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?

resume

How to Make a Resume for College Application

Writing your college application resume may be one of the last things on your to-do list, and we wouldn’t blame you if it is. When you’re applying to college, the resume is one of the last things students, parents, and teachers talk about — and often they don’t talk about it at all. The silence around the college application resume is probably because the Common App doesn’t make much of a fuss about it either. The resume is practically hidden in the application, and it is typically noted as optional. Why spend much time on something if it’s hidden and optional, after all?

How to Write a Good Resume for a College Application

When it comes to college applications, there are a few pieces everyone remembers without having to think too hard: the supplements, the activities section, the endless biographical information, and the all-important essay. There’s one part of the application, though, that tends to be forgotten. Hidden deep into the application process, and most often optional, the resume is consistently overlooked, ignored, or forgotten about.

Ivy League Resume

Writing a resume often comes as an afterthought for students applying to the Ivy League in the United States. The resume is — most of the time — optional. It’s sort of hidden away in the Common Application, and it’s by far the least talked about piece of the college application puzzle. So many students we work with tell us that they hadn’t even planned on submitting a resume. They ask, “Why spend time on something that’s optional and often redundant?”

How to Write Your Resume for an Ivy League College Application

Applying to an Ivy League or Ivy-caliber college isn’t an everyday experience. It’s exceptional, and it requires more of you, the applicant, than any other college application. The same can be said for each piece of the application — including the resume. It can’t be the normal, run-of-the-mill resume you used to apply for summer jobs. More is required.

Best Resume for College Applications

A resume is a resume, right? Well, not really. Whether you call it a resume or a curriculum vitae, not all are created the same, and the resume you used to apply for a summer job at the local day camp is not the same resume that’s going to get you into your dream college. In this post, we’ll outline the must-haves — and the must-avoids — for a killer college application resume.

How to Write a Resume for College

You are applying for college, not a job, so you might not think you need to know how to write a resume. Ok so you might not need to, but it can be a big help in this process. Often sending a resume to teachers or counselors will give you a better recommendation letter. Having a resume can help you with the activities section. And TBH it’s a good thing to have on file in general.

Tips for a College Application Resume

A lot of kids ask us whether or not a resume is necessary for a college application. Our answer? It’s good to have. Yes, the Common App has an activities section that is, in essence, a resume. So, while a resume won’t make or break your application, it’s a good thing to get in the practice of having. Your resume will be your calling card from the time you enter college throughout your entire career. But besides just building the skill, it’s what could set you apart from the competition.

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.

Should I Make a Resume for College Applications?

At the start of high school you probably walked through the club fair and signed up for more clubs than you could ever possibly manage. Now, as you apply to college, you’re probably only a member of about half of them. You’ve stayed in these clubs because they piqued your interest and clearly relate to what you’re passionate about. The reason that the college admissions committee wants to know what you’ve spent your time doing in high school is because your engagement speaks to your character. If you’ve been going home everyday directly after school ends and doing nothing, they see that you’re not engaged in your community. But, if you’ve been volunteering as a tutor or raising money for a local charity, then that gives them insight into your personality.