What to Do If You’re Lost
Don’t panic. If you’ve tried all these things and still haven’t decided what to write about in your essay, don’t worry. There’s a great story inside you waiting to be told. Consider these questions: What’s the toughest lesson you’ve ever had to learn? What’s the hardest…
How Your Parents Can Help You Write Your College Essay
2. For some parents, it feels like nothing is good enough. This is death to the creative process. We’re our own worst critics. Having a second voice telling us that the intro is flat or that the essay doesn’t really reveal who you are–particularly while…
How to Write Your College Essay in Just One Night
(a.k.a.: The “Break in case of emergency” essay) This is for those of you who are experiencing extreme writer’s block, have procrastinated ‘til the last minute, or are feeling just plain lazy. I love you and I have been you. Oh, and this is for…
Five Mistakes Your Making in You’re College Essay
It’s essay season, and as a teacher/writer/mentor/older brother I spend a lot of time looking at essays. Here are five things I’m tired of telling (and will continue to tell) my students: 1. Stop using two spaces after a period Okay, I’ll admit, I used…
The Ten Types of Movie (and Personal Statement) Plots
In Save the Cat, the very excellent screenwriting book by the late Blake Snyder, Mr. Snyder claims there are ten basic movie plots. It’s a rad concept and it just may help you figure out the plot (aka story) for your college essay. Note: big…
The Great College Essay Test
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How to Write an “Overcoming Challenges” College Essay (Without Sounding Like a Sob Story)
Three techniques for writing about challenges: Use poetic language. Use humor to lighten the load. Be straightforward and detailed. For more help structuring your essay, check out my Ultimate Guide to Writing a College Essay. For essay writing tips from tons of experts, check out…
Should I Come Out As Undocumented in My Personal Statement? (Part 1 of 2)
Email [email protected] and we’ll add them here. Okay, let’s check in: How are you feeling at this point? Which way are you leaning? If you’re feeling like you shouldn’t, then don’t. That’s it. Just don’t. Find another story to tell. You are brilliant and complex…
How to Come Out As Undocumented in Your Personal Statement (Part 2)
To hear the podcasts that accompany this blog post, check out: Before we get to the essay part… If you’re an undocumented student debating whether or not to reveal your status in your personal statement, first check out Part 1 of this post: Should I…
How to Format a College Essay (Step-by-Step Guide)
To see how the Narrative Essay structure works, check out the essay below, which was written for the Common App “Topic of your choice” prompt. You might try reading it here first before reading the paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown below. They covered the precious mahogany coffin with…