14 08, 2022

How to Choose a Topic for Your Common App

By |2022-09-13T23:51:31-04:00August 14th, 2022|college, College Admissions, Common App, Ivy League Advice|1 Comment

How to Choose a Topic for Your Common App

1. The Easy Way:

Picking a topic for your Common App essay is easy — but choosing the RIGHT topic for your Common App, as you probably know, as otherwise you wouldn’t be googling this question, is really very hard! The right topic is extremely important as the topic choice itself can make or break your entire application.  Literally.

As the Common App goes to all of your schools, instead of just one school, like your supplementals, mess this essay up and you can really hurt your overall chances.

No worries though, as I’m going to walk you through the process of how to choose a really strong topic for your Common App!

Brainstorming Common App Topics + Ideas

Make a list — on your phone, on a separate piece of paper, in a Word document, basically anywhere you keep a running “topic idea” list and refer back to it adding more ideas over the next few days as we think about this.  Number your list, say 1-5 to start, and just write one short sentence for each “idea” you have.

Don’t be afraid to write down BAD ideas, too. Just get 5 ideas down on paper.  Sometimes, as all good writers know, the bad ideas can lead to good ideas, which can lead to really good ideas down the road.  You need to let yourself get the bad ideas just out of your head.

Next, review your Common App idea list

Does it really suck?  What’s your best topic of the five?  Is there even one that stands out?  To help with brainstorming ideas, these are the things you should think about:

  • What makes you unique?  What’s something in your identity, your culture, your religion, your language, your family, your history that’s different than say the girl who sits next to you in class. In picking topics, look for those things that make you DIFFERENT
  • Do you have a talent or skill in a certain area that is unusual?
  • Do you have a story about something that happened to you that is unusual?
  • Do you play a sport or practice an art form that is unusual?

Let’s start with that.  You can see that the key word here is “unusual”.  Schools, especially the Ivy League, but this goes for all schools, like to see essays focused on what you think makes you different.  In other words, all of the schools are looking for personal identity, personal voice.

Start writing out your best Common App topic

Again, even if it’s BAD!  You just want to start getting something down on paper, because in writing you’ll start to see if you just “think” the topic is stupid (bad, horrible, boring) or if it truly, objectively doesn’t work as a topic.  If it doesn’t work as a Common App topic, continue reading….

Think of Metaphors:

Metaphors are things that can mean one thing on the surface and another underneath.  In other words, they are symbols.  The Ivy League schools in particular LOVE Common App essays that use metaphors.

So, for example, let’s say you have a love for boatbuilding (an unusual activity for a teenager, right?) and you spend every afternoon after school in your backyard teaching yourself how to build a boat.  This is interesting.  This already has gotten an admission reader’s attention.  Good job!

But, now let’s say that after talking about boat building in your essay, you also start using the boat as a metaphor, for say, building your own identity.  Each piece of wood represents a different part of yourself as you learn how to make all the pieces fit and create a beautiful vessel.

You then use the turning of the wood, the pressure that needs to be applied to make pieces of wet wood curve, as a way to talk about how the pressure in your own life, of adversity, or things you’ve might have gone through, have also now added to your own ability to be more malleable, and in better shape to go on to future things.

So, if you didn’t get a good Common App topic from the first 5 in your list of brainstorming ideas, now go back and do the list again, but this time think of 5 things you can use as metaphors.

That should set you on a good path to at least get started thinking about your Common App.  I also offer personalized help with choosing your Common App topic for anyone who wants to learn more about my services, and work with me on your application essays.

[I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard grad, and run the Ivy League college admissions firm www.IvyCollegeEssay.com. Contact me today for a free consultation and get into the school of your dreams!]

If you like this article, check out my other posts for great Ivy League college admissions tips and advice, including my recent post on Ivy League Early Decision!

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19 06, 2022

The Summer Before Your College Applications

By |2022-10-02T13:42:29-04:00June 19th, 2022|College Admissions|1 Comment

How to Prep for College

It’s the summer before your college applications, as in the summer before your senior year.  You know you should be kind of thinking about stuff…right?

