How to Gear Up for College Essay Writing
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
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On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
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The Common Application has announced that the 2019-2020 essay prompts will remain the same as the 2018-2019 essay prompts. Based on extensive counselor feedback, the existing essay prompts provide great flexibility for applicants to tell their unique stories in their own voice. Retaining the essay prompts provides the added benefit of consistency for students, counselors, parents, and members during the admissions process.
Plus, with essay prompts remaining the same, students rolling over their existing Common App accounts have more time to plan and prepare their applications prior to the final year of high school.
2019-2020 Common Application Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
During the 2018-2019 application year, the most popular topic of choice was: “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” (24.1%). The next most popular topics were: “Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.” (23.7%), followed by “The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?” (21.1%).
“The prompts as they exist today offer a broad range of approaches, accommodating students with a diverse set of experiences and ideas about the world to respond in a thoughtful and illuminating manner,”‘ said Ian Watson, Associate Director of College Counseling at The Rivers School (Weston, MA).
Contact us to learn more about how we help students craft a killer Common App essay!
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The University of California has made available two presentations for applicants, “Presenting Yourself on the UC Undergraduate Application for Admission and Scholarships” — which are a must read if you plan to apply to UC:
Click here for the Freshman Version
Click here for the Transfer Version
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Cornell Dyson is one of five schools with single-digit acceptance rates among the 88 in P&Q’s third annual ranking. The others, in order, are: UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business (4.30%), the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (6.49%), NYU Stern School of Business (8.00%), and Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School (9.70%). These are the same five schools that were the most selective in last year’s ranking of 82 schools, though all five reduced their acceptance rates this year. In fact, all of the top 17 schools this year saw their rates go down!
Berkeley Haas — a two-year program — sliced its rate in half, from 8.62%; NYU Stern dropped three percentage points, from 11%; and Washington Olin shaved off nearly two points, down from 11.48%. Wharton, the top school in our ranking last year and this year, had an acceptance rate of 7.1% in 2017.
Acceptance rates, average SATs, and percentage of students in the top 10% of their high school classes. The admissions score was one of three categorical scores for the entire P&Q ranking.
Read more on Poets & Quants.
Rank | School | Admissions Score | Acceptance Rate | Average SAT | Percentage of Top 10% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 100.00 | 6.49% | 1486 | 97.00% |
2 | Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) | 98.37 | 9.70% | 1510 | 91.00% |
3 | University of California-Berkeley (Haas) | 94.09 | 4.30% | 1490 | 80.85% |
4 | Cornell University (Dyson) | 92.14 | 2.90% | 1453 | 83.33% |
5 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 89.58 | 12.00% | 1470 | 82.22% |
6 | New York University (Stern) | 88.73 | 8.00% | 1468 | 77.08% |
7 | Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) | 88.00 | 12.00% | 1473 | 78.00% |
8 | Georgetown University (McDonough) | 87.64 | 15.84% | 1431 | 90.00% |
9 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 86.79 | 12.15% | 1407 | 90.00% |
10 | University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 83.74 | 19.00% | 1429 | 84.60% |
11 | University of California-Irvine (Merage) | 81.60 | 22.00% | 1359 | 98.00% |
12 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) | 79.60 | 12.17% | 1367 | 82.70% |
13 | Southern Methodist University (Cox) | 77.50 | 11.12% | 1494 | 49.00% |
14 | Emory University (Goizueta) | 76.65 | 17.21% | 1470 | 58.00% |
15 | Boston College (Carroll) | 75.98 | 25.00% | 1402 | 78.65% |
16 | University of Texas-Austin (McCombs) | 75.71 | 22.80% | 1384 | 80.00% |
17 | Villanova University | 75.40 | 22.07% | 1408 | 73.33% |
18 | Wake Forest University | 72.52 | 24.80% | 1378 | 76.00% |
19 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | 70.99 | 23.70% | 1376 | 72.00% |
20 | Boston University (Questrom) | 69.55 | 17.76% | 1422 | 53.16% |
21 | Northeastern University (D’amore-McKim) | 68.68 | 18.68% | 1463 | 43.00% |
