As someone who attended UVA for graduate school, I’m a little biased in favor of the school. However, I do genuinely like all of the supplemental essay prompts for two reasons. The first is that they are short. A 250-word limit forces you to be really clear about what the take-home is for the reader because you don’t have any opportunity to lose focus and meander off topic. The second is the questions reflect UVA’s values, and the essay is an opportunity for students to show how they connect with those values. I will also say that UVA is one of those schools, like the University of California system, to be very open and transparent about what they are looking for in an essay. I’ve included a helpful link from their Associate Dean at the end of the blog. Right here, however, are my own tips for addressing the UVA essay prompts. You’ll be asked to choose just one of these questions:

What about being a student at _____ most excites you?

Why would you like to attend ______?

Or, my personal favorite and most succinct, Why _____?

As admissions officers wade through equally qualified applicants, they work to determine who is going to be the best fit with their institution. Who gets what they are all about? Who has done their research and understands “Why this College?” They ask it in a lot of different ways, with varying requirements when it comes to length, but they’re all trying to get at the same thing: Why do you want to be here, as opposed to one of the other wonderful schools on your list?

If you’ve been staring at a blank computer screen wondering how to craft an answer to the supplemental writing prompts for Johns Hopkins and UC Boulder, you’ve come to the right place! We’ll talk through appropriate approaches to all on today’s show. We’ll follow that by answering all of your burning college finance and admissions questions.

It’s almost October 1, commonly known as FAFSA time around here, and we have guidance for those completing the form this fall. We also have advice for teacher recommendations, from how they’re used to who to ask to how to ask for them. In Office Hours, we’re working through the supplemental questions for Haverford, Swarthmore, and Bryn Mawr, three colleges on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

If you’re a high school senior who’s been diligently scouring the Common Application searching for college-specific essay questions, you may have come across this particular prompt:

Who in your life is depending on you? What are they depending on you for?

This question is brand new this year, and it was made available to all Common App member colleges as a “bank question” for use on their supplements. Barnard College, Harvey Mudd College, Marquette University, and the University of South Carolina have elected to include this prompt (as an optional question) on their 2019-20 applications.

It’s application season, and application season means supplemental essays! In this week’s show, we’ll dissect the supplemental questions for Vassar and University of Rochester. We’ll also answer your college admissions and finance questions in our Listener Q&A segment.

Your love of playing cello…

Your fascination with mountain biking…

Your desire to speak out against prejudice…

Your journey to become student body president…

A strong Common App essay can be written on virtually any topic.

Dear Debt’s Melanie Lockert paid off $81 thousand in student debt in just a few years. She’ll join us to talk about how she got to $81 thousand in the first place, what she would do differently if she could do it all again, and what led to the creation of her Dear Debt blog (now also a book). We’re also discussing how to choose your Common App prompt and what Common App supplemental essays are all about.

Its summer! Time for ice cream, blockbuster movies, and college visits and essays! Join us for insight into making the most of your college visits in preparation for writing supplemental essays in the fall. Speaking of essays, we’re taking you through the Common App essay prompts for fall 2019. And finally, we have suggestions for how to research information about paying for college on those institutions’ websites.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Sally Ganga digs into the supplements for Barnard College and Washington University in St. Louis, the ins and outs of co-ops, and the financial implications of attending a college with a co-op program.