What you can learn from The Onion
Who’d have thought the terrific writers at the parody news site, The Onion, would give us the classic example of how *not* to write a college essay? But they have, […]
Author Archives: Francesca Kelly
Don’t “Write the Brochure.”
It’s around now that many HS seniors start tackling those pesky short-answer essays, generally on the theme and variations of, “Why do you want to go here?” What those colleges […]
September is going to be great!
Imagine this: It’s the third week of September, and your senior-year homework is piling on. You’ve got sports practice or music practice or charity work or, if you’re as insane […]
Reality Check
Although tuition at private colleges and universities continues to rise well above normal inflation rates, there are still scholarships available from these institutions that may make it possible for lower-income […]
Soooo cynical, and unfortunately, true
The college admissions process has become ridiculous. We all know it. Authors like Frank Bruni, Jay Mathews and others have confirmed it, as have a ton of rejected straight-A students. […]
Must-reading about rejection from elite colleges
Let’s see, it’s mid-March. That means we’re in Freak-Out Time for high school seniors. If you haven’t heard yet from your colleges, these days are pretty much unbearable, and of […]
Whoops, sorry: you’re not admitted after all.
Well, ouch. Imagine being admitted by the college of your choice, and then having that “admission” rescinded. That’s just what happened at Carnegie-Mellon recently. It’s not as uncommon as you […]
It’s not too late to apply!
And you thought applying to college for Fall 2015 was a done deal, didn’t you? There are actually some very good schools out there with later deadlines, so consider adding […]
Your College List: Planning for a Change of Heart
You chose your list of schools a while ago, and now you’re in the thick of the application process. Perhaps you’ve already applied Early Action or even Early Decision. I […]
Just who do you think you are, anyway?
Anna Redmond, a former admissions interviewer for Harvard, dishes out some advice on essay writing. And she makes a good point: that you need to know yourself, at least a little, […]
Essay Advantage 