22 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 68.35 | 40.38% | 1437 | 67.97% |
23 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 65.64 | 35.00% | 1405 | 64.00% |
24 | Tulane University (Freeman) | 65.46 | 22.00% | 1420 | 48.33% |
25 | The College of William & Mary (Mason) | 63.67 | 22.40% | 1346 | 61.00% |
26 | University of Richmond (Robins) | 62.99 | 30.31% | 1363 | 63.00% |
27 | Lehigh University | 62.71 | 22.39% | 1376.39 | 52.13% |
28 | University of Washington (Foster) | 62.48 | 20.95% | 1310 | 64.94% |
29 | University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (Geis) | 60.15 | 48.98% | 1365 | 73.37% |
30 | University of Minnesota (Carlson) | 60.00 | 28.44% | 1371 | 52.80% |
31 | Babson College | 59.21 | 24.00% | 1353 | 50.91% |
32 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Foisie) | 58.01 | 36.00% | 1395 | 50.00% |
33 | Fordham University (Gabelli) | 55.16 | 44.90% | 1361 | 59.30% |
34 | University of Pittsburgh | 55.05 | 44.00% | 1345 | 61.76% |
35 | University of Miami | 52.71 | 30.44% | 1327 | 48.00% |
36 | University of Georgia (Terry) | 50.90 | 47.44% | 1300 | 65.52% |
37 | University of Houston (Bauer) | 49.92 | 25.18% | 1309 | 40.87% |
38 | Rutgers Business School (New Brunswick) | 47.47 | 46.00% | 1349 | 45.70% |
39 | Texas A&M University (Mays) | 47.13 | 34.07% | 1281.72 | 48.80% |
40 | Syracuse University (Whitman) | 46.42 | 38.10% | 1304 | 46.00% |
41 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Isenberg) | 45.56 | 30.60% | 1336 | 30.10% |
42 | University of Utah (Eccles) | 44.75 | 40.80% | 1270 | 52.24% |
43 | American University (Kogod) | 44.43 | 31.60% | 1256 | 46.15% |
44 | Ohio State University (Fisher) | 44.41 | 38.60% | 1340 | 34.00% |
45 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | 43.12 | 63.16% | 1325 | 57.01% |
46 | Pennsylvania State University (Freeman) | 42.55 | 37.00% | 1319 | 33.00% |
47 | University of Denver (Daniels) | 42.15 | 46.30% | 1299.3 | 45.00% |
48 | Texas Christian University (Neeley) | 40.43 | 46.56% | 1265 | 48.94% |
49 | University of Kentucky (Gatton) | 39.70 | 69.79% | 1395 | 40.00% |
50 | Hult International Business School | 39.39 | 50.00% | 1264 | 50.00% |
51 | Purdue University (Krannert) | 39.32 | 62.00% | 1268 | 60.00% |
52 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Lally) | 38.20 | 42.00% | 1291 | 34.00% |
53 | Michigan State University (Broad) | 34.82 | 32.19% | 1241.77 | 28.27% |
54 | The College of New Jersey | 34.52 | 41.00% | 1254 | 33.00% |
55 | University of San Diego | 33.89 | 53.00% | 1275 | 38.00% |
56 | Santa Clara University (Leavey) | 32.48 | 43.50% | 1366 | 6.00% |
57 | Miami University (Farmer) | 31.38 | 62.60% | 1323 | 30.60% |
58 | St. John’s University (Tobin) | 31.09 | 59.00% | 1208 | 52.00% |
59 | Christopher Newport University | 28.58 | 74.60% | 1270 | 47.06% |
60 | University of South Carolina (Darla Moore) | 27.02 | 65.10% | 1299 | 28.41% |
61 | University of Delaware (Lerner) | 26.53 | 46.40% | 1285 | 13.20% |
62 | Seton Hall University (Stillman) | 26.45 | 57.60% | 1257 | 29.50% |
63 | University of Texas-Dallas (Jindal) | 24.66 | 60.00% | 1242 | 31.00% |
64 | Providence College | 24.65 | 51.00% | 1247 | 21.60% |
65 | Rutgers Business School (Newark) | 22.92 | 55.00% | 1157 | 41.25% |
66 | University of Tennessee-Knoxville (Haslam) | 22.86 | 85.00% | 1212.6 | 56.44% |
67 | St. Thomas University (Opus) | 21.04 | 83.00% | 1215 | 50.00% |
68 | James Madison University | 20.13 | 68.31% | 1217 | 34.00% |
69 | Drexel University (LeBow) | 19.55 | 74.00% | 1262 | 28.00% |
70 | University of Akron | 19.19 | 73.99% | 1154 | 51.02% |
71 | Elon University (Love) | 17.71 | 72.10% | 1249 | 25.00% |
72 | University of Missouri-Columbia (Trulaske) | 15.62 | 69.17% | 1220 | 24.00% |
73 | Florida Southern College | 15.57 | 50.00% | 1203 | 10.00% |
74 | Lipscomb University | 15.35 | 61.00% | 1156 | 30.00% |
75 | University of Oklahoma (Price) | 14.39 | 61.77% | 1212 | 16.20% |
76 | Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders) | 13.29 | 72.10% | 1204 | 25.00% |
77 | University of Arizona (Eller) | 13.13 | 79.00% | 1110 | 51.72% |
78 | University of North Carolina-Wilmington | 9.39 | 61.00% | 1177 | 12.00% |
79 | University of New Hampshire (Paul) | 8.02 | 64.10% | 1171 | 13.10% |
80 | Ithaca College | 7.82 | 80.18% | 1221 | 16.40% |
81 | St. Louis University (Chaifetz) | 7.28 | 83.03% | 1241 | 13.40% |
82 | Sacred Heart University (Jack Welch) | 6.39 | 60.80% | 1156 | 9.70% |
83 | Northern Illinois University | 6.01 | 53.84% | 1110 | 12.60% |
84 | University of Michigan-Dearborn | 5.13 | 62.00% | 1147.8 | 9.80% |
85 | Duquesne University (Palumbo Donahue) | 5.12 | 76.00% | 1197 | 11.80% |
86 | Texas Tech University (Rawls) | 4.53 | 76.40% | 1093 | 33.78% |
87 | Bowling Green State University | 1.09 | 70.00% | 1128 | 12.46% |
88 | Evansville University (Schroeder) | 0.00 | 88.60% | 1171 | 17.64% |
My January recommendation for juniors?
