by Cara Kalf | May 30, 2022 | College Essay, Cara, college application essay, College Application Tips, college coaching, college essay tips, writing tips
If you’re frozen at the very first step in your college essay-writing process, I can’t blame you. Choosing a college essay topic really is as important as you’re making it, so it’s worth brainstorming thoroughly and evaluating your choices carefully. Why Does the...
by Cara Kalf | May 15, 2022 | college application essay
Types of College Application Essay For most students applying to competitive colleges, the first essay is just the beginning. If you’re applying to a dozen or more schools, you may find you’re looking at 20 or more different essay prompts! But as I’ve written...
by Cara Kalf | Jun 15, 2021 | Cara, college application essay, college coaching
The Worst Beginnings I thought I’d start a blog post with an example of how not to begin—but I decided I’d lose your attention before I even got to the explanation. With that in mind, if you want to make sure you aren’t choosing some of the most clichéd and dull...
by Cara Kalf | Mar 30, 2021 | Cara, college application essay, College Essay, College Essay Examples
Unexpected Essay Secret Write Badly Here’s what you’re doing wrong: You’re expecting it to come out right. It might sound counter-intuitive, but expecting perfection from your draft is the best way to kill it. Actually, it’s the best way to ensure it never gets...
by Cara Kalf | Mar 15, 2021 | Cara, college application essay, College Application Tips
Unicorns Are Not Unique or No Such Thing as a Synonym If you polled every student I have ever had in the classroom, I suspect one of the top three facts you would learn is this: “Mrs. Kalf doesn’t believe in synonyms.” I think they find this deliciously subversive in...
by Cara Kalf | Feb 28, 2021 | Cara, college application essay, College Application Tips
The New (Improved?) Common App 2022 The Common App has released its prompts for next year, and I’m delighted to see all of my favorites still on the list. There’s only one prompt that’s new for 2021, and you probably didn’t need the Common App writers to tell you it...