* High school juniors: the 2020 -2021 Common App essay prompts are set. February is here, and high school juniors have so much going on – keeping up with sch...

As seniors begin their final semester of high school, I can't help but feel like an empty-nester. I will miss the students! It was an honor to counsel them, ...

Are you a rebel who resists the status quo? If so, there's a good chance the traditional essay format is not for you. Don't despair! You have options. This...

Every year I meet students who dive into the University of California Personal Insight Questions without doing their homework. Yikes! Here's a cheat sheet th...

Last fall, I met with Marc, a high school dynamo. You name it, he had it going on. Except for one thing. He couldn’t write. I mean, he knew how to write, but...

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. That's not going to be the best way to choose a prompt and topic for the Common App essay. Just sayin'. So how should you go about ma...

Successful supplemental essays (the “Why Us” essays) connect your interests and passions to the unique offerings of individual colleges. They generally have ...

High school students: Did you ever experience a serious sense of envy – the kind that turns your eyes three shades of green? It can happen when your friends ...

Summer. It’s a season, and a state-of-mind. And it means something different to every high school student. Modern college admissions changed the way teens sp...

Your WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that inspires you. Knowing your WHY gives you a filter to make choices -– at school, at work, at home – wherever y...

We all have a place - a kind of sacred space - where we just plain feel like ourselves. ~ In the woods ~ On a baseball diamond ~ Around my grandmother’s kitc...

Have we met? You’re the kind of person who shows up, does great work, and is there for your friends. You don’t like a lot of attention focused on you, whethe...

"Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know....

Ever wonder how much pressure the red pencil feels – to be like the blue ones? To think and act like the blue ones. Interesting things happen when you embrac...

Curiosity. It’s a trait Engineering students have in common. You’re curious about how things work, and how they can work better. And because you’re forward-t...

In kindergarten, it was so easy to answer this question: What do you want to be when you grow up? The dress-up clothes, toys and books sparked your imaginati...

How many times during the school day do you find yourself thinking - That’s not me! That’s not me – I don’t raise my hand during class discussions. (I might ...

Here's a question for the busy, college essay-writing high school student: What’s your secret-sauce – the academic ingredients that inspire you, intellectual...

You’re wearing a smile today, along with your t-shirt and jeans. Then, it happens. Emotions, just below the surface, rise up: ~ The grade that stung like a w...

Some students freak out at the mention of the word passion. It’s overused and the fizz is gone. Agreed. But until we find a better word – Passion is about ex...