, your, you’re, etc.). Few things will throw off an application evaluator more than misspellings and typos in the college essay â€" except when you mention the wrong college! For similar categories of essays, Rachel plans to write one rough essay, then tweak it for different colleges. Now Rachel goes through her colleges’ essay prompts and groups similar essays together to come up with a list of what she has to write. The paradox of the overzealous editing of the college essay by many helicopter parents is that they don’t know what a college essay is really about. Unlike the other parts of the application, where high grade point averages and SAT scores reign supreme, the essay is less about being impressive than it is about being authentic. Furthermore, this type of essay invites comparison. The #1 mistake students make when writing about tragedy is effectively writing a “sob story.” This is an essay which only tries to make someone feel sympathy for you. On the other hand, if you have experienced difficulty or tragedy that affected you deeply, you may choose to write about this experience in your college application. In order to write a great essay however, you need to realize that there is a right way and a wrong way to approach this topic type. The three supplemental essays that you submit for your application may be short, but they are in no way less important as a result of their brevity. We learn a great deal about you from each essay you write, and we hope that you enjoy this unique opportunity to reflect and introduce yourself in your application. Your essays must be well-written, and it is always good to have someone that you trust proofread them (carelessness is easily preventable!). If you procrastinate on writing your essays and wait until the last minute, you may miss out on a valuable opportunity to have them read by a fresh pair of eyes. It is also abundantly clear when you have rushed through your essays just to check a box. Make it a point to put time and energy into your responses. That’s why we created this guide to help you write powerful essays that will help you get into college. Finally, Rachel has a detailed list to work from. Not just the process, but the actual statement itself, too. In addition to making sure that all of these things are included, you should also be aware of HOW you write your essay. Admissions committees want essays to be concise â€" you want to make your point in about 700 words or less. You should also make sure that your essay is coherent â€" that your ideas flow and your arguments make sense. Don’t tell us how much you want to attend XYZ University when you are submitting the essay to The College of ABC. While it is important to talk yourself up as the awesome student you truly are, you still have to remember that the application essay is not a résumé. You can certainly submit a résumé with your application, but your essay is not the place to do it. We want you to expand upon a few characteristics that make you great, not just give us a list with the thousand and one things that contribute to your greatness. This way, we are able to fully grasp why these particular characteristics, out of the many you could have selected, are so important to you and who you are as an individual. This does not mean that you can only write an interesting essay if you have had an experience that no one else has ever had. There are any number of formulas out there for writing personal statements for college applications. Some encourage you to stick to the traditionalopening-body-conclusionformula, while others insist you should take a risk to spice up the admission officer’s reading experience. None of them are wrong, but it doesn’t mean they’re right for you. As the name implies, writing apersonal statementis apersonalexperience, making it just a little bit different for everyone. Besides, that other essay would go on forever, and, as I mentioned, we read thousands of these things each year. It’s OK to reuse the same story more than once, but we don’t recommend recycling an entire essay. It can be tempting, but will ultimately strip the personality and specificity from your essay, harming your case. As a rule of thumb, everything that is “optional” in the admissions process is something that you should absolutely do. Don’t be afraid to show off your writing skills, but don’t do anything that takes away from your core message. This video shows you how to write an effective college admissions essay. Recognize that for each university, there are more qualified applicants than there are available spaces in the freshman class. This blog tells you more about your core college application essays â€" please stay tuned for more about college specific prompts. As a high school and MEK English teacher, Ashley brings ready classroom management skills and a strong rapport with students to MEK. However, she is also well-versed in MEK strategy for teaching College Test Prep, H.S. Test Prep, and College Application Essays. Tragedies, ultimately, can be very positive, transformative topics to write about as they often show us who we are under intense pressure. Do not shy away from writing about the bad in life as it is a relatable experience that all people will go through at one point or another.