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Every writer needs a proofreader. Book writers have editors and publishers. Journalists have editors. High school students writing college application essays are no exception. Why? You often miss your own mistakes when you concentrate on something for a long time. Typos become a blur. You might not recognize a grammar error. Your logic or argument might even need some tweaks. An editor will help you see all of this. Regular decision deadlines are coming up, so now is the time for applicants to get those essays in shape. As you do this, don't go it alone. You need another set of eyes before you hit submit. Here's how to get started on proofreading: Print your work. Look at your essays on paper. Take a pen and actually make changes by hand. Then go back to your essay to input those changes. Read your work out loud to yourself. You might find extra words, missing words, or even sentences that don't make any sense. Take a break from writing. After you've written a draft, go do something else. Exercise. Meet a friend. Take a walk. When you come back to your essays, you will see things you didn't notice before. Enlist an editor. Friends, teachers, writing coaches and family members are all there to proofread. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

It would be nice if everything always went as planned. In the ideal world, you pick your favorite school, apply early action or early decision, and get accepted in December. End of story. Unfortunately, things don't always work that way. You might get deferred. You might get rejected. As a result, for better or worse, you need a back-up plan. What are you going to do in case you still need to keep applying to colleges? You could just take a wait and see approach. You could decide you'll only work on other applications after you get your ED or EA result. Or... you could start to plan ahead. Think about applying Early Decision 2 . Do you have a second top choice? If so, see if the school has an ED 2 deadline in January. Those results come out in February. Make a list of the schools you would apply to Regular Decision . The list of schools should be balanced between "reach," "target," and "likely." (People sometimes use different terminology, but the idea is always the same). Some schools that are really hard to get into; some schools that are in the right range for you; and some schools you think you will definitely get into. In total, aim for 10 to 12 schools. Write some of the supplemental essays for your RD schools . It can help to have a head start. Best case scenario, you'll never use them. Not ready to write? Just make a spreadsheet . A list of every college with the corresponding supplemental question will help you see patterns across the different applications. You might see that the type of answer you wrote for one school is applicable to a question from another school. Bingo! So worst case scenario, the task ahead might not be so bad after all.

Parents likely remember a time when college application results came in the mail. You could almost guess the answer based on the size of the envelope. Everything is different now. Students often know the date a school is releasing decisions. They'll get the news first via email and a school portal. Later, the snail mail arrives. So today, there's a moment of anticipation. In that split second before opening an email, time slows down. The best approach is to pause, take a deep breath, and click. Here are the different options students might see: Accepted: This one speaks for itself. If you applied Early Decision, an acceptance is a binding offer and you are committed to attend. If you applied Early Action, or Regular Decision, it's non-binding. Deferred: A deferral means that a university has decided to defer a decision on your Early Decision or Early Action application until the Regular Decision date. Be sure to read the school's response very closely for instructions on next steps. You can send updates and a "letter of continued interest" which we'll cover in an upcoming blog. Waitlisted: Wait-listing usually happens during the Regular Decision round. If you're waitlisted, you're neither accepted nor rejected. The school may contact you at a later date to offer you a spot. You usually need to tell the admissions committee that you want to keep a spot on the waitlist. Here too, follow the school's instructions closely. Send updates and a letter of continued interest. Rejected: Be prepared for rejections. It happens. Even students who were excellent candidates are often rejected. It may not feel good. But there will be other places for you. And as my grandmother would have said, "It's their loss."

Can you really sum up your life in a list of ten things? What if you can't think of ten things to write about? The Activities List is the first big challenge of the Common App . It takes time to refine your list. And even more time to figure out exactly what you want to say in the limited space. You can ease into the application process by working on the activities list. If possible, start it as soon as your junior year ends. You'll feel a great sense of accomplishment with this head start. I can help you brainstorm, organize and start writing. We can work on just this part of the common app, or the entire process. Let's get started! Contact me today .

This is for you, juniors. As you wrap up the year, college application season might seem far away. But there is one important thing to do before classes end: ask teachers to write your letters of recommendation. Most applications require at least two academic letters of recommendation. Ideally, the classes could relate to a topic you want to consider studying in college. Here's the important part: talk to your teachers before you leave for the summer. Some teachers may only be able to write a certain number of letters, so don't miss an opportunity. Ask the teachers if they'd consider writing you a letter that would be due in the fall of senior year. How do you do this? Start with an initial outreach. Send teachers an email asking if they have time to meet with you to talk about a recommendation. Or you could just speak directly to the teacher before or after class, to set up the meeting. Before you meet, send the teacher a document that outlines your key accomplishments in the class. This will help the teacher have a wealth of information to consider. Questions? Reach out to learn more about the college application process and how I can help.

