COLLEGE ADMISSION PROCESS AND COLLEGE ESSAY WRITING

1) Time-Line For Course Selection and Standardized Tests: Align with student’s interests, goals and aspirations.

2) College Search:
Finding the right schools; it’s all about the right match—the right fit for each individual.

3) College Application and Essay Guidance Admission:
Create a specific strategy for admission opportunities. I work closely with students as they navigate the uneasy task of filling out college applications and composing college admission essays. I take them into the heart of the writing process : including personal reflection questions, brainstorming topics, concept development, editing for organization and clarity and most  importantly, giving voice to a student’s aspirations. 

It’s important to keep in mind your audience—the Admission Committee Reader—who wants to learn more about you beyond your transcript and activity sheet.   It’s all about storytelling. The best essays reveal clarity, logic, and candor. Toward that end, here are some tips.

Start early—preferably during the summer. Why? Because the pressure of classwork and looming college application deadlines are months away, which allows students the freedom to reflect, play around with different ideas, and “put pen to paper” before school starts.

Consider a mundane topic. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make the best essays. It doesn’t have to be a life-changing event to be interesting and informative. The essay can be what you observe daily while taking the subway to school, or be a favorite phrase your parents or grandparents often say.

Write, rewrite, and rewrite. Don't try to write a great essay on your first try. That’s not realistic, and all that pressure is likely to give you writer's block. For your first draft, write anything that comes to mind about your topic. Don't worry too much about grammar or spelling. Then put it down for a while. When you come back to the draft, look for ways to make it more focused. Don't be afraid to make major changes at this stage. Are there details that don't really relate to the topic? Then cut them. Do you need another example? Then put it in.

4) Planning College Visits: Time-lines and Questions to ask when visiting