Once you have an idea for your common application essay, also known as your personal statement (see my article here on coming up with a strong idea if you don’t yet), and you’ve mustered the courage to write up a first draft (see this piece on writing a first draft),
After coming up with a topic (see my post here on coming up with one if you don’t yet), putting words on a page is an intimidating step. Students with primarily academic writing experience sometimes default to the standard boring introduction, structured body paragraphs, and summary conclusion of an English
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
“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
“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
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
***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,
***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
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
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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