Almost 50 Chelmsford residents attended the College Essay Confidante’s college prep night on June 28. “Applying for College, What you Need to Know,” was presented by three college admissions professionals. They were: Jennifer Legg Gabel, Guidance Counselor at Acton-Boxborough High School, Julie Shields-Rutyna, Director of College Planning, Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, Andrew Carter, Senior Associate Director, Office of Admissions, College of the Holy Cross, and Joyce Pellino Crane, the College Essay Confidantè, who moderated.

Joyce Pellino Crane is the College Essay Confidante. She can be reached at winningcollegeessay@gmail.com.

There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application.  Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, Register for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Prompt #5 examined

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Revised]

Have you traveled to a foreign country and seen something that inspired you to get involved? One of my students took a trip to China to visit relatives. While there, the student noticed what she described as “incredible waste strewn throughout its streets.” She wondered where it could go besides a landfill. That trip motivated her to get involved in her own community by joining her school’s environmental club and raising money to fund the construction of composting bins.

The student’s experience with the club inspired her to aim for an environmental policy major in college. She deftly began her essay with advice from her grandmother who had told her to look at the green colors produced by nature as a way of improving her nearsightedness. She ended her essay with this line: “My grandmother was right: by looking at the green, I found my life vision.”

TO REGISTER: www.CollegeEssayConfidante.com/workshops

You’ll leave with a solid topic, an opening paragraph and a guarantee from me that I’ll edit your first draft. You’ll also be able to download my college essay guide for FREE — a $4.99 value.

There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application.  Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, consider registering for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Examining prompt #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. 

One of my students was planning to apply to engineering schools so he wrote his essay about a physics team challenge he experienced. His dilemma was that his two teammates seemed not to be as serious about the project as he was. He decided to take charge and direct them. His essay was expository, meaning he explained the project and how his team solved a problem. But he also interjected a human element into the story by acknowledging that he had judged his teammates harshly. By the end of the challenge, he respected both of them and realized their strengths were different from his. In the process of telling his story, he had also highlighted his technical skills without being didactic.

This student landed at the University of Rochester. It was clear that he would do well based on his performance in my workshop. He listened quietly to everyone else’s topic ideas and thought deeply about his own experiences. He wrote the beginning of his essay before the workshop ended and then sent me his first draft for editing only a week later. His well written final draft subtly showcased his engineering abilities, added tension to arouse curiosity in the reader and showed how an experience taught him something about first impressions.

If you’d like to read this essay take my workshop!

There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application.  Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, consider registering for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Prompt #3 examined

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? 

This prompt requires a persuasive essay with careful research and accurate facts. I don’t discourage students from this prompt, but I warn them that it’s more work and will take more time.

So far, in all my years of teaching how to write the college essay, none of my students have chosen this prompt. But if it interests you, it’s probably because you have a burning belief or idea, and don’t need to brainstorm for one. I would suggest choosing this prompt only if that’s the case. If you don’t have tremendous passion for a belief or idea, I would suggest that other prompts are probably a better match.

Before you begin writing, do your research and make sure you’re highly knowledgeable on the topic. You have an obligation to present both sides of the issue and to strongly support the position you take.

Find a way to make your essay memorable either by writing extraordinarily well or by making counter-intuitive arguments that will stick in a reader’s mind and make him think about your comments.

Writing a persuasive argument for a college application can be a challenge, but if you feel strongly about this approach, it’s worth a shot.

 

There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application.  Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, consider registering for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Prompt #2 examined

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? 

One of the most poignant essays I’ve read came from a young man of Indian heritage who had tried every year since ninth grade to make it onto the varsity basketball team at his high school and failed. His essay was about how he planned to try out again that November as a senior.

The essay was memorable for its lack of accusation, anger, or self-pity. It broke one of my key rules: to not write about sports because it’s a subject that is common and would not make a student stand out in an admissions officer’s mind.

But this student’s essay was so well written and so unique in its presentation that it was an exception. He talked about being shorter than most basketball players and knowing that his stature made his dream unlikely to come true.

It demonstrated a spirit of perseverance and a willingness to move past disappointment that reflected well on him. This student found his true essence and used it to stir emotion and sympathy in the reader.

