College Essay Coach Blogs | College Essay Example.

What NOT to Write in Your College Essay

by Cara Kalf | September 30, 2022 | Cara, College Admissions, college application essay, College Application Tips, College Essay, college essay tips, writing tips | 0 Comments

What NOT to Write in Your College Essay I never cease to be amazed by the extensive collection of topics the internet tells you NEVER to write about for your college essay: times you were happy, times you were sad, times you were successful, times you made a mistake,...

How to Write an Essay on College Football

by Cara Kalf | September 15, 2022 | College Essay Examples | 0 Comments

Essay on College Football It's football season. Not only football players, but marching band members, cheerleaders, majorettes, dance team members, and student section spirit leaders--to name a few--are out on the field overcoming obstacles and making memories. If...

Why Do You Want to Attend This College, Anyway?

by Cara Kalf | September 1, 2022 | Cara, College Admissions | 0 Comments

Why Do You Want to Attend This College, Anyway? It’s hard not to resent supplements. You’ve poured your heart and soul into your Common App essay—it’s a thing of beauty, it’s 650 words, and it’s DONE!—and then right on its heels come the supplements. Of...

How to Write a US College Admissions Essay

by Cara Kalf | August 15, 2022 | College Admissions, college coaching | 0 Comments

How to Write a US College Admissions Essay The U.S. college obsession is not limited to U.S. students. Top universities across the country are eager to have students from all over the world, and those students are just as eager to study here. If you’re a foreign...

Describe a Person You Admire

by Cara Kalf | July 30, 2022 | College Essay, College Essay Examples | 0 Comments

Describe a Person You Admire Most schools give you a lot of flexibility in the way you choose to present yourself in an essay. There are seven Common App prompts and six Coalition App prompts—and both include one that is “anything else you want to write about.” But...

Meeting Your College Admissions Deadlines 2022 – 2023

by Cara Kalf | July 15, 2022 | Cara, College Admissions, college application essay | 0 Comments

Meeting Your College Admissions Deadlines 2022 - 2023 If you’re applying for college admission for fall of 2023, it’s time to create and commit to a schedule. Yes, already. Application deadlines are not flexible! Right now they feel very far away—but ignore them even...

College Essay Specifics: Writing about your Goals in Life

by Cara Kalf | June 30, 2022 | college essay tips, writing tips | 0 Comments

College Essay Specifics: Writing about Your Goals in Life Not every school is going to ask you about your goals in life—but even if they don’t, isn’t it time you started asking yourself? Before you embark on a four-year mission to Get Educated and Prepare for your...

Your Essay Is Your Introduction

by Cara Kalf | June 15, 2022 | College Essay Examples, College Application Tips, College Essay | 0 Comments

Your Essay Is Your Introduction It’s here! College essay season is officially here. Are you EXCITED?! Your college application essay is your introduction to the people evaluating you as a student, and even as a person. It is your chance to show not just all of...

Tips For Selecting A College Essay Topic

by Cara Kalf | May 30, 2022 | College Essay, Cara, college application essay, College Application Tips, college coaching, college essay tips, writing tips | 0 Comments

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...

Types of College Application Essay

by Cara Kalf | May 15, 2022 | college application essay | 0 Comments

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...

The Hero’s Journey, or, Why I Do What I Do

by Cara Kalf | March 15, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

The Hero’s Journey, or, Why I Do What I Do Who doesn’t love a good hero’s journey? Young heroes seek castles. Entering the dark woods, they are only a bit afraid. Some are on horseback, others on foot. Some bring a map, and proceed quickly. Some become lost in the...

How NOT to Write About Coronavirus on Your College Essay

by Cara Kalf | March 31, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

How NOT to Write About Coronavirus on Your College Essay In the fall of my senior year of high school, the dog my family brought home when I was 5 years old was dying. He was a magnificent German shepherd—a large, sturdy dog who had been my protector when I was small....

Layering

by Cara Kalf | April 15, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

It’s spring in New England, and if you were going outside—which you probably aren’t, this year, but if you were—you’d want layers. You know, a winter coat for the 24° morning, a sweater for the school day, and a T-shirt for the way home when the sun is finally strong...

Bread Baking as Essay Writing (An Extended Metaphor)

by Cara Kalf | April 30, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

Bread Baking as Essay Writing (An Extended Metaphor) I have been baking bread since—as they say—before it was cool. And I have often tried to use this particular metaphor with my students, but it never worked because (it turns out) few of them had ever baked yeast...

Warming Up for the Big Game

by Cara Kalf | May 15, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

Warming Up for the Big Game I’ve decided to create a new kind of running club for people who don’t really like running. Every two weeks, we’ll meet and have races. If you don’t like your time on a particular run, you can do it a second time. But in between races,...

A Go-Anywhere Bulletin Board for Your College Application Planning

by Cara Kalf | May 30, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

A Go-Anywhere Bulletin Board for Your College Application Planning Feeling in control of everything you have to do in the massive, multipart undertaking that is college applications is going to give you more positive feelings about the process, even though you don’t...

How Do I Start My College Essays?

by Cara Kalf | June 15, 2020 | Cara, College Essay, college essay tips | 0 Comments

How Do I Start My College Essays? It goes without saying that the first thing you need to do to start your college essays is—to start. But nothing helps a procrastinator to procrastinate like an unclear expectation. The vague language of the seven Common App prompts...

The Fundamental Attribution Error … And How It Works in Your Favor

by Cara Kalf | June 30, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

The Fundamental Attribution Error And How It Works in Your Favor Sometimes students stress about the 650-word limit because they fear they cannot possibly tell their life story in so short a space. Let me reassure you on that: No, you cannot possibly tell your life...

“Curated Imperfection” and the College Essay

by Cara Kalf | July 15, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

“Curated Imperfection” and the College Essay The goal of the college essay is always the same. No matter whose essay it is or what story it’s telling, the ‘moral’ at the end will be “I learned, I grew, I changed.” That’s it. That’s all there is to it! The problem is,...

What a First Draft Is … and Is Not

by Cara Kalf | July 30, 2020 | Cara | 0 Comments

What a First Draft Is … and Is Not First things first—and when it comes to writing your college essay, the first thing is NOT a first draft. A draft means a messier version of the Real Thing. It suggests a deliberate organization, which means before you begin, you...

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