The College Whisperer™ | Navigating The Road To College

Showing Tag: ""college essay"" (Show all posts)

The College Essay - Owning The 650

Posted by College Connection on Thursday, October 16, 2014, In : College Applications 


Ah, the college essay. Those 250-650 words on the Common App that try the souls of high school seniors (not to mention their already overwhelmed parental units).

First, a few (okay, many) thoughts on the college admissions process, in general, and the college essay, in particular. 

Did you know that the average time spent by an admissions officer reviewing a college application is but 7 1/2 minutes? That’s the ENTIRE application. NOT just the essays and supplemental writings! [when it comes t...


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The College Essay: Keep It Simple. Keep It Real. Keep It About You!

Posted by College Connection on Thursday, September 18, 2014, In : College Applications 

First piece of advice when setting out to write your college essay: Keep Calm and Just Write -- It's Only An Essay!

Seems there's nothing more unnerving to students (and, by extension, their parents) than the college essay. What to write? How do I say it? Will it be good enough? Can I tell my "story" in 650 words or less? And what about Naomi?

Indeed, with all the hype and hyperbolae surrounding the college essay (as to form, content, style, and overuse of SAT words), it w...


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Prelude To The Common App: A Primer On "Getting Started"

Posted by College Connection on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, In : College Applications 

If there is a single question The College Whisperer™ is asked most about the college application process, it is, "Where do I begin?"

My typical response is, "At the beginning, of course!" ;-)

Seriously, though, getting started down that long and winding road to college admissions, as it is with many things in life, is often the most difficult part of the journey.

So, what will follow below is a basic (very basic, as in, just to give you a push) primer -- a "To Do" list, if you will -- to set y...
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The Best College Essay Ever!

Posted by College Connection on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, In : College Applications 

First piece of advice when setting out to write your college essay: Keep Calm and Just Write -- It's Only An Essay!

Seems there's nothing more unnerving to students (and, by extension, their parents) than the college essay. What to write? How do I say it? Will it be good enough? Can I tell my "story" in 650 words or less? And what about Naomi?

Indeed, with all the hype and hyperbolae surrounding the college essay (as to form, content, style, and overuse of SAT words), it would seem to be a...


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Four And A Half Minutes

Posted by College Connection on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, In : College Applications 

Four and a half minutes.

No, not the time you spent actually studying for that recent math test. Not the time it takes to cook instant oatmeal or Uncle Ben's converted rice. Not the time you ran the mile in.

So, what is this four and a half minutes?

Actually, it is the average (as opposed to mean?) time spent by admissions officers reading the typical college essay. Yup. That's it, folks. All of four and a half minutes.

What? You spend weeks, if not months, contemplating. What do I write about? W...
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Big Fish

Posted by College Connection on Tuesday, September 3, 2013, In : College Planning 

No, not the retelling of a life's tale. The stuff that a movie fantasy and new Broadway musical are made of. The meshing of imagination and whimsy, with reality and truth. 

Then again, perhaps this is just such a story. The exuberance and optimism of youth. That dreamlike romanticism of life, embraced by every teen who sets out to conquer the world, to triumph over mediocrity, determined not only to dream those dreams that are larger than life, but to make those dreams come true.

Yes, Big Fish....
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Common Application: On August 1, Everything Changes!

Posted by College Connection on Thursday, July 25, 2013, In : College Applications 

As if the college application and admissions process wasn't confusing and stressful enough! 

This year, the folks at Common App, home of the applications to nearly 500 colleges and universities, is changing things up, with the advent of Common App 4.0. 

Those of you who have been following The College Whisperer™ already know that there are new essay prompts, and gone is that mainstay of the personal statement, "A topic of your choice." 

There is also a 650 word limit on that essay, to be stric...
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Speaking of College Essays. . .

Posted by College Connection on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, In : College Admissions 

Our good friend and most knowledgeable colleague, Randy Levin of WriteToCollege.com will be offering FREE (yes, we said FREE) workshops on writing that perfect college essay.

Believe me, The College Whisperer™, in the scheme of what's critical in the college application and admissions process, the college essay is right up there with the Common App and FAFSA. And when it comes to what to write on those college essays, and how to write it, few people can put it all together like Randy Levin....
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"Far From The Madding Crowd"

Posted by College Connection on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, In : College Applications 

With the release of Common App's new essay prompts comes the opportunity for high school Juniors to begin thinking about their college application personal statement and assorted (or was that, sordid?) essays. [Note that we said, "thinking about," not stressing over.]

As we've suggested, quite strongly, in past posts, the essay is your opportunity -- perhaps the best opportunity -- to truly set yourself apart from the legion of college applicants soon to join you on the front lines of college ...
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High School Juniors: This Is Your Moment!

Posted by College Connection on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, In : College Planning 

While most high school seniors are submitting FAFSA, and some are putting the finishing touches on the last of their college applications, high school juniors, waiting in the wings, are busy, er, ah, um, busy doing, hmmm... What exactly are high school juniors busy doing?

Dollars to doughnuts (who says that anymore?), while juniors -- and the parents of same -- may have much on their respective plates, preparing for the madness of college applications and admissions (and we mean seriously prep...
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Say Goodbye to the Common App As You Know It (In 250-500 Words)

Posted by College Connection on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, In : College Applications 

 

It's not only the times that are a changin', but the Common Application as well!

Yes, the wire services and news outlets are reporting that the Common App, as students know (and often despise) it today, will find new ways of considering student's app-titude for college, if not new ways of totally frustrating them.

Among the changes for the 2013-14 Common App will be the eliminations of "A Topic of Your Choice" from the personal statement (essay) -- enter a collective GASP! here -- and stri...


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The Essayist

Posted by College Connection on Monday, August 6, 2012, In : College Applications 

From time to time, The College Whisperer yields this blog to guest posters, who, through their talents and expertise, opine on matters of interest and import in the college application and admissions process.

In this post, we are fortunate to feature our friend and colleague, Randy Levin of PersuasiveWritingServices.com, on the critical nature -- as well as the pitfalls -- of the college essay.

Great reading, and surely prudent advice to be heeded by the college-bound as they start out on the l...
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A College Essay Too Far

Posted by College Connection on Friday, August 12, 2011, In : College Applications 

Oh, the lengths college-bound students -- and their angst-ridden parents -- will go to for that perfect college essay experience.

Sojourns to China. Second-seating surgeons in the operating theater. Cult-like 3-day application boot camps in Cambridge at $15,000 plus, not including room and board.

Oh my!

Check out The New York Times piece, For a Standout College Essay, Applicants Fill Their Summers.

If it seems rather extreme to you to mingle with the Ming Dynasty in Beijing or to rediscover the R...
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The College Essay: Striving To Distance Yourself From The Madding Crowd

Posted by College Connection on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, In : College Admissions 

Two high school seniors, college bound. One from an affluent school district on Long Island. The other from a small town nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Both with stellar academic records, sufficiently proficient SAT and ACT scores, exemplary extracurricular activities, and abundant community service.

What distinguishes these two students, one from the other, in the eyes of the all and powerful college admissions officer at XYZ University?

Demographics, yes. All things being equal ...
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