On last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Ian Fisher discusses three very different phases of the college admission process: writing supplemental essays, receiving admission decisions, and repaying loans.

You need guidance on Brown’s four supplemental essays. We’ve got advice. You and this blog are a perfect fit!

Before you get started, remember that while these are all short responses, they’re still essays, and all the essay rules apply: develop engaging openings and strong conclusions, and provide examples and specifics so that you are showing rather than telling.

So you’re interested in applying to Wellesley College? And why wouldn’t you be. Very few other colleges have the student opportunities and impressive alumni of this women’s college.

So you want to be a Duck!  What inspires you and motivates you to join the University of Oregon community, and what will you contribute to campus? Why is it a good fit for you? All things to consider as you dive into your University of Oregon application.

You might assume that college essay supplements are merely an opportunity for a college to learn more about its applicants; that they are known to students only after they’ve made a decision to apply to a particular university; that they are rooted in some important academic or cultural aspect of the institution with which they are associated. For nearly every college, you’d be right.

But not so for the University of Chicago.

The Princeton supplement is one of the most varied in terms of tone. One prompt asks for a long, thoughtful response, while the others are brief and informational rather than introspective. Let’s start with those short ones!

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Elizabeth Heaton is in the host seat and here to talk about early action, supplemental essays for Georgia Tech and Emory, financial aid at Northeastern University.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, guest host Sally Ganga covers a range of topics that will appeal to high school students and parents at different stages of the college search. She begins with a discussion about exactly when to prepare for and take standardized testing and the what, when, where, and why of college supplemental essays. She wraps up the show with a continuation of last week’s conversation about how financial aid awards differ among colleges, this time focusing on merit aid policies and practices.

If you’re working on your Brandeis University application, you might have noticed two important things: there is a writing supplement, and it’s optional.

Before we get to the questions themselves, let’s tackle the optional part. Your application will certainly be complete if you opt not to write the additional essay, but there are some students who should write it anyway.

Carnegie Mellon University has just two required supplemental essays, one long and one short. You’ll also find two optional prompts that allow students to explain educational interruptions and discuss their CMU admission interview, if they had one.