Do you understand the power of literally grabbing the attention of an admissions reader? On average, an admissions officer may spend 4-7 minutes reading your child’s application.

Yikes!

Hence why the personal essay as well as the supplemental essays are so critical.

Any good parent lives to help their child to succeed, and in this college application season, you may need to help your child to brainstorm a topic. Their creative juices need to start churning and you may be able to help them. Trust me, opening lines matter. 

Here are some of my favorite opening lines from our kids in the past:

“Getting kicked in the mouth is not fun.  Especially when receiving the kick from a...

PARENTS!!!! READ THIS WITH YOUR RISING SENIOR!!!!

Use the rules below and you’re on your way!!!!

Develop the essay into three parts:

Introduction: One paragraph that introduces your essay.  Start with a catchy first sentence. If it grabs the reader’s attention, he or she will be encouraged to read on. You might use a meaningful quote or start with a rhetorical question that fits your situation.  You might open with a detailed description of the setting of an important experience you've had so that readers feel they were really there.  You might start with a mystery that will be revealed later in the essay or double-entendre.  If you are experiencing...

PARENTS!!!! READ THIS WITH YOUR RISING SENIOR!!!!

Use the rules below and you’re on your way!!!!

1. Start Early

Starting early buys you the luxury of revising and rewriting the essay. You can write it, put it away for a few days, then take a fresh look at it later. Walking away and then coming back brings a fresh perspective to the work -- without the pressure and stress that comes with a time crunch. 

2. Brainstorm.

Starting the essay can be the hardest part.  Brainstorming about your personality traits and defining your strengths is a good place to begin.  Your goal is to reflect about who you are as a person.  Don’t think of it as bragging.  Think about it...

PARENTS!!!! READ THIS WITH YOUR RISING SENIOR!!!!

Use the rules below and you’re on your way!!!!

Be specific.  Keep your focus narrow and personal by figuring out how the question relates to your personal qualities and then taking a specific angle. Make sure everything you write supports that viewpoint. But don’t adopt a preachy tone. College admission officers don’t want to be lectured on rainforest destruction. Instead, tell them how you became interested in environmentalism.

Use the active voice. This is a challenge for all writers. As a matter of style, writing in an active voice energizes an essay. Avoid the passive voice. Word processing programs often provide assistance...

I have been teaching essay writing for twenty years and before I get too deep, I want you and your child to know the basics first. The personal statement should reveal something important about them that their grades and test scores cannot. Try to help your child to answer these two essential questions:

#1: Who are you? 

#2: What’s important to you? 

This is not easy and it’s not necessarily fun. Teenagers struggle with identity and sharing parts of their lives. They need help. 

PLEASE share the blog below with our child. It’s written to them. 

STEP 1: Be yourself.  You are 1 of 1. Write in your own voice.  Write what you feel, not what you think the...

One of the most important parts of the college application, especially now that standardized test scores are not always required, is the recommendations that teachers write for their applicants. There are several different reasons why these recommendations are vital and can set an applicant apart from the pack.

Here are some key things you and your child need to know about teacher recommendations. 

Recommendations should come from core subjects: English, math, science, history, and foreign language. Why? Because these are classes that are usually part of a required curriculum in college.

11th Grade teachers tend to be the most popular teachers to ask for letters of recommendation, but that might...

Whatever you call the school counselor at your child’s high school -- guidance counselor, college counselor, etc -- please know that they are an integral part of the college application process. A few elements of their job are: 

• to offer college advice to you and your child

• weigh in on the selection of courses for each year

• write a school counselor recommendation on behalf of your child

• send the transcript

• communicate with colleges about your child’s application and interest

Some school counselors do this better than others, and usually, it depends on their caseload of students. 

As a parent, you should attend any college preparation presentations that your school...

The short answer is “yes.” Some schools always ask for it and expect it (Cornell and Washington University in St. Louis). Every year, colleges tell me that they want to see that kids are engaged. Studies have shown that children who take part in after-school programs can enjoy the benefit of an academic boost. In fact, such studies showed that students who took part in regular after-school programs performed better academically than their peers who did not attend after-school activities. 

Time management is key
Students who take part in extracurricular activities are taught how to effectively manage their time. This is an excellent way to teach time management and help students learn...

Class of 2022!!!!!

Don’t do it…….
YES, I encourage all of my students to celebrate their acceptances and keep their eyes squarely focused on the goal: a college education. But there’s a problem going on that everyone needs to be aware of: slacking off from high school is recipe for disaster as well as a sign of immaturity.

The colleges that have accepted young adults, older teenagers, not kids who cannot discern right from wrong. Yes, mistakes can happen and adjustments can be made, but be the person and student who applied three or four or five months ago - the one “College X” accepted - follow these simple rules:

Put in the work. Every coach, tutor, teacher and...

Volunteer. Yes, community service is still “in,”  but it’s now  called “civic engagement.” Regardless of the name, it’s the right thing to do, as long as it’s genuine. Being a giver is always en vogue, thus encouraging (forcing?) your kid to share his/her abilities and talents with others will be noticed on their application and offers a talking point for interviews and essays.

Earn a (summer) living. Work is for the worthy. Students need to know what it means to be somewhere everyday and report to someone. Showing commitment and responsibility is a sign of growth and maturation. As your child enters young adulthood, these are crucial...