by Amy T. So, you’ve landed on a topic for your college essay and you’re ready to get started. The only issue is that you’ll be writing about an academic subject or major that happens to be complex, and you’re not quite sure how to approach it. How much do you have to explain the topic for your intended audience—the admissions reader? Since admissions readers come from diverse academic backgrounds,
by Kathleen M. Figurative language adds a lot to your writing by making what you say more relatable, showing something about you and your creativity, and making the examples you offer more concrete. But figurative language can go astray if you use it incorrectly. How can you not overuse figurative language in your essays? 1. Be sure to choose figures of speech that make sense in the context of your essay
by Sarah M. As the summer begins, it’s the perfect time to start your college applications. This encompasses a lot, so in order to avoid being overwhelmed and stay organized and motivated, it can help to divide the job into sections. Here is a list of tasks, in order, that you can take on in the summer to structure your time and set yourself up for success in the fall
by Kathleen M. It is time to write an essay, and you’ve read all of the prompts and have selected the one you want to respond to. You do the brainstorming, look at your activity list for inspiration, and choose the story you want to tell. Then you sit down to write, and somehow, you come up short. Your essay draft is well below the requested word count, and honestly,
by Kathleen M. Always remember that your college application essays are about you, and why you would be a great fit for a particular university. So your interests, goals, and intentions should come together to give a full picture of you. But what if your interests were related to something you worked on with social media, like Instagram or YouTube? Can you mention social media topics in a college essay?
by Kathleen M. When the UC PIQ prompt #3 asks: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? How should you answer? How do you show development over time? At some point you were probably only okay at something you count as your greatest talent and skill. You likely worked very hard for the thing you are discussing
by Kathleen M. As you write, you may find yourself googling questions that are stressing you out. You know that your English teacher told you not to use personal pronouns in formal writing and here you are trying to write a personal narrative for your college application. How are you supposed to write about your authentic self without using I? You aren’t. Use “I” – you have to use “I”
by Kathleen M. You have been working on college applications essay and trying to come up with an idea but are drawing a blank. Do you feel like you should have your Common App essay outlined but can’t come up with any ideas? Remember that you have loads of resources at your fingertips and try to relax! First, what have you done for brainstorming? Did you consider a few values
by Kathleen M. You had a wonderful summer internship or extracurricular where you learned a lot about tech or STEM, and you would like to showcase that as part of your college application essay. Perfect! Now take a minute to remember that the audience for your personal essay and the audience who might understand what you did related to CS or programming or AI may not crossover. Here are 3
by Kathleen M. Have you ever tried to convince someone that you can multitask? If yes, you probably need to work on limiting your distractions while writing! Or at least considering these elements of your work/distraction balance will help you to be more efficient and write more effectively. Designate time for writing. Then turn off notifications, set a timer, and work. If your phone lighting up is distracting, then turn
by Michelle P. From earlier posts on originality to values, students understand why it’s important to write a strong and unique college application essay. But what if a student still feels stuck? Everything they like, or the main experiences and stories they want to share—all of it feels pretty normal to the student. How can they write an interesting college application essay about a normal topic? Connect the ‘what?’ of the
by Michelle P. One essay for college applications can already be an intimidating task for many students. Multiply that by the variety of essay prompts required from colleges, and the writing work required looks like a very tall mountain indeed. How can students write more quickly for a personal college application essay, especially when you want to get that first draft out on paper? And no, we are not talking
by Drew C. Everyone knows that a good personal essay is original. It’s one of the laws of the universe for English teachers and counselors and college admissions committees, and you’ve probably heard it a thousand times. But what does it actually mean to be original? And why does it matter? In one sense, being original means “not being a plagiarist”—i.e., submitting your own work instead of the work of