But what exactly should you be doing to plan?  Allow me to step in: I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard graduate and having been running my Ivy League college admissions consulting firm for the last 10+ years.  In other words, I have some great tips + advice for you, so read on!

  1. Research schools:  Use the summer to make a list of your top schools.  I usually recommend that you break down the list into three categories = highly competitive reach schools, moderate schools, and low tier or safety schools (as everybody needs at least ONE safety). Make the list your top 15 choices and you can narrow it down from there.  Most people apply to 8-10 colleges total when all is said and done!
  2. Summer internships, summer programs, jobs, or travel: Use your summer time wisely as this stuff make great college admissions essays and Common App essays!  Just make sure you’re doing SOMETHING and the more interesting the better.  You’re going to be asked one way or the other whether in your applications or your college admissions interview, what you did over your summer(s).
  3. Start brainstorming ideas for your Common App essay: September will be upon you sooner than you think, and you will have more free time now to ponder ideas.  So, think about your Common App.  I suggest keeping a brainstorming list on your computer where you can just add ideas as they come, then when the time does come to actually choose a topic to write about, you will have spent the whole summer coming up with a great list of potential ideas to choose from.
  4. READ as in books:  A lot of the application essays, especially if you’re applying to an Ivy League college, will ask you to list your favorite books, or what you read this summer.  Scrolling through social media doesn’t count, so if you want to go to an intellectually focused school show them you actually have  intellectual focused interests.
  5. Attend cultural events: As with the above, the schools will be looking at what you do in your free time.  Have you been to any art museums?  Seen any serious plays?  Attended the symphony, the opera, or some kind of cultural or religious performance?  All these things show you have culturally engaged again on an intellectual level. So you might want to think about expanding your usual horizons.
  6. Take the SAT or ACT: I know in these post-pandemic days it’s become more and more optional. But if you think you can score well you should take it. Because the schools DO still look and you will beat out the students who didn’t want to bother.  Especially at the Ivy League level, the tests do still have a lot of value,
  7. Volunteer: Use your summer to benefit others. Even if it’s only for a few days or weeks here and there at a time.  The schools like to see people who can think beyond themselves and do something for somebody else.
  8. RELAX! because your senior year is going to stressful and you want to go into it and your college applications as solid and strong as possible.  Start early and you’ll do great!

Want extra help this year?  I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard graduate. I have been running my Ivy League college admissions consulting firm for the last 10+ years OUT OF NYC.  Contact me today for a free consultation, and GET INTO THE IVY LEAGUE!

www.IvyCollegeEssay.com

 

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23 11, 2019

Your Harvard College Admissions Interview: How to Prepare, What To Expect!

By |2024-08-11T21:32:42-04:00November 23rd, 2019|Admissions Interview, Harvard, Ivy League, Ivy League Advice, Ivy League College, The Harvard Admissions Interview|0 Comments

Your Harvard College Admissions Interview: How to Prepare What to Expect

It’s incredibly nerve-wracking to have to go into a room and have a stranger decide your future.  If you’re also a top student, it’s even more nerve-wracking to not know if you’re really going to get to go to a top-tier, super-competitive school like Harvard, Princeton, MIT or Yale and have your future and career laid out for you, or if you really even have the slightest chance of even getting in at all.

That’s why I’ve laid out the top questions students often hear during their Ivy League college interview.

Even if you’re not applying to the Ivy League, this will work for any other competitive top to mid-tier colleges, too.

So, whether you’re applying to Harvard and Princeton, Penn or NYU, studying these questions will help you be more prepared in terms of what to expect from your college interview, and how to be more confident during the interview itself, so nothing — and I mean nothing — will take you by surprise!

As an overview though, college admissions officers want to know that you have the maturity to speak clearly, that you can be comfortable even in a nerve-wracking situation, that you can look them in the eye, smile, chat, have a solid “adult” conversation on an adult level, and are clear in terms of who you are at this point in your life and where you want to go.  These questions will help you get there:

1. “So, what are you interested in studying in college?”

What college interviewers are looking for here, is an answer that reveals your academic and possible future professional plans and interests, but also shows uniqueness and a background (however slight it may be) related to your answer.

