Essays

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A College Freshman Offers Her Advice To This Year’s Seniors

Advice From A College Freshman

I recently caught up with one of my former students, Meagan, who is now a freshman at CCSU’s Honors Program. We got to talking about her college search and the ups and downs of it. At one point I asked her what she would have done differently if she had the opportunity to go back and do it all over again knowing what she knows now.

That question led to a few others that I think would be incredibly helpful for this year’s senior class.

The following are some of the questions I asked Meagan with her answers.

Q1: What was the one thing about the college application process that was a lot harder than you thought it would be?

One of the hardest things about the college application process was writing and editing the essay. It’s hard enough trying not to second-guess yourself the whole time, let alone choose a topic to write about that speaks to you. I got really hung up in trying to pick a topic that wasn’t cliché, or hadn’t been done before, when in reality, no matter what topic you choose, some version of it has been done before. It’s just all about how you present it. Editing took a lot longer than I thought as well, since I’m so used to writing one or two drafts and then being done. But when it was over, it was the greatest feeling being able to upload it online and hit send knowing I’d never have to look at it again.

Q2: What was the biggest surprise?

The biggest surprise for me was how quickly deadlines came up. Although I was able to manage my time decently, things got crazy that first half of the year due to sports, school, and life in general. Sometimes it felt like time was never on my side. After every due date had come and I looked at when the next one was, I would think, “I have plenty of time to do that.” And then I’d look at the calendar later on and realize I only had a week to prepare whole supplementary essays.

Q3: If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would do differently?

If I could do it again I wouldn’t talk to my friends so much about their essays or their applications. When I listened to them tell me what they were doing, I would question myself and wonder if they had better ideas. Then I would go back to essays and psych myself out thinking it was horrible and incomparable to my friends’ essays. I just put way too much stake in what they had to say, when I should have just been focusing on what I needed to say.

Q4: What advice would you give to this year’s crop of seniors?

I would tell this year’s seniors to 1.) Chill out, 2.) Manage your time wisely because it WILL come back to bite you, 3.) Focus on yourself and not what your friends are doing, and 4.) Be realistic.

Time management during the application process saves a lot of stress and unnecessary anxiety. Keeping yourself sane during the process is important if you want to truly give colleges an accurate representation of you.

Although you value your friends’ opinions when you need them most, I strongly feel that this rule does not apply during the college application process. If you’re always asking different people things about essays, or where you should and should not apply, you’re going to get a million different answers and opinions that will leave you more confused and unsure than when you first asked. College application season is exciting because you’re thinking about the future, but what matters most is your voice and where you want to be – not your friends. It also saves you a lot of stress to not get wrapped up in their college stress too.

Being realistic will prove to be invaluable in the future. Take everything into account: cost, location, distance, and your grades. College is expensive, there’s no getting around it. It’s difficult to find a school you love without breaking the bank, but knowing you’ll graduate without $50,000-$100,000 of debt is a great feeling. Location is also important because if you want to be able to visit more than once or twice during the year, you might not want to move to Florida or out to California because flights are expensive and need to be considered. (However, if you’re not planning on visiting often, I highly encourage going to a place with nice weather.) Being realistic about what you did in high school is also important. I have seen many friends be blinded by how much they love a school and completely forget that there is a possibility of rejection. Seeing that heartbreak is not fun for any of the parties involved.

I feel like seniors freak themselves out over the college application process way too much (I know I did). No matter what happens, things will fall into place. I saw my friends crumble over applications to schools they desperately wanted to get into but when it comes down to it, you’re going to end up where you need to be even if it isn’t exactly what you first envisioned.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. 

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Eric Oct 15, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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How To Write Your Essay For Common App Prompts #3, #4 And #5

How To Write Your Essay For Prompts 3, 4 and 5If you’re trying to work through your Common App Essay, you’re in the right place. Last week I talked about How To Write Your Essay For Common App Prompts #1 and #2. Today, I’m going to cover prompts #3, #4 and #5.