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Writing the main essay for the Common Application takes time. Maybe you’ll have a lightbulb realization– an aha moment– where your topic idea becomes instantly clear. Or maybe you'll deliberate, start writing, change your mind, and start again. Either way, expect to spend several weeks brainstorming, writing, and editing the essay. This piece is going to every school that uses the Common App. So don't rush. And ideally, don't put this off until just before the deadline. Really think about the message you want to send. Here is what the Common App says in 2024: The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.) Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

College admissions is full of lingo. Especially when it comes to the different types of application options. If you're new to the application process, here are some useful definitions. Use this to post to jump start your research into each school, and weigh the pros and cons of each type of application . Early Decision (ED) : Applications are due in November and you get a decision in December. If you get in, it is a binding commitment. This means that you are required to attend the school. You can only apply to one school ED. When you're accepted you withdraw any other applications. Early Decision II (EDII):  Some schools have a second Early Decision deadline in January. The decision usually comes in February. ED II is also binding. Early Action (EA) : Applications are due in November and you get a decision in December. If you get in, you are not required to attend the school. It is not binding. You can apply to other schools. Restrictive Early Action (REA) : You apply early and get an answer early. The restrictive part usually means that you can only apply to one private EA school. You can apply to other schools for Regular Decision. If you get in, you are not required to attend the school.   Regular Decision : RD applications are typically due in January and you get an answer in March or April. These decisions are not binding. Rolling Admissions : Schools review and make decisions on a continuous basis.

Move over, grown-ups. LinkedIn isn't just for the workforce anymore! Yes, college and high school students have jumped on the LinkedIn bandwagon to build their "personal brand." Just remember, you have to be 16 to join the site. So can having a LinkedIn profile help your college application? Maybe. This is another one of the many options to consider as you're working on applications. Here are three reasons you might want a LinkedIn profile: Demonstrate your experiences to college admissions officers. You can include jobs, internships and volunteer work. Connect with potential employers for internships and summer jobs. Explore career options. It's pretty easy to set up a LinkedIn profile. The site walks you through what to do each step of the way. But what you post and share matters. If you're looking for guidance, I can help. Reach out here .

You're only a student. You don't have a career. And yet, some college applications ask for a resume. So what do you do? Do you write a resume? And if so, what goes on the resume? Here are ten things you can include: Biographical information: Name and contact information. Education : Your school, GPA and test scores. Jobs , internships and volunteer work: Do you babysit? Work in a restaurant? Intern for a political candidate? Volunteer at a food pantry? Family responsibilities: Are you caring for anyone in your family? Do you tutor your younger siblings in math? School Clubs: Do you do the lights for school plays? Are you advocating for climate awareness? Sports: Are you on a school team? Are you a captain? Do you love pickup basketball? Music: Are you in a band? Do you write your own music? Do you take lessons or teach yourself? Awards: Did your math team win a local competition? Did your science research project get an award? Skills and hobbies: Can you program in Python? Do you know how to design graphics? Do you keep a sketch book? Publish music on Spotify? Second languages: Are you bilingual? Are you studying a language in school? Do you just love watching movies in French? As you organize these sections, find a resume template online that you can use. Grammar matters. Use active verbs and highlight your accomplishments. And definitely have someone proofread your resume. You may feel like just a kid, but you might be surprised at how much you've accomplished. Questions? I can help you with a resume. Just fill out this contact form , and we can talk.

Some of you have just finished school. Others still have a few more exams. The end is in sight. Either way, juniors, you need a break. Take some time to relax. Decompress. And then, for better or worse, start planning the rest of the summer. Creating a summer calendar for working on college applications will lighten the workload of senior year. One strategy is to "back time" how you are going to accomplish everything you need to do this summer. Of course you have other things going on besides college applications. Work, travel, friends. Sleep. Yes, sleep. It's all important. But "back timing" will help. Here's how it works. Pick a deadline, and calculate how many weeks until that deadline. Then pick a goal. Next, divide the amount of work by the number of available weeks. Here's an example of what this looks like. Pretend you need to read a 500-page book for English class by the end of four weeks. Divide 500 by 4, and you'll see that you need to read 125 pages per week. Doing this will avoid procrastination and an all-nighter the day before the deadline. So figure out how many weeks you have until senior year starts. Then make a schedule that you can use to benchmark your progress. What goes onto the calendar? Here are some possibilities: Studying for the SAT or ACT. Creating a Common App profile. Doing the activities section of the Common App. Writing a resume or LinkedIn profile . Asking teachers or other mentors for letters of recommendation . Visiting colleges. Doing online information sessions. Writing a draft of your main Common App essay. Working on supplemental essays. Strategically accomplishing some college application work this summer will give you a great sense of accomplishment. And showing that plan to your parents? Not such a bad idea either.

Vacation. Long weekends. It's peak summer, and the perfect time to travel. It's also an ideal time to visit some college campuses. Rising high school juniors and seniors, and their parents, should consider using the summer to visit some colleges. So if you're already taking family trips, perhaps tack on some college tours. So how do you decide what schools to visit? Make sure you visit a range of schools, in different regions. Here are some considerations that can help a student decide what type of physical setting feels right for college. Urban or suburban. Small or big campus. East Coast or West Coast. Northern or Southern. To organize of all of this, go to a school's website. Look for a tab that says "tours" or "visits." You usually need to book a tour. Tours can fill up, and some schools track "demonstrated interest," ie. whether a student has shown interes in a school. Booking a tour will make sure the school knows you were there. Happy trails to you...