Sign up for YouSchool’s new Backstory course. Over four weeks, you will be guided through a series of video exercises with questions and prompts to self-reflect about all the foundational elements of your backstory. From it, you will better you understand how the elements of your backstory have set you on your path in life.
The process works: YouSchool has taken thousands of people through it and knows that if you do the work, you’ll gain a clear sense of what story you’re living in. You are also provided the structure to engage in deep conversations with people you trust (parents, teachers, friends, college counselors!). Backstory is a fantastic way to gear up for personal statement writing.
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Seniors:
Juniors:
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Who you are doesn’t change between the second half of junior year and the time you apply to college, so why wait any longer to write your personal statement?
For the past couple of years, we had a small group of students write their personal statements over their winter break or shortly after the new year. The result: far less stress later in the year because one of the most important parts of their application was already complete. Same amazing writing we always help students produce, even less stress. That is what we are all about!
This year we are formally offering weekend-long personal statement bootcamps for motivated, spring/summer-time-crunched, or any juniors who simply want to get ahead.
Space is limited for winter 2019. Contact us today to discuss scheduling!
Georgia Tech’s admissions blog is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. You can read the full post “WHAT THE…?!,” but I wanted to include just the end of it below. Many applicants want to try to include information in the Additional Info section of the Common App (and other apps), but it is not always appropriate. That section is not there to explain something they won’t care much about (why you dropped a club senior year that is not a significant part of your profile), or to include an extra essay or piece of creative writing (you can do this on many portals AFTER you apply), or to paste in your full resume (warning: this never works with the simple formatting of the CA and other apps so please do not do this). See part of Rick Clark‘s article below for what I agree is appropriate:
Significant Life Events
You had mono as a junior and missed the first two months of school. Your parents’ divorce was finalized in the summer before senior year but the end of eleventh grade was filled with turmoil. You moved three times during high school due to a parent’s job transfer, promotion, or loss. These are just some of the examples we see in this section. Readers appreciate the perspective you can provide and they will make notes or highlight pertinent pieces they believe are relevant to their review and admissions decision, especially as it relates to overcoming challenges, persevering, or demonstrating tenacity/grit. In some cases, this information may lead them to add to or revise their notes from prior sections.
Academic Context
Readers want to know if your schedule choices were impacted during high school. Are some courses only offered at certain times? Was a class you had hoped to take canceled due to low enrollment? If you moved multiple times during high school, readers will see that on your transcript, but you also have an opportunity to tell them what impact that may have had. If your move precluded you from being able to take a certain course or begin on a particular curricular track upon arriving at your new school, feel free to elaborate in this space.
Additional Activities
There are times when the activity section is too limited in space for you to demonstrate the extent to which you contributed. Often this surrounds a business you started, a fundraiser you need to provide more details about, or additional levels of achievement from an activity you listed earlier in the application. Remember, this is “additional” for you—and to an extent it is additional for admission committees. HINT: Put your strongest, most compelling information FIRST in the activity section. Do not intentionally bleed over into additional information unless it is absolutely essential to convey the depth of your work or time.
Still unsure?
Ask your school counselor for their advice. See what their experience has been in the past with students who have used this section. You can also simply call or email the school you are applying to and ask them for their advice.
This is a section about necessary whys or what else—not the place for another essay. Instead, readers evaluate this section looking for pieces of information that provide valuable context (inside or outside the classroom) that you cannot convey elsewhere. Do not over think it! If you believe you have something noteworthy to add, then use this section. Readers will incorporate what they deem helpful and dismiss what they do not. It is as simple as that. It will not hurt you if you do not complete this section (again, most students do not), or if you include something that is deemed irrelevant.
It is called “extra” or “special” because it is not standard. Readers will not combine those two words in their head and assume any applicant completing this section is “extra special.”
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Mid Year Reports should be submitted as soon as possible after first semester or trimester grades are available. Your counselor will be asked to provide information like your class rank, some details about GPA, and to provide an updated transcript.
The Common App recommendation system doesn’t send your counselor a reminder to complete this form. It is your responsibility to keep track of this requirement and ensure that the form is completed.
Once you have applied, many schools “portals” will note if you need to provide the mid-year report. You can also check on each schools website, as well as consult this list.
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As you finish up apps for 1/1: