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If you have been thinking about the college essay but have not yet taken action, this is the moment to do so. The June 30th workshop is not a consolation prize or a fallback option. It is, quite genuinely, one of the most valuable steps you can take for your student's essay this summer. Here is why. The college essay requires something that becomes increasingly difficult to find once the school year begins: time. Not simply time to write, but time to think, to sit with an ide

Imagine two students approaching August. Both are entering their senior year, intelligent, capable, and with plenty to write about. They both have college applications due in the fall and need to complete their essays beforehand. The first student spent June and July as most do, relaxing, working, traveling, and enjoying summer activities. The essay remained on their to-do list, with the belief that there was always more time. August seemed soon enough. Now it's August. Their

Every year, families come into the college essay process carrying a set of assumptions about what a good essay looks like. Some of those assumptions come from well-meaning teachers. Some come from older siblings or friends who went through the process years ago. Some come from the internet, which has no shortage of confident but contradictory advice. And a surprising number of them are wrong. Fundamentally wrong in ways that lead students to write essays that work against the

Why Trying to Sound Impressive Ruins College Essays There is a version of the college essay that sounds exactly like what families think a college essay should sound like, one that is well-structured, with sophisticated vocabulary. The topic is long the lines of a leadership experience, an academic passion, a challenge overcome with grace. Its exactly what a parent might imagine an admissions officer is looking for. And it is, almost without exception, completely forgettable.