Overcoming Writer's Block
You’re staring at a blank screen. Your project — essay, term paper or story — awaits. And you come up with nothing, nada, not a word. It’s just you, alone with your thoughts and the empty page. Your mind wanders and you would happily wash the windows or tidy your sock drawer; anything to get away from the computer. Welcome to writer’s block, my friend. That deadly, soul-sucking paralysis that grips even the best authors.
Tips on Essay Writing
- Leave enough time to brainstorm, think, write, and revise. Writing under deadline pressure adds unnecessary stress.
- Tell your story, in your voice. Yes, it’s a cliché, but that’s because it’s true. Admissions officials look to the essay to find out more about the person behind the transcript and the application. This is where you showcase who you are, not where you list your accomplishments.
How to Conquer the Admissions Essay
From the New York Times
Picture this before you plop yourself down in front of your computer to compose your college application essay: A winter-lit room is crammed with admissions professionals and harried faculty members who sit around a big table covered with files. The admissions people, often young and underpaid, buzz with enthusiasm; the professors frequently pause to take off their glasses and rub their eyes.
5 High Schoolers and Their College Application Essays About Work, Money and Social Class
From the New York Times
Each year, we post a casting call for writers and their college application essays that have something to do with money. Nearly 300 people responded this year. Below, you’ll find five that stood out for their sensitivity, depth of insight and sheer geekiness. Who would have imagined, for instance, that there was a high school student out there helping people with their tax returns — or that she could learn so much about the world by doing so?
Harvard Admits 4.6% of Applicants; Other Ivy League Schools Get Tougher, Too
From the Wall Street Journal
Harvard hit a new low this year—in terms of its acceptance rate.
The university admitted 4.6% of applicants, or 1,962 students for the class set to begin this fall. Last year, it admitted 5.2% of applicants.
The eight campuses making up the Ivy League notified applicants on Wednesday evening about who will make up their first-year undergraduate class come fall. Seven of the eight posted record-high application numbers, while Dartmouth had its highest number in five years; seven recorded their lowest-ever acceptance rates, as Yale tied with its prior record.
Essays That Worked
From John's Hopkins University
They can be the most important components of your application—the essays. It’s a chance to add depth to something that is important to you and tell the admissions committee more about your background or goals. Test scores only tell part of your story, and we want to know more than just how well you work. We want to see how you actually think.
Did Your Kid Get Placed On a College Wait List? Don’t Hold Your Breath
From the Wall Street Journal
Liam Tormey, a senior at Valley Stream South High School in New York, applied to 15 colleges. Four rejected him. Four accepted him.
The remaining seven put the 17-year-old on their wait lists—a rapidly growing admissions limbo from which few students escape.
“I thought for sure, after getting wait list after wait list, that something was wrong with my application,” said Mr. Tormey, who thought he would get into more schools than he did.
Write Your Way In by Rachel Toor
Writing, for most of us, is bound up with anxiety. It’s even worse when it feels like your whole future—or at least where you’ll spend the next four years in college—is on the line.
