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College Essay Brainstorming… Tips on Guiding Students

Illustration of a student brainstorming ideas for a college essay, sitting at a desk with a thought bubble above his head, representing the early stages of the college application writing process.

College Essay Brainstorming – College Counselor Guidance and Resources This is a bit of a deep-dive on a previous post I wrote about college application materials. However, here I will focus specifically on college essay brainstorming for the “main essay,” “CommonApp” essay, or “personal statement” – although much of this could apply to other essays. […]

Building a College List That Works

Illustration of a categorized college list with sections for aspirational, target, likely, and anchor schools, designed to help students organize and reflect on their college choices.

There’s the occasional moment in a junior meeting where I can see the pressure mounting — students staring at a blank college list, parents eager to suggest the alma mater or the “top” school they read about in U.S. News, and me trying to bring the focus back to fit. Because the truth is: A […]