Fall is almost here! Time to organize the college application process!
So first, I’ve been away from this website for quite a while, finishing my own academic journey. This year I passed my comprehensive exams and am officially ABD — which means I’ll have a PhD next year in Literature and Creative Writing! All of the tips I’ve given students over the years about studying and time management have served me well these past three years and I’m excited to begin this next chapter of my life.
But while I’ve been toiling away, I’ve really missed working with students one on one and am looking forward to helping you all work towards your goals!
So now, about you…
As I’m writing this, it is August 11th. For most of you that means two or three weeks until school starts again. If you are applying to college this year, you’re going to be juggling a lot this fall — school work, college applications and the forms that accompany them. It’s a good idea to get organized now, before school starts — so you can stay on top of it all once the madness begins!
Tips:
I recommend using Google Docs Spreadsheet that you can share with family members, teachers, advisors, friends and whoever else might be helping you with the college application process. In the document, you can keep track of important information: deadlines for each school, links to websites, numbers of letters of recommendation needed, essay topics and word counts.
You can also order the schools and color code them (if you feel like getting really geeky)! Make your “reach schools” one color, your “safe schools” another and those “no sweat” schools another color. And if you don’t know those terms yet, feel free to email me and I’ll run you through some of the basics!
I also strongly recommend that you start looking at those essay topics and brainstorming! I’ve seen too many students get preoccupied with filling out forms, saving the essays for last and writing one of those too-general, two days before the deadline essays that doesn’t tell the committee enough about who they are. You want to give yourself as much time as possible to think about the topics, come up with lots and lots of possible subjects, and (yes) have some fun with this. The challenge of these college application essays is getting everything you want to say into very few words, and making those words come to life.
You do not need to hire a writing coach. But if you are overwhelmed and want help organizing, or want to work through your ideas with an experienced writer and editor, feel free to contact me. This is honestly one of my favorite things to do. It’s so exciting to see students put their lives and experiences into perspective as they shape their essays. And it’s even more exciting to see you all go off to your dream schools!
So, I know in these last weeks of summer you just want to be — well on vacation! But take a little time every week to get organized and you’ll be so thankful when that November deadline hits!
More soon. Happy writing!
-Aurora