What goes into a "good" college essay, anyway?

Does it have to be about some enormously dramatic, Lifetime Move-quality event that occurred in a young lad's or lass's life?

Some gigantic, breathtaking obstacle that the young chap or damsel overcame before going onto accomplish scholastic glory?

Or an abundance of wicked smaht-sounding, multi-syllabic words such as "myriad" and "plethora" stuffed into every sentence?

I bet you know the answers to those questions.

What about "good" and "bad" essay topics?

Getting cut from a team, then working out extra hard over the summer in Rocky's old gym, coming back, making the team and kicking the winning goal or making a buzzer beater from half court?

Writing about grandpa's words of wisdom?

Or oing political?

This Thursday night, I'm conducting a free online class to answer all of these questions. Some of my answers should confirm what you knew or suspected, but then again, some may surprise you, come to think of it.,

The class is called,...

These days, I'm derriere-deep with college essay editing for our clients, and have noticed certain repeated, widespread and repeated mistakes.

(Repeated twice in the same sentence was an intentional joke. Alrighty, as you were.)

I figured I'd share a few of them, to help your child come up with a winning personal statement and persuasive supplemental essays.

This Thursday night, I'm conducting a free online class, Top 10 College Essay Mistakes -- How to write an essay so compelling that college admissions officers will practically crawl naked over broken glass to admit your student.

This class is for kids and parents alike.  Please feel free to share this with anyone you know who will soon be staring at that blinking cursor on their laptop, wondering "What the devil do I have to write about" (or 2024 equivalent expression)?

I'm here to help.  Go here to get the details:

Essay Class

- Andy Lockwood

P.S.  Just to get this out of the way, I'll be making a...

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:  

How Not to Screw Up Your College Applications and Essays This Summer.

Tune In!

Feel free to pass this note along to any of your friends who could use this info!

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

Good morning!

We're hitting the airwaves this morning -- 10:00am EST --  for College Coffee Talk, our live show about college admissions and financial aid news that you can use!  

Here's what's on tap for today:

College Essay Mistakes; and

The College List and Magical Thinking

Tune In!

Grab a cup of joe and we'll see you at 10am EST (recorded if you can't make it)

- Andy Lockwood

Can your English teacher help you write a winning college essay?

On one hand, If your high school English teacher (or guidance counselor, for that matter) is a former college admissions officer, then he is absolutely qualified to help brainstorm, strategize and edit your son or daughter’s essay.

Otherwise, he's just guessing.

College essay writing is different than the expository or other type of (boring) papers students write in high school.

Which is why your typical, garden variety English teacher has NO CLUE what a winning college personal statement or supplemental essay should look like, because she's never been inside an admissions office, deliberating the pros and cons of thousands of applicants.

In my 20+ years of college advising experience, I’ve employed several former college admissions officers from the University of Chicago, known for its quirky supplemental college essay topics (“Define X”) and other competitive colleges.  Plus I’ve...

A week ago, the folks at the Common Application announced that their essay prompts will be the same as last year's.

On a related note, Class of 2025 students will write the same crappy essays as last year's college applicants.   

One big error revolves around choice of prompt.   I'll share which one is the worst in a moment, but first let me give you a little overview if you're new to the wonderful world of college essays and applications.

The Common Application comes out August 1.  The overwhelming majority  of the colleges your son or daughter will apply to accept the Common App (Georgetown University is one notable exception that has its own application).

The Common App really isn't that big a deal.  A lot of it is rote - name, address, parent info, list of honors, etc. 

However, the areas that require thought and attention are 1. essay writing (the personal statement and supplemental essays) and 2. the Activities Section.

In my...

Tutoring | Webinar

Even though I've been a college advisor for 21+ years, I admit that I still have a hard time understanding how things got so topsy turvy.  

It's rare for a week to go by without a parent commenting to me, "When did things get so complicated?"

College costs are out of hand.  And college admissions are kah-ray-zee! 

There's no rhyme or reason. Yesterday's "Safety Schools" are today's Impossible Dreams.

Case in point:  Northeastern University.

When I was a wee lad growing up in the 1980's in the Boston suburbs, Northeastern admitted 90% of its applicants.  I hate to say it but here I go: 

That's where you went if you couldn't get into any other college!

Last year:  6.7% acceptance rate.

You read that right, it wasn't a typo.  How did this happen?

In a word, "marketing."  Northeastern gamed the system, specifically US News and World Report, to rush the charts and become...

In less than five hours -- midnight tonight -- we're pulling the plug on our last-minute, 11th hour college applications and essays "express" program, The November Sprint.

That means that, if you want help putting together a (nearly) perfect college application and a set of essays so compelling that admissions officers would (practically) crawl naked over broken glass to BEG your child to attend their college...

...In what looks like to be the most competitive, ridiculous college acceptance cycle ever (did you see last year's acceptance rates?  Brace yourself!)...

It's time to make your choice.

Either sign up with us, so that our years of specialized college essay and college advising expertise is in your corner -- expertise that has helped our clients get into every top college you can think of...

...or, let this chance slip through your fingers and "wing it." 

You've got an important decision to make.    If you chose us, we're ready to go to work for you...

College essays and applications don't have to be complicated.

I'd argue that the simpler, the better.  That's how you avoid stress, frustration and confusion.

That's exactly why we designed the November Sprint, an "express" college advising program for high school seniors who are still treading water with their college list, applications and essays.

It's time to dive in and rescue them.

If you (really, your kiddo) are ready to roll up your sleeves and put together a winning application that positions yourself as an "Incomparable Applicant"...

...so that you give yourself the best shot at getting into your Dream School -- and winning tens of thousands of fat, juicy scholarships...

Then it's critically important that you take action right now, before we pull the rug out from under this offer.  

It's go time.

SIGN UP!

- Andy Lockwood

P.S.  If you're like most parents we know, you've done a LOT for your kid:  spent thousands of dollars and...

Sometimes, I'm not exactly tactful.

Case in point, last week I was sitting with an 11th grader, reviewing his grades, PSATs, extracurricular activities and preliminary, highly selective, college list.

I told him that his record was pretty strong. But..."Don't take this the wrong way," I offered.

When you throw your hat into the ring with thousands of kids with equal or better accomplishments, you become something else:

A Dime a Dozen

Colleges are businesses, they sort, exclude and choose kids for acceptance based on their own internal desires and guidelines, some of which have nothing to do with an applicant's qualifications.

A LOT of which, actually.

So if you agree that colleges are actually in business (despite their non-profit status - hah), you might see why I implore my clients to understand things a bit differently about themselves:  

They Too Are in Business 

They're in the business of getting into the colleges they want, and to win scholarships. 

I...