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."

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.

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...