In other words, just saying you’re interested in pre-med is fine, but saying you’re interested in pre-med because you spent time interning over the summer at a make-shift hospital in India, or at an inner city hospital in Chicago, is better because it shows you have actual experience to back up your goals. .

The main thing that will get you bad marks here on this question?  Being too vague – that’s what this question is trying to screen for.  Your college interviewer wants to make sure that you have the focus and ambition needed to truly succeed in a top Ivy League college (and in life).  They want to make sure you’re someone who has a plan and has a direction…even if that direction later changes course.  Just show them that you have an initial thought-out plan.

 So, if they ask you this question, pick an academic subject and back it up, even if you end up changing your major 4 times once you’re in.  First, get in!

2. “What high school accomplishment are you most proud of?”

Here, your college admissions interviewer is trying to get a sense of what you value, as the accomplishment you are most proud of will not only show off your best strengths academically (or extracurricularly, as could be the case) but will show him/her what things and pursuits you actually  identify with, in your own life – and that gives them great information about YOU.

The main thing that will get you bad marks on your college interviewer’s report with this question? Not showing a real passion or energy behind your answer.  You can’t expect someone to be excited about what you’ve done in life, if you yourself aren’t that interested.

3. “Tell me about your family background? Where did you grow up?”

What the admission officer is looking for here, is a sense of trying to place you = what I call, trying to paint a picture of your home life in their mind.  Did you grow up in a big city, a suburb, a rural farm?  Were you home-schooled, or did you attend a highly competitive science magnet in your area?

They are trying to place you, but they are also trying to discern how you yourself feel about your background.  There’s no wrong answer here, except a one-word answer.  That will get you a bad mark on the interviewer’s report, and you don’t want that.  If someone asks you a question, expand and expound!

4. “What is an example of something difficult you’ve had to go through, or an important event perhaps that took place in your life in the last few years?”

Here, as with the question above, the admissions committee (through the college interviewer’s report that they will write about you)  is simply trying to get a sense of who you are, what you value, and what stands out in your mind.  They are simply trying to understand who you are as a person, and how you see yourself in relation to others.

The one thing that will get you bad marks on this question?  Not having a strong and solid answer.  It’s really not so much what you say with any of this, but how you say it.  Always speak with confidence and self-reflection = that’s what they really like.  Don’t be afraid to show them who you are as a thinker and a person.  The fastest thing to get you dinged on all of your questions is, again, a weak, one-word response!

5. “Why Harvard” or “Why Princeton?” or “Why Columbia?” or “Why Berkeley?”

Most likely, you already wrote an admissions essay covering this question, so I strongly suggest you review all of your essays before going into your college interview.  Your answer “Why Harvard, or University of Pennsylvania, or Columbia, Brown, Duke, UCLA, MIT, or NYU?” (just to name a few), should focus on that particular school’s program, core curriculum, professors, classes and extracurriculars that are specific to your interests.

The focus should be academic at the core, but don’t be afraid to let your personality and true interest in a school’s outside extracurricular activities also shine through.  Do your homework and understand the differences between different programs and how they’re set up with their own unique flavor, especially when we’re talking about the Ivy League colleges and universities.

In the end, your college admissions interview should be conversational, interesting, educational and engaging!  In other words, just try to have a very real and connected conversation. Most interviews last 30-45 minutes, and if you’ve gotten this far, it’s a very good sign that you are already on your way!

I currently have a 10 page ebook titled “Ivy League Interview Tips” available for download on my website.  This short book highlights all of the top Ivy League interview questions and strategies you need to succeed. Click here to get my interview tips eBook today!

Buy Interview Tips Book

Still want more help?

I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer + Harvard grad, and  I currently run the Ivy League college essay admission consulting firm: www.IvyCollegeEssay.com.  

I provide expert advice on college essays and applications to students all over the world. And I specialize in the Ivy League and “Top Ten” schools.  Feel free to contact me today for more information, and get into the school of your dreams!

Rather listen to this article?  Click below to watch the video!

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2 04, 2019

How to Apply to an Ivy League College, and Get Accepted!

