Countdown to August 1st - Common App Essay and Supplements Go Live

The Fourth of July and Labor Day used to be the only two dates in summer that most of us paid attention to, but August 1 is fast becoming a summer landmark for rising high school seniors and their often frantic families. As all of them know, it's the day that the Common Application goes live, and students can start filling out applications to the 488 colleges that participate in the program -- from Harvard (Cambridge, MA) to Transylvania University (Lexington, KY) and Franklin College Switzerland (Lugano, Switzerland). READ MORE...

3 Dos and Don'ts for Your College Application Essays

From my Huffington Post article

Three Don'ts:
1. Don't consult the thesaurus and "try to sound smart" by using big words and dry, academic language. Be specific, vivid, and personal in your writing, so we can hear your voice. 

2. Don't write about the Harry Potter books, even if they are your all-time favorites. Instead of standing out, mentioning HP will make you indistinguishable from millions of other fans. 

3. Don't read college essays online or in books unless or until you're very close to finishing your own essays. It can be intimidating to see other finished essays when you're insecure about whether you can do your own. READ MORE...