College Essay Tips

Events College Admissions 101 Series: Common App and Essays DATE AND TIME On Demand Free Register ABOUT THIS EVENT With over 1,000 colleges and universities available on the Common Application, most high school seniors will use the application to apply to the colleges on their list. While the Common App may seem straightforward, there are many tips you can use to showcase your best self when applying to college. In this webinar, IvyWise college admissions counselors walk event attendees through each step of the Common App, including the activities section and the optional community disruption question, sharing their expert insight on how students can stand out to admissions officers when using the Common App.

Tips for Practicing Essay Writing Over Spring Break For many students, essay writing is one of the most intimidating parts of the college application process. While the Common Application essay is open-ended and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, some supplemental college essays are extremely specific. Whatever the prompt, students must rise to the occasion and submit the strongest applications possible.

“Today was a good day at school. Ingrid and I played at recess.” And so began my very first journal entry.

What's the best college prep that rising seniors can be doing this summer? Preparing their college applications! Checking things off your college application to-do list this summer is a great way to stay busy and will help relieve added pressure and stress in the fall of senior year.

As a former high school English teacher, I always tout the importance of reading as a means to improve one's writing, especially when it comes to the college essay. Author Annie Proulx perhaps sums it up best: "Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write."  Reading exposes you to different writing styles, diction, and sentence syntax which can influence, improve, and even inspire your own writing style.

Are you still struggling to decide where you’ll apply to school? Did finding time to research or attend information sessions manage to escape you? Are you staring at a blank screen, just days away from the deadline to submit an essay to your dream school?

IvyWise counselors Tasha and Robin discuss how students should approach their college essay prompts on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! Your college essay is like your personal introduction to the admissions office and will say a lot about you.

It's one of the most critical, confusing, and stressful parts of the college application: the personal statement. As a component of the Common Application, the personal statement gives students the most control and the best opportunity to let the university get to know a little more about them. The predetermined prompts are broad enough that students can pretty much write about whatever they want, as long as it relates to their chosen essay question.

For students that have already selected an essay topic, starting on the actual writing process can be just as intimidating. “Process” is the key word here. Writing takes time, and you must set aside at least several weeks to work on the personal essay.

Superman pajamas, summer road trips in an RV, driving a carriage, a Cuban grandfather. All seemingly disparate topics, yet these subjects happen to be from some of the most memorable college essays I read as an admissions counselor. Selecting a topic for your college application essay can be one of the most daunting tasks, and finding the right topic takes creativity and soul-searching.

By Christine, IvyWise Premier College Admissions Counselor Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. 124 was spiteful. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

By Tasha, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor If you’re wrapping up junior year of high school, there’s a lot to think about: college tours, signing up for standardized tests, applying to summer programs – the list goes on. There is one more thing you should be prioritizing as you look toward your senior year: developing your writing skills. Your personal statement and writing supplements are a chance for you to showcase your best writing—the kind of writing you would do in classes and on campus.

IvyWise counselors Eric and Zach discuss what admissions officers are looking for in supplemental essays and what students can do to stand out on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! Aside from grades, standardized test scores, and your high school courses, one of the most important elements of the college application is the essay.

With admit rates at historic lows and more students applying to more colleges than ever, it’s important for students to make sure they’re submitting the best applications possible. Early Decision and Early Action deadlines are quickly approaching, and as students work to finish up their college applications there are a number of last-minute applications mistakes that they should be mindful to avoid. Before entering the final stretch of the college application process, take time to make sure you’re not making these common application mistakes.

IvyWise counselors Victoria and Christine break down the college admissions rubric and discuss examples of different hard and soft factors that admissions officers evaluate on the college admissions podcast, giving listeners expert insight from former admissions officers. Listen Now! When making admissions decisions, colleges and universities in the US don’t just look at grades and test scores.

In recent years, there has been a steady growth of Chinese students enrolling in US universities and colleges, with nearly 300,000 coming to the US for the 2013-14 academic year. Although this is a fairly small number compared to the nine million university students studying in China, the country has also seen a steady decrease in students who sit for its national college entrance exam, the Gaokao. This indicates that international education is unquestionably on the rise.

By Tasha, IvyWise College Admissions Counselor As a college applicant, you may be spending a lot of time brainstorming and writing college essays, but how will you know when you’ve finished? The writing process can sometimes feel interminable. You can always keep editing and polishing, but how do you know when to "put down the pen" and call it done?

By Danielle, IvyWise MBA Admissions Counselor and Former Director of Deferred Enrollment at Wharton MBA  Business is the number one undergraduate degree in the US. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, 19% of bachelor degrees granted in 2019-20 were business degrees. However, some of the most selective universities do not offer undergraduate business degrees.

For many students, essay writing is one of the most intimidating parts of the college application process. While the Common Application essay is open-ended and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, some supplemental college essays are extremely specific. Whatever the prompt, students must rise to the occasion and submit the strongest applications possible.

A blank page. The cursor blinks insistently, mockingly. You stare at the page, fingers on keyboard, ready to go.

Whether you like to call it the “college essay” or the “personal statement,” countless books, blogs, and articles have been written offering advice about how to write a compelling one. For many students, the essay is the most daunting aspect of applying to college. For some, however, it’s the most enjoyable part of the process.