Caroline Koppelman
Why This College Essay Question Guide and ...

Why do you want to go to school here? If there’s one prompt you are certain to write more than once, it’s this one. This prompt comes in a few different flavors, but at the end of the day, they all want to know why their school is the perfect school for you and why you’re the perfect student for them. No pressure or anything.

Caroline Koppelman
Official Common App Essay Guide 2024-2025

We’ve spent the last few weeks breaking down the Common App essay prompt by prompt, and today we’re going to give you our ultimate guide to writing the Common App essay. There might be seven different prompts, but ultimately, all schools want the same thing from their applicants’ Common App essays: a story.

Caroline Koppelman
Rejected Early Decision from Columbia 2023

Getting a rejection in the Early Decision round is definitely not easy. But the good news is, it’s really just the start, and that one rejection has no bearing on how you’re going to do with other, similarly competitive schools. The thing about Early Decision is it comes alone and it comes first. It’s sometimes easier to tolerate a rejection when it’s preceded by several acceptance letters. College admissions are extraordinarily competitive these days and the Ivies are just more competitive than any other time or place in history. That’s it. It doesn’t get harder. And Columbia in particular has just a 4% acceptance rate! So, if you’ve been rejected in the Early Decision round, don’t despair. We have some advice about how you might go forward. (And don’t worry, it’s really not that much more work!)

Caroline Koppelman
Deferred by Harvard — Now What? (2023-24)

If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, you are not alone. Harvard is notorious at this point for deferring an enormous percentage of early admission applicants. While most elite colleges with early admissions programs, like early decision and early action, only defer students they are seriously considering for the next freshman class, the statistics Harvard has released on early admission suggest that they take a very different approach.

Caroline Koppelman
Writing the “Why This College” Essay

Even though every college has slightly different supplementary application materials, you’ll likely run into a variation of one question more than any other: “Why do you want to attend this school in particular?” It’s every institution’s way of saying, Let’s cut to the chase. Why us?

letter of recommendation

Do I Need Additional Letters of Recommendation?

You have your basic letters of rec lined up because you def followed our advice and secured them junior year. Your counselor and two teachers you’re close with are going to write beautiful letters about how you should go to Harvard/Stanford/UNC/UC Berkeley/etc., etc. However, you’re in the Common App and realize that your dream school actually allows up to two whole extra letters of rec. Should you take it? Ask a few more people? Maybe a family friend who went to the school? Our answer: probably not.

Should I Ask for Additional Letters of Recommendation?

You’ve done your whole Common App, written killer essays and supplements, and you’re ready to press submit. “…wait. Hold on. They’re saying I have the option to add two additional recommenders besides the required ones? I can ask two other people, like my dad’s friend who went here 20 years ago that I barely know, to write me letters of rec? Boy oh boy, what a day!”

How To Ask for a Recommendation Letter for College

Asking for favors is hard and the biggest favor you will have to ask during your junior year is for letters of recommendation. Don’t worry, most teachers won’t say no… you just have to know how to ask and then do it. While you can’t control what your teachers say about you, there are a couple of steps you can take to get the best letter that you can.

Who Should I Ask for a College Recommendation Letter? 

College applications aren’t just work for you. Often times, they mean work for your parents, college counselors, and teachers, too. So, hopefully you’ve been nice and respectful to a few (if not all) teachers throughout your time in school, because they are a critical part of the admissions process. The purpose of the teacher recommendation is to establish credibility for the applicant. Every other piece of the application is pretty much authored or engineered by you. The teacher recommendation allows universities to see if applicants are who they say they are. They’re also an opportunity for someone who knows you well to sing your praises and tell them something they might not know yet.  

What is the Role of a Guidance Counselor in the College Application Process?

Your college guidance counselor at your school is an instrumental person in your college admissions process. Though you mostly see them right now for occasional check-ins and receive emails from them, they will ultimately be someone who can be a true advocate for you throughout this process. Most important to consider, though, is that they will be writing you a recommendation letter. In the second round of admissions after grades and scores, their recommendation letter and your teacher recommendation letter are incredibly important factors. They write each student a recommendation letter, so it’s smart to get to know them early. While you can’t control the words that your counselor writes in their recommendation, you can certainly influence the content and tone with your actions. Here are some tips that we recommend for getting on your college guidance counselor’s good side.

How To ask for a Teacher Recommendation for College

While all of the components of your college application are important, one particularly crucial element that requires notice, effort, and thought are your teacher recommendations. Teacher recommendations are an integral part of your application because it’s an outside perspective. Your teachers and counselors are offering a discussion of your character based on their observations and experiences, and that should not be overlooked. It’s important to give this aspect some significant thought, and just FYI: don’t just assume you should ask your English teacher because you’ve gotten straight 100s on all of your quizzes and papers. Think again, and read on.