Prompt #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

This prompt is a tricky one because it only works for you if you actually challenged something AND it affected you in some way. With multiple keywords here, REFLECT ON A TIME, PROMPTED YOU TO ACT and WOULD YOU MAKE THE SAME DECISION AGAIN you have to make sure you hit on all three. Just wishing you had acted on something or not really knowing why you acted on something isn’t going to cut it.

This prompt gives you a chance to talk about your VIPS and can show that you have the ability to think critically about things that are bigger than you. Admission counselors like it when their students can demonstrate qualities like this.

Prompt #4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

I really like this prompt because I think it allows for so much creative freedom if, and I stress if, the story is told well enough. The first set of keywords, PLACE OR ENVIRONMENT leaves a lot to interpretation. Is this a place you physically go to like your living room couch or somewhere less tangible than that? Your relationship to God, for instance? Either way, you have to tie into the remaining keywords which ask WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE in this place and why it’s MEANINGFUL TO YOU. And this is the key to this prompt – you need to talk about why this place is so important to you, what happens to you when you’re there and why it helps you in your life.

Prompt #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

This prompt allows you a lot of flexibility because the keywords are so broad. We’ve all had at least one ACCOMPLISHMENT in our lives and, depending on what’s important to you, you get to define whether it was FORMAL OR INFORMAL. The last set of keywords, CULTURE, COMMUNITY OR FAMILY are also very broad and left open to interpretation. Having said that, it’s the middle set of keywords, MARKED YOUR TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD that are important here.

Because while we’ve all had accomplishments, not each of them has helped us to think and act more like an adult. And that’s the key here: you need to show that whatever it was that you achieved, completed, performed or produced was an important event in your process of becoming an adult.

Going to college is a major transition in your life and one that will rapidly draw you into adulthood as you face critical decisions about your immediate and long-term future. An admission counselor will be pleased to see that you’ve gone through other transitional phases in your life and that you are on your way to becoming the person you were meant to be.

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Jul 28, 2013 , , , , , No Comments
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How To Write Your Essay For Common App Prompts #1 And #2

Dobler College ConsultingLast week I introduced you to the new Common App essay prompts. If you missed the post, here it is.

At the end of the post, I said I would share some tips on how to approach each of the prompts. Without further ado, let’s talk about prompts #1 and #2 and in my next post we’ll talk about prompts #3, #4 and #5.

Prompt #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

This is what I call a “big-picture” prompt because it’s about you and your identity.  It’s a topic that you can completely whiff on if you don’t pay attention to the keywords. First, whatever background or story you are going to share has to be CENTRAL TO YOUR IDENTITY. This means the story needs to be something big, something that has shaped you as a person, something that sits at the very core of who you are.

The second set of keywords, YOUR APPLICATION WOULD BE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT IT, is just as important. This means that, without telling this story, colleges aren’t going to understand the full picture of who you are and why they should admit you.

So, write down the prompt and then start making notes on everything that makes you who you are. What are your VIPS and how did they come to be that way? Has anything happened in your life – again, big-picture ideas here only – that an admission counselor should take into consideration? Remember, you’re trying to let them in on something about you that will help them say “Yes!” to your application.

Prompt #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

This prompt is all about making lemonade out of lemons.  So let’s keep keywords in mind here as well. First, AN INCIDENT OR TIME WHEN YOU EXPERIENCED FAILURE. Here, you’re being asked to talk about a time that you took a risk or tried something and failed at it. However, it’s the second set of keywords HOW DID IT AFFECT YOU and WHAT LESSONS DID YOU LEARN that form the foundation of what you are going to try to do with this prompt.

Because what you’re not going to do is go on and on about the failure itself. In fact, you should briefly introduce the failure and then spend the bulk of your essay talking about how it affected you and what you learned from it.

I like this topic because who hasn’t failed at something in their lives?