His essay is a perfect example of how any topic can be compelling if the essay stirs emotion and reflects the writer’s true nature.

There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application.  Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, consider registering for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Prompt #1 examined

“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.”

In the years that I’ve been teaching college essay workshops, this has been the most popular and productive prompt chosen.

It’s certainly the most versatile. Students have written about their role as first violinist in the school orchestra, the death of a parent, the experience of growing up between two cultures, and serious health problems, to name a few. One student related his memories of living on the island of Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands, from ages 9 to 12. There were no cars on the island, he said. Instead inhabitants rode bicycles everywhere.  Can you imagine how interesting his essay could be? Another student said he played sports with passion but was plagued by a physical illness that once rendered him immobile for three days.

Let’s think about your identity and interests. Do you speak another language at home? Did you spend your younger years living somewhere exotic? Was there an untimely death in your family?

While this is the most popular prompt it doesn’t trigger a story idea in everyone. If this isn’t for you, there are six more from which to choose. Let’s take a look…

NEXT TIME: Common Application Prompt #2.

Don’t miss this opportunity to ask the experts about the college application process.

The Chelmsford Public Library is sponsoring a FREE College Prep night entitled “Applying for College, What you Need to Know,” on Thursday, June 28 from 7 to 9 p.m., at 25 Boston Road.

The event is for rising seniors and their parents.

REGISTER HERE for this FREE event.

Organized by the College Essay Confidante, Joyce Pellino Crane, the panelists will include Jennifer Legg Gabel, Guidance Counselor at Acton-Boxborough High School, Julie Shields-Rutyna, Director of College Planning, Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority, Andrew Carter, Senior Associate Director, Office of Admissions, College of the Holy Cross, and Crane who will moderate.

Space is limited, so sign up now at www.collegeessayconfidante/events.

Parents often ask me if I do private tutoring for the college essay.

The answer is yes, I tutor students throughout the summer and into the fall. I love meeting with students one-on-one and they benefit greatly from that individual attention.

But most of my students also benefit from the small group workshops I offer entitled, “Brainstorm Your College Essay.”

Here’s why. When the students begin to relax in the room and get to know each other, there’s a synergy that develops and a creative atmosphere that connects them. One student will come up with a rock solid topic and the other students will begin to ruminate about their own lives and their own stories.

The energy in the room can be infectious.

Once we begin the writing exercises, the students start to think deeply and some experiment with their writing style and let go of their inhibitions. It can be liberating to write about yourself and inspirational to hear what other’s write about themselves.

I’m an award-winning journalist with a deep love of writing. I try to impart that love to my students.

I was the editor of the Westford Eagle and Littleton Independent. Today I’m the news director for a local community access TV station. I write everyday.

If you’d like your rising high school senior to experience what I can teach, please REGISTER HERE.

The workshop is limited to just six students. It takes place on Wednesday, June 27 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Massachusetts. Your student will leave with an essay topic and the first paragraph written. I’ll edit the first draft if delivered by a mutually agreed upon deadline.

I’ll also give you my college essay guide — a $4.99 value — free of charge.

Questions? Email me at winningcollegeessay@gmail.com.

 

The College Essay Confidantè proudly announces the colleges that some of her students from the last school year will be attending this fall. The essay is only one of many factors that leads to a favorable outcome, but it can be the deciding factor when a student is borderline.

“The students helped by the College Essay Confidantè during the 2017 – 2018 school year deserve the credit for their admissions successes,” said Joyce Pellino Crane, the College Essay Confidante, “but it is so gratifying to have had a hand in helping them get there.”

Crane runs a workshop at least twice a year  entitled, “Brainstorm Your College Essay,” where a maximum of six rising seniors explore topics for their essays and bounce ideas off each other.  Writing and brainstorming exercises help them focus.

Another workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Massachusetts. REGISTER HERE.

Private, hourly tutoring sessions are also offered throughout the summer and fall to help jumpstart the essay writing process. Email winningcollegeessay@gmail.com for more information.

The College Essay Confidante’s Class of 2018 students will be attending:

• Boston College
• Tufts University
• Brandeis University
• UMass-Amherst
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• University of Michigan
• Case Western Reserve University
• The George Washington University
• Pennsylvania  Drexel University
• Stony Brook University
• University of New Hampshire, Durham