by Julie Wolf, Guest Writer

“It was the worst part of high school, hands down. I’ve blocked it out.”

This is my daughter, now a junior in college, discussing the college application process, specifically the anxiety-provoking personal essay. Unfortunately, I haven’t blocked it out. As January deadlines loomed, she dug herself into a hole, with stacks of essays still unwritten. The two of us stayed home over the school holiday while the rest of the family made merry with relatives out of state. Our next student, a high school senior, already has a draft underway, hewing to the start-in-the-summer advice that my daughter largely ignored. The clarity of hindsight shows that I was too involved from the outset with his sister, offering help that she didn’t want but came to rely on, so with Student 2 I’m treading lightly. Occasionally I peek into his room and see him sitting on his bed, tapping away at his computer. I back away; I don’t ask. One night, though, my resolve broke. To my amazement, he let me read his essay; I promised not to say much.

Whether you’re just putting the finishing touches on your college essay, or you’ve yet to put pen to paper (alright, finger to keyboard…), if you’re a college applicant, you need to check out the latest installment of our video series, We Can Explain.

This year our own Elizabeth Heaton is in our listeners’ shoes as she helps her son navigate the college process. She’s sharing her thoughts with co-host Ian Fisher. We’ll also lay out a suggested schedule of summer work for rising seniors who want to make the most of this time (hint—it includes writing and finalizing the essay!). Finally, we lay out the details of tuition payment plans, which can help some families avoid borrowing altogether.

For colleges that require it, the college essay can be a key component of a successful application. In no surprise to anyone, writing is hard! We have ideas on how to work on your writing skills in preparation for writing your strongest essay. We’re also answering your college finance and admissions questions.

by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California

The Common Application announced on Feb. 16 that it is retiring one essay prompt while introducing a new one. (For those who need a refresher, watch our video “What Is the Common Application?”). The change will take effect for the 2021-22 admissions cycle, and the overall number of essay questions remains the same: students will choose from one of seven options.

by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California

Another week, another announcement that makes the college admission testing landscape feel more unpredictable than season three of Game of Thrones (yet, thankfully, much less violent). However, we can’t help but think most people were happy to hear the news that two pieces of College Board testing will be discontinued: the SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay section of the general SAT. For those of you who are saying, “Wait, what were the SAT Subject Tests—was I supposed to take those?!” let’s back up and explain these two soon-to-be-defunct items.

Wondering what to do now that you’ve submitted your financial aid applications? We’ve got you covered. Hear from a College Coach team member about her choice to attend a public honors college. And in Office Hours, we’re reviewing the supplemental essays for Purdue and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

by Sara Calvert-Kubrom, former admissions officer at Lewis & Clark College

This year we are seeing substantial changes to the landscape of admission as colleges respond to complex dynamics in our country and the sudden shift to test optional policies due to standardized testing cancellations. With the frequent absence of test scores, many colleges have added new supplemental essay requirements to their applications as a way to learn more about students, and to enhance their ability to be thoughtful community builders for their campuses.

by Ian Fisher, former admissions officer at Reed College

This is the fourth in College Coach’s series of posts covering university-specific supplemental essays. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve shared guidance on answering the Brandeis supplemental essay, the CU Boulder admissions essay and the University of Delaware’s test optional supplemental essays. Stay tuned for our last installment for Lehigh University.

Scripps College is really cool. It’s a women’s college nestled in Claremont, California, and a member of a five-college consortium, along with Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Pomona. Scripps has maybe the most beautiful campus among the five, with striking Mediterranean architecture and Spanish tile. For women, or those who identify as women, there is really nowhere like Scripps anywhere on the West Coast. Serious applicants to Scripps would do well to research these and other unique qualities of Scripss before they begin to tackle the college’s required supplemental essays.

by Jennifer Simons, former admissions officer at Tufts University

This is the third in College Coach’s series of posts covering university-specific supplemental essays. Last week, we shared guidance on answering the CU Boulder admissions essay and the University of Delaware’s test optional supplemental essays. Stay tuned throughout October as we highlight additional prompts for Scripps College and Lehigh University.

If you’re applying to Brandeis University, you’ll encounter this request in the application:

Please include a short response to one of the three prompts below (250 words or fewer).

• Why would you like to attend Brandeis?
• Justice Brandeis once said, “If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold.” Tell us about something bold that you’ve recently done.
• There are approximately 171, 476 words in the English dictionary. Pick your favorite word and tell us why you picked it.