By |2022-10-04T05:44:50-04:00April 2nd, 2019|College Admissions|4 Comments

College Applications and Essay Tips: Be Prepared!

It’s getting to be that time of year again! College application time for high school seniors: or at least the time of year to start thinking about where you might apply for college.

After all, where you go to school is IMPORTANT, as it does set the stage for the rest of your life (no pressure).  That doesn’t mean you can’t do great things if you don’t get into the school of your dreams, as you certainly CAN, and many people do. What it does mean however, is that achieving your dreams will be EASIER if you go to a top-notch school.

This is especially true if you’re interested in going to an #IvyLeague college, like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. Or what I like to call “Ivy League Equivalent” such as Stanford, MIT, Duke or UCLA.  As a graduate of Harvard myself, and a former Harvard admissions interviewer, I speak from experience when I say that the college you go will help you in life. For years and years after you graduate, not only in terms of job opportunities but friends, referrals to all kinds of other things you can’t even imagine. And a social circle you can always access, all around the world.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is at best trying to just sugar-coat things. Don’t stress yourself out (if you’re a delicate snowflake), or (at worst) they like to believe that the world is really equal.

So, the goal is to get into the best college you can get into, and in light of the recent college admissions scandal. Let me tell you that this is completely doable, legally and ethically if you:

1). First know what you’re up against, and

2). Take the time to get help from an +Expert COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT and Harvard graduate, like myself, for example (www.IvyCollegeEssay.com), and BE PREPARED.

Obviously, there are many things that go into creating an amazing college application that will stand out.  As I’m sure you’ve heard, it’s not just about test scores and grades.  It’s about what makes YOU unique, what have you done different or exceptional beyond the accomplishments of your peers.  What makes you unusual perhaps, or different, in a good way?  These are the things I try to help you pinpoint and expand upon in your COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAYS.

At this stage of the game, it’s about positioning.  You have the AP classes, you have your extracurriculars, now how can we position that within your essays? How do help you make the strongest case possible?  That’s what I help with — contact me today! Let’s see if we can devise a plan to help get you where you want to go!

www.IvyCollegeEssay.com or email me at:  IvyLeagueEssayInfo@gmail.com

Check out my other articles on my IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE ESSAY BLOG HERE!  How Important Are Extracurriculars for Your College Application?

 

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8 06, 2015

Top 2 Ivy League College Admission Essay Books

By |2023-05-14T16:50:28-04:00June 8th, 2015|college, College Admissions, Harvard, Ivy League, Ivy League Advice, Ivy League College, Princeton|0 Comments

Hoping to land a spot at one of the top schools in the US? Or, are you a high school student applying to college this year? Is it your dream to go to an Ivy League college and one day graduate from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia ,Brown,  Dartmouth, Cornell, or UPenn? Or maybe you’re interested in one of the many other extremely competitive and excellent “Top Ten” schools in the country, such as MIT, Stanford, Duke, UCLA, etc., etc. Learn what it takes to get in and gain admission to an Ivy League college with the help of these books and come your dreams true.

The below are the top 2 Ivy League college admission essay books that I personally recommend.  In fact, I wrote the Ivy League College Admissions Guidebook, below! Both of these books give you a great overview of the types of essays that actually work, and the additional tools you need to navigate he process and get you into an Ivy League college!

 

[Click on the words, not the photo of the book, below!]

1. 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

Harvard Books Ivy League College Essay

2. The Ivy League College Admissions Guidebook

[Want more college consulting help and advice? Contact me today for a free consultation. I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and Harvard grad, and currently run the Ivy League college admissions firm, www.IvyCollegeEssay.com.

Get into your dream school today!

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21 09, 2014

The Common App: How to Write a Great College Application

By |2022-10-04T09:35:21-04:00September 21st, 2014|Berekeley, Brown, college, College Admissions, Columbia, Common App, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Ivy League, Ivy League Advice, Ivy League College, MIT, NYU, Princeton, Standford, Stanford, UCLA, UPenn, Yale|3 Comments

The Common App Essay

How to Write a Great College Application!

