September 2021 College Application Update

Almost exactly a year ago, I posted a blog that is still relevant today, except for a few modifications. It mentions the importance, among other things, of doing research in advance, creating a well-balanced college list, and writing a strong essay. After a year of online learning, COVID restrictions, and all the other things that have contributed to our new normal, almost all of the points mentioned in that year old post are still valid, though there are a few updates.

• Vaccination requirements: More and more both public and private colleges now require students to be fully vaccinated before coming on campus. Incoming freshman should double check their schools’ requirements before driving on camus. If in doubt here’s a state-by-state list of these schools and never hesitate to reach out to the admissions office.

• Common App Essay Prompts: Still a key part of any student’s application, the college essay is the one opportunity for these applicants to use their own voice. This year’s essay prompts continue to offer a wide range of options for students to tell their story.

• Common App Updates: This year’s Common App is further streamlined to help students with every facet of the application process. See those updates here.

• Test Optional Schools: A trend towards eliminating the use of the SAT/ACT scores as a means of evaluating applicants was already growing, but the pandemic and the difficulties students encountered for safely taking these tests last year, prompted many colleges to become test optional, test-flexible or test blind. While this might sound like great news for students who are poor test takers, there are exceptions, conditions and consequences that come along with each of these options and students must understand them before applying to these colleges.

Otherwise, I can’t stress enough that the time put in at this end of the application process will pay dividends come next Spring. Students who do their research and carefully consider all the criteria that is important to them will eliminate a lot of doubt later on in the process.

In review, the three most critical pieces of information needed to identify the best suited schools are: the transcript, GPA/class rank and SAT/ACT scores. Each college ranks the importance of these three elements, and others, differently so make sure to check College Board, and the schools websites, for their policies and admission philosophies.

Have questions?? College Apps Made Easy is always ready to help, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

College Essay - Writing A Memorable One

The 2019-2020 Common App essay prompts remain the same as last year’s, offering students a myriad of ways to tell their story. But the college essay continues to cause much stress and anxiety among college applicants, and it shouldn’t. The only question is will these applicants pick a topic that will allow them to tell their story properly.

All too often students either select or are given poor advice by those around them about which topic would make a strong essay. The result is an essay that is mediocre, that doesn’t show off the student in a positive light, and makes no impression on the admission officers. These individuals can spot an essay written by someone other than the applicant a mile away and they read thousands of essays every day so applicants should write something that they will remember.

The most common error students make is thinking they know what the admission officers want to read. Trust me, what they want to read is an essay that tells an interesting story about the student, and the last thing a student should do is write it using the steps learned in English class: introduction, a few points, conclusion. Boring! Rather, they should pretend they’re writing a journal entry or a letter to a dear friend. These tend to be more open, honest pieces that reveal the personality of the writer.

I find that selecting the topic is the hardest part and one of the best places to start is to think about what not to write about. Begin by avoiding the sports essay about scoring the winning goal in the tournament or that volunteer service trip to a third world country. Important to the applicant, for sure, but so overused. An essay that is a reformatted resume is also not a good idea because all that information should already be in the application. Click here for other topics to steer clear of.

Rather, students should look for an incident or experience that will allow them to reveal something about themselves that goes beyond the grades, extra curricular activities and all other information that has already been presented. The character of the student, how they think, react to a given situation, etc. should shine through in this essay. But, similar to an English class essay, there should be no misspelled words, grammar and sentence structure should be good, and it should be truthful. The word count is still 650 words which doesn’t sound like much, but is plenty to tell a good story if the topic is strong. Hint: Once the topic is chosen, I allow my students to write to their heart’s content till the story is down on paper, editing to the required word count afterwards. Focusing on the word count at the beginning is a perfect way to create writer’s block.

A college essay, while not the sole piece of an application, can be a deal breaker or tip the scales in favor of the candidate, and cannot be written in one sitting. Applicants should give themselves time to write their essay and they shouldn’t hesitate to have others proofread it, but don’t ask too many people. Everyone has an opinion and in short order the applicant will be all confused. Select just one or two, don’t feel obliged to take all the advice given and always make sure that the voice that comes through at the end is that of the applicant.