Thursday, April 30, 2015

Beyond the College App Essay: "Where else are you applying to college?"

For my latest blog post, you can always click here
The Common Application organization revealed a new application question last week  - not an essay prompt, but an actual question - that's been kicking up dust in higher education circles.
This is from my latest Huffington Post blog post, "Not Just the College App Essay: 'Where Else Are You Applying?'" about the new question the Common Application organization will be asking on behalf of some member colleges and universities this coming season - 2015-16 - and what it might mean for you. 
"Many of us feel the college app process isn't complicated or stressful enough (NOT!), so the good people at the Common Application, which creates and oversees the application you love so much (NOT!), recently announced a new question for the upcoming season that has sparked a lot of debate.
"According to an article, "Inappropriate Question?" in Inside Higher Ed, "The Common Application is planning to let colleges add a question for applicants that some admissions leaders believe is unethical and will encourage more gaming of the admissions process. The question: Where else are you applying?" It's not clear yet whether all colleges will ask this on their Common App supplements and/or whether the question will be optional, and how clearly students will understand that it's optional, if it is. In other words, will the question be posed in such a way that students will feel pressure to answer it and to understand what it might reveal? As of this writing, we don't know the answers to these questions." READ MORE
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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

New Common App College Essay Prompts 2.0 are Here!

You can always read the latest post on my blog by clicking here.

Please take a look at my latest Huffington Post blog on the big college news of the day: the announcement of the new Common App essay prompts for 2015-16.

Here's the start of my article. To finish it, click on the link below. 
 
"This is big news in the college application world. It's not quite landing on the moon or Beyoncé having a baby, but the twittosphere is aflame this morning. The Common Application organization has just released the essay prompts for the upcoming year. Though applications aren't due until late in the fall for most students, the arrival of the prompts marks the start of the season.
"The good news is that there are few major changes from the past two years, and that the Common Application made what changes it did in response to thousands of reactions from members (the colleges and universities themselves) and the general public. Hats off to the Common App for inviting us to be part of the conversation!
"The bad news -- though I may be alone in feeling this -- is that my favorite question fell by the wayside: Describe a place where you feel perfectly content. Some of the most engaging essays my clients ever wrote were in response to that prompt. One described his lifelong love of German opera, another his passion for being lost. I'm going to think positively about the very engaging replacement question about problem solving.
"Now, for the winning prompts -- and my initial thoughts about them. As in previous years, students can write up to 650 words on just one of these. READ MORE
Please visit my website: Don't Sweat The Essay. Please email or phone me for a consultation: Liz@DontSweatTheEssay.com  1-855-99-ESSAY.