The season is upon us: college applications, and right now is a good time to start working on your Common App.  You’re a month into the new school year, you’ve settled in, and now the Common App essay is staring you in the face. Here is what should you know about How to Write an Ivy League College Application Essays:

Where do you begin?  You know you have to start writing it…but HOW?

You try to forget about it, but you can’t.  How can you write the absolutely best college admission essays possible when you have no idea what to write about or where to begin??

Similarly, neither do you know what the college admission committee is even looking for, nor what will make a really strong college essay and application.  This holds true for all colleges and universities, but ESPECIALLY if you’re applying to the Ivy League.

Oh yeah, and did I mention your entire future appears to depend on this?

Don’t worry though, because I am going to walk you through the process.

I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer + Harvard grad, and I know how to do this well.  I’m going to tell you how you can master the Common App essay and application and make the most of your college applications.

To be more to the point, I’m going to help you get into the best schools possible.

This includes the Ivy League: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, UPenn, and Cornell. The top. I mean, what if you want to go there?  How can you tackle the Common App and catapult your way to the apex of education?

Let’s start with the questions.  These are the choices for your Common App Essay:

  • 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.
  • Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
  • Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
  • Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
  • Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Which one to choose, you say? Which one will be the best one to write about?  Here’s what I say:  go with the one that is going to contain the most EMOTION.  Emotion is powerful, good or bad, and the examples you choose, if they have a certain emotional weight to them when you think about it, that will add weight (and admissions committee engagement) to your essay.  In other words, emotion or powerful experiences (which is really what I mean) serves to ENGAGE your reader, and an engaged reader is going to not only remember your essay, but feel that you truly conveyed a mood, and environment, and an experience.

In other words, they will feel they got to know YOU just a little bit more than if you had written about something “less powerful” that didn’t engage. This is all you should know about How to Write an Ivy League College Application Essays.

Go with the powerful emotions.  The experiences and examples for any of the above, that convey some kind of emotion, and make you feel. Because that is going to translate to your essay.

More tips and advice to come…

[I’m a former Harvard University admissions interviewer and a Harvard graduate.  I currently run the College Admission Essay firm: IVY LEAGUE ESSAY, out of New York, and specialize in helping students get in to the top schools and the Ivy League.  Please contact me for a free phone consultation today: www.IvyCollegeEssay.com ]

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Navigate the highly competitive landscape of Ivy League admissions with my expert one-on-one guidance. As a Harvard grad and former Harvard admissions interviewer, I specialize in helping you to craft excellent Ivy League college essays that reflect your unique strengths and ambitions. With my experience in college essay consulting, including extensive work with transfer students, and Harvard transfer essays, in particular, alongside a full library of Ivy League acceptance essays and Ivy League essay examples that get results, you’ll be on the road to Ivy League success. I offer insights into Ivy League essay prompts, essay writing strategies, how to choose your Common App topic, and more. With Ivy College Essay, your journey to Ivy League college essays that truly work starts here.

In the highly competitive landscape of Ivy League admissions, the importance of your Ivy college essays cannot be emphasized enough. Your college application serves as the key to the most competitive universities in the U.S. Ivy College Essay can help you get there and get into the school of your dreams!

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Craft Ivy League college essays that reflect your own uniqueness and strengths, leveraging Ivy League essay strategies and advice that will impress the admissions committees. My experience and techniques as a Harvard grad and college essay writing consultant will help you navigate your Ivy League application essays. Together, we can transform your essays into strong Ivy League admission success.

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I specialize in college essay consulting, working with high school and transfer students to Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Yale, UPenn, MIT, UCLA and more. Working on your Princeton transfer essays or striving to get that Cornell Ivy League admission? Discover the advantage of working with someone with the highest level of Ivy League essay experience, so your Ivy League essays standout and showcase the best of who you really are. My college admissions essay consulting firm gives you the right insights and strategies to refine your college application essays, get accepted, and get in.

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Whether you’re looking for college essay examples for Harvard or trying to pick the best topic for your Common App essay for Ivy League schools, my experience ensures you’re on the right track. Via expert essay consulting from a former Harvard admissions interviewer and Harvard grad, my college essay advice and strategies will equip you with the tools you need to navigate this year’s Ivy League admissions cycle with the confidence that you can succeed.

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