Just don’t dwell on the failure itself. Instead, focus on how something positive came out of it. Again, you’re asking an admission counselor to say “Yes!” to your application and an essay that is focused on a negative outcome isn’t necessarily going to help your cause.

Next week I’ll talk about essay prompts #3, #4 and #5. Stay tuned…

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Jul 21, 2013 , , , , , No Comments
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The New Common App Essay Prompts

Dobler College ConsultingIn case you haven’t heard already, the Common App has revamped their essay prompts. Gone are the six prompts that have been around forever and, in their place, are five new ones. Moving forward, the prompts will be rotated and changed so that each year, there will be new options.

First, let me introduce you to the new prompts. Then I’ll tell you why I don’t think they’re anything you should be stressing over:

Topic #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Topic #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

Topic #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

Topic #4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

Topic #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

As you read through these prompts, you can see that each one asks for a specific moment, situation, place, event or story that reveals something important about the applicant. Please note the emphasis on the word, “important.”

I didn’t say incredible. I didn’t say amazing. And I definitely didn’t say Earth-shattering.

Because let’s be honest – at 16 and 17 years old, very few people have had incredible, amazing and Earth-shattering experiences in their lives. So take the pressure off yourself to write something that has never been written before. Instead, focus on a story you can tell that helps an admission counselor learn something new about you.

And while you may not be able to come up with something for each essay prompt, I’m sure you can come up with a story that relates to at least one of them.

So, take a deep breath, relax and think about the things you’ve done in your life. The places you’ve visited. The experiences you’ve had – both good and bad. Start writing down some notes on how each of them might apply to the prompts above. Don’t worry about whether the ideas are stinkers or the seeds of a truly great essay right now. Just brainstorm and get some ideas on paper. Talk to your parents, friends and relatives. Let them help you brainstorm – chances are, they may think of something really interesting about you that you, yourself, didn’t think of immediately.

Writing is a process that involves steps and time. If you take the time to go through the steps, the finished product will be so much better for it!

Next week, I’m going to share some tips on how to approach each prompt. Stay tuned…

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Jul 16, 2013 , , , , , , , No Comments
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Why Your Application Needs To Stand Out

Each year the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) puts out a report called, The State Of College Admission. The report is free for NACAC members while non-members can purchase a copy for $25. The report talks about trends in college admission as reported by college admission officers and high school counselors from around the country. One of the statistics from this year’s report that I wanted to share with you today was the average number of applications that each admission counselor reads.

According to the report, the average college admission counselor in 2005 read 359 applications. By 2011 that number had nearly doubled to 662.

Think about that for a second. You are one of nearly several hundred applications that will cross an admission counselor’s desk in a very short period of time. Having reviewed thousands of applications in my old admission days, I can tell you that admission counselors do their best to give each application the time and attention it deserves. But when your application underwhelms or does not tell your story in full color, well, that review and the decision to say “no” can be painfully quick. Admission counselors want to connect with you as an applicant. They want to get excited about you. And they want to say “yes.” But sometimes it becomes very hard for them to do just that simply because you didn’t make the most of your application.

So, instead of putting off your college search to the last minute, start researching schools now and then visit some college campuses this spring. Think about what you might want to say in your personal statement and then record your ideas for when you get down to the writing process over the summer. Think about who you would want a recommendation from and plan on talking to them before the end of the school year. Create an account on the Common App and go through each section to familiarize yourself with how it works and what information is required. This will be great practice for when the new one launches on August 1st. Start a list of your activities, honors and accomplishments – great or small, so that you don’t forget anything when it comes time to completing applications in the fall.

At the end of the day, ask yourself what you want an admission counselor to know about you and why it should matter to them. Then, as you go through the next several months, spend time putting together an application and supporting materials that ensure your application will be one that motivates an admission counselor to say, “YES!”

Have something to say? Use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

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Eric Jan 13, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , No Comments