Step 1: Understand the Prompt Before choosing a topic, make sure you understand what the prompt is asking and how the essay fits into the application. Focus on what readers already know about you, as well as what they can’t find out from the rest of your application. Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas Consider several topics. Read More

I love having lunch with my friend, Ella, who recently retired after years of serving as a great high school counselor here in metro Detroit, where I live. When we last met in person, we had just started going out again post-lockdown. It felt like a million years had passed. We started talking about her previous job Read More

Several years ago, a few days before an application deadline, a mom reached out to me in a panic. I had worked with her eldest child on his application essays; she didn’t like his Common App essay. I loved his story. Even better, he was happy with his essay, anchored around the moment he learned Read More

At least once a week, someone asks Susan or me a variation on this question: How do you talk to parents about imperfect essays? We nod because we get it. Parents often have unrealistic expectations, not because they are unreasonable, but because they don’t really understand the role of the college essay in the application package. Read More

We’re past the Nov. 1 deadline. Do you feel any relief? Will you be able to unwind for the short Thanksgiving break? We hope you give yourself a bit of time off, too (which means please try hard not to read student essays while roasting that turkey or watching football!) As we move into regular Read More

Imagine UC was a person. If we met face-to-face, what would you want us to know about you? These personal insight questions allow you to tell us. You could write about your creative side. Your thoughts on leadership. A challenge you’ve faced. Whatever questions you answer, make sure you show us your personality—just as you Read More

I cringe when I hear parents, teachers, students, and counselors talk about the importance of being “unique” in a college essay. Why? Because it’s not true. Because too many people believe it. Because at Wow, we are so committed to accuracy, and no matter how many times we tell people this is a myth, it Read More

Fear and procrastination are the two biggest stumbling blocks for seniors as they consider the all-important college essay. The essay is uniformly considered the most stressful part of the college application process. Students worry about what to say; sharing too much information by getting overly personal or saying too little and ending up sounding generic Read More

When I’m working with student clients on developing and evolving theircollege essays I focus on guiding them to “finding their voice”. So often high school students are writing about their accomplishments,but not about who they are, their DNA. One of the methods I use to capture the “voice” of my high schoolclient is to interview Read More

I’ve been hosting free college essay classes for students for about 5 years, and generally, the questions are predictable: What’s the best/worst topic? What do colleges want to read? What can I do to stand out? This year, I’ve noticed a new type of question, and it’s troubling to me. It’s a variation on this, Read More