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H&C EDUCATION BLOG

How to Find a Topic for Your Common App Essay

College applications have various important components, but your grades, scores, and teacher recommendations are usually nearly already set in stone by the time you begin writing your essays. The 650-word personal statement in the common application (a similar essay of 500-550 words is included in the coalition application) is uniquely

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The Art of a Great First Sentence

“Dear Human, I’m sixty percent banana.” This sentence began an essay that helped me get into Stanford. “Bonus points for anyone who kicks the ceiling” began one for my Yale supplement. Short and sweet sentences like this can be effective ways to draw in a reader at the beginning of

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How to Write Any “Why This College?” Essay

“Why Brown?” “Please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you.” “Why does Yale appeal to you?” “Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interests and how you will build upon them here.” “Specifically, how will an education from Cornell University help you achieve your academic

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The Right Way to Discuss COVID-19 on Your College Applications

COVID-19 has drastically changed the lives of graduating high school seniors. From cancelling prom and graduation to having to finish classics and take classes online, the academic and social lives of students have been uprooted. As a result, students’ college applications are going to look fundamentally different. Extracurricular activities and

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How To Write The University of Chicago Supplemental Essays (2019-2020)

***Interested in reading our University of Chicago supplemental essay guide for the 2020-2021 application cycle? Click here! https://www.hceducationconsulting.com/post/how-to-write-the-yale-university-supplemental-essays*** Welcome to the supplemental essays for the University of Chicago! These are a doozy. I’ll be frank with you: I can only take you so far with these in a blog post,

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How To Write The University of Notre Dame Supplemental Essays (2019-2020)

***Interested in reading our Harvard supplemental essay guide for the 2020-2021 application cycle? Click here! https://www.hceducationconsulting.com/post/how-to-write-the-university-of-notre-dame-supplemental-essays*** You’ve got three essays to write for Notre Dame. Everyone must answer the first question (“Why This College?”). Then you get to choose two prompts from a list of four. For each essay, Notre

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How To Write The Northwestern University Supplemental Essay (2019-2020)

Welcome to the Northwestern supplemental essay for the 2019-2020 application cycle! You’ve got just one question to respond to, and it’s probably the most common supplemental essay question: “Why Us?” Here’s how Northwestern puts it: Other parts of your application give us a sense of how you might contribute to

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How To Write The Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay (2019-2020)

Welcome to the Johns Hopkins supplemental essay for the 2019-2020 application cycle! Johns Hopkins asks only one supplemental essay question, so you’re going to want to make it count. Essentially, you’ve got 300-400 words to talk about teamwork. It’s a good topic. Johns Hopkins wants to know that you can

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How To Write The Cornell University Supplemental Essays (2019-2020)

***Interested in reading our Cornell supplemental essay guide for the 2020-2021 application cycle? Click here! https://www.hceducationconsulting.com/post/how-to-write-the-cornell-university-supplemental-essays*** Welcome to the Cornell supplement for the 2019-2020 application cycle! For Cornell, you only need to write one supplemental essay, but it’s a rather long one. Depending on what school or program you’re applying

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How To Write The Duke University Supplemental Essays (2019-2020)

Welcome to the Duke supplement for the 2019-2020 application cycle! Duke asks three questions. One is required, one is technically optional (but actually isn’t if you’re serious about wanting to get into Duke), and the third is truly optional. The required essay is essentially a “Why Duke?” essay. There’s one

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