This expert offers many excellent tips for writing essays as part of college applications. Remember, the time is approaching for college applications! If you need help, please contact me at linda@thewritecoach.net.
The Ivy Coach founder makes a strong case for the essay's role in Ivy acceptance. She also suggests some topics to avoid. "It's a rare occasion when Ivy League admissions officers are completely divided about whether or not an essay is powerful enough to make a case for an applicant to be admitted," she says. "Of the tens of thousands of college essays that are received each year, powerful essays are few and far between."
Here are some good tips about what role parents should play in the admission process. You can't do it all -- and that goes for the essays, too. Parents who try to tell their students what to write are not doing them any favors. The best essays come from their own heads -- and hearts.
One of the takeaways in this Huff Post piece is that if you are interested in a particular college, you should make an effort to meet that admissions representative assigned to your high school. And then find a way to follow up and make a second positive impression with a well-written thank-you note.
This piece is a bit Michigan-centric, but it focuses on what I tell students repeatedly: the right essay can make a difference in your college application. So find a great story about yourself and sell it!
I recently coached a young lady who was working on her Stanford application. Stanford uses the Common App, but also requires applicants to answer some other questions designed to show the students' intellect and depth. Here, a college counselor discusses what admissions officials are seeking in terms of intellectual curiosity. (And he's telling the truth about Stanford's "intellectual vitality" question. She really had to address that!)
Want to see what topics are being suggested on the 2012-13 Common Application? Influential people or significant experiences in your life. Risks you have taken. Ethical dilemmas you have faced. For more details, see the Washington Post.
I like everything about this post from Forbes, which shares several myths about admission and debunks them. Connections, most likely, will not get you in. (Unless your parents put a building on the campus.) Neither will admission gimmicks, like sending cookies with your application.
The New York Times took a look at how UT-Austin puts together its freshman class beyond the top 10 percent and what role race plays. The process, known as holistic review, allows the university to shape a diverse class with the interests and talents to make good use of university resources, said William Powers Jr., the campus president. This issue is the subject of a lawsuit against the university that is headed to the Supreme Court in the fall.
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AuthorLinda Leavell is The Write Coach, based in Plano, Texas. She reads a lot about college admissions and writing essays. And she shares the best stuff. Or you can follow her on Facebook. Archives
May 2015
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