Research Opportunities
Ralph Becker
The Importance of High School Research

Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.

The Importance of High School Research

College Essay Tips

Writing the College Essay

Writing the College Essay

Straight-A students from some of the best high schools in the country become unhinged at the thought of crafting a 600-word essay in response to such a prompt: “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you. Describe that influence.” (Recent Common Application, Question #3).  It’s not surprising-- very few students learn the craft of essay writing. It’s become such a neglected art that Harvard, among many of the most selective schools, now requires all its undergraduates, without exception, to take an expository writing class.  Knowing that the state of essay writing is in the doldrums, what might you do to attack this very daunting task?

The Importance of Revising College Essays

The Importance of Revising College Essays

Writing a decent college essay is not an easy task. Sometimes you run with an idea and, in the end, it doesn’t work as expected. You’re going to have to revise. Don’t fret: writing a good essay takes time and, by its very nature, it demands revisions. This is