It’s hard to believe that the college application process is in full swing. School just started and the weather is still nice outside. But if you are a senior or live with a senior you know. You know. The chaos that can be the college process has likely taken over.
The Common Application essay prompts have been announced for the 2022-2023 cycle, and they haven’t changed, more on that below. In addition, since the final option is “topic of your choice”, we offer some more prompts to generate ideas.
Summer is a great time to kick back, relax, have fun…and write your college essay. Just think about all the schoolwork and applications you will have in the fall. The summer is the perfect time to get one big thing out of the way.
From time to time I like to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of the Campus Bound staff, many of whom are former college admission counselors, and ask them questions that could provide some inside information that could potentially help you. This month I asked, “What was the best college essay you ever read, and what made it stand out to you?” Here are their responses:
It truly seems unfair that many colleges have January 1 application deadlines. In fact, many schools have pushed these deadlines to January 5 or January 15 in order to give students a break from having applications due on New Years Day. But even so, for students with deadlines in December, January, or even February, the holidays can be a challenging time of juggling family obligations, schoolwork, and college applications. The good news is that there are things you can do to make this time a little bit easier and less stressful.
Many colleges ask students to write a supplemental essay with the prompt, “Why are you applying to Amazing University?” Chances are you will have to write one or more of these during the application rush. Easy, right? Not so fast! This essay can be one of the more challenging essays to do correctly. It requires careful reflection and should not be put off until the last minute.
One of the reasons so many families hire Campus Bound over the summer is so that students can complete their college essay BEFORE senior year. Our counselors and essay specialists are available all summer long and we love helping students write amazing essays and taking this big task off their fall to-do lists.
In this blog, we wanted to provide our top tips for writing the college essay. Print this out, and share it with friends, because this information is essential to know before you start writing.
Most students know that they will need to write one big college essay for their applications. But, sometimes the additional essays can come as a surprise. One option on the Common Application and Coalition Application is for students to write an “Additional Information Essay.” It’s worded as such on the Common Application: “Do you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application?”
So, does everyone need to write this essay? And what should it be about?
If it seems as though college applicants are having more and more essays to write as part of the college process, you would be right. It’s not uncommon for students to have four, six, or maybe even ten additional essays to write. The all-time high for a student I have personally worked with was 18! While some are shorter and some are longer, it’s still 18 different pieces of writing, and, sometimes the shorter essays are actually more difficult to write.
With that being said, in this blog we give some practical advice about how to manage all the possible essays you will have to write, and explain why getting an early start is essential.