The College Essay Whiz says:

It's Time to Dive Into the College Application Process for 2011!

The 2011 Common Application is available online now! This year, 415 colleges and universities in 44 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Germany and Italy, are members. Take a look at the Common Application list to view a remarkably diverse range of schools! Go to www.commonapp.org to view the member colleges and universities as well as their admissions requirements.

The Common Application allows you to fill out one form for all of the schools on this list to which you wish to apply. The website includes easy access to the complete first-year application packet with easy-to-follow instructions (available as PDFs and some Word documents), including: the actual application, deadlines and requirements for all schools, teacher evaluation forms, athletic and arts supplements, as well as links to the supplements that many schools require.

If you use the Common Application, you will be expected to write three essays:

• A short essay on the activity or job that has meant the most to you (150 words);
• A personal essay which has six options, including “Your own topic” (250 words or more);
• “Additional information,” which allows you to elaborate on any elements of your profile, such as special circumstances or additional qualifications (no word limit).

All of these essays help the admissions officers to get to know you better!

Don’t forget to check out the supplements that many individual colleges require before you start writing the essays. You will want to weigh your options in order to determine what to write for each section.

And, of course, there are hundreds of schools nationwide that prefer their own individual applications. Now is the time to make your list and get started! 

The College Essay Whiz says:

Explore Your College Options This Summer

How is it possible that junior year is over (or almost over) and when you return to school after a relaxing summer, you will be a senior in high school? Students (and teachers, by the way) deserve a nice rest from the pressures of tests, papers, and balancing all kinds of activities and obligations. But (You knew there would be a “but”) summer is also the best time to explore your college options and to plan ahead. By the time you get back to school in September, every college will have posted its application online! As a matter of fact, the Common Application (which will have close to 415 schools participating in it this year) has already posted a preview of its 2011 application! Wouldn’t it be great to have made your choices and to have written drafts of your essays by the time Labor Day rolls around? Also, if you are planning to apply early, you need to be sure that you have already taken or plan to take all the standardized tests required by the colleges you hope to attend.

Last, don’t forget to ask your teachers in advance for recommendations! Some teachers like to write them over the summer when they, too, are not bombarded with school work.

Please be sure to take advantage of the information on this website (www.collegeessaywhiz.com) and contact me when you are ready to proceed.

Have a great summer!

MK

The College Essay Whiz says:

No Fancy Trimming and No Lies!

“My mother insists that we send each admissions officer a piñata, and inside it would be my college essays and resume wrapped around pieces of candy.”

“My mother had a fit because I didn’t give my guidance counselor envelopes that had stamps with the American flag on them.”

“My father insists that I spend the summer building houses in Costa Rica so that I can have something special to write about.”

“My uncle tells me that I should write an essay that says I am a concert pianist.  They’ll never know it’s not true.”

“I can buy a really good essay off the internet and not worry about this whole deal!”

All of these statements were actually made by high school seniors.
All sad.
All wrong.

The college application is supposed to reflect who you are, what you’ve done, and how you express yourself.  The admissions officers have criteria for selection of the members of the Class of 2014.  They will look carefully at your transcript, resume, test scores, letters of recommendation, and essays to determine whether you are good fit for their school.  Sometimes, of course, it seems unfair:  If Dream University needs a strong new member of the lacrosse team or a wonderful tuba player, that person may be accepted even though his or her grades may not be as high as those of other applicants.  If the parents of your best friend graduated from Dream University, your friend will be considered as a “legacy” candidate.  There’s nothing you can do about the advantages that other people may have.

But have you presented yourself honestly and positively as you would for an interview?  Does your application show what you have learned, achieved and aspired to do during high school?  Have you taken every opportunity to show, truthfully, that you have considered the essay questions with the respect and thoughtfulness that they deserve?  Then you have done your best – without piñatas or fancy stamps or trumped-up topics or lies – and you would want to be accepted only by a school that will treat you in the same way.

The College Essay Whiz says:

It's All in the Timing!

So you’ve clicked on “Submit.”  You’ve done it.  You’ve applied to your dream school – early decision, early action, rolling – and now, you just want to hear that you’ve been accepted.  And you are almost finished with many of those “regular” admissions applications as well -- although you still have a month or so to wrap them up and even to add a few more last minute choices! 

Be sure that you are preparing applications to colleges that aren’t necessarily your first choice but that you would be happy to attend if you are not accepted to or are deferred from Dream University.  Also, you may not hear from Dream University before the deadlines for submission of applications to your other choices.  It’s all in the timing, after all.

Unfortunately, acceptance to college is not just a click away.  Admissions officers across the country will be spending the next six months sifting through applications, sorting them into “yes,” “no,” and “maybe” piles in the very thorough and time-consuming process of selecting high school seniors who will become members of their Class of 2014.  What are they looking for?  It’s like an academic version of “A Chorus Line.” And all you can do once you have done your part is to be patient and wait. 

Well, actually, that’s not all.  You should continue being a high school senior, keeping up with your schoolwork so that if any colleges want to consider your first semester grades, you’ll have something worth showing.  But you should also try enjoying your last year of high school, participating in the activities that you love and spending time with friends that you’ve known since childhood.

And, of course, many colleges have January, February and even March 1 deadlines, so you still have time to click that “Submit” button a few more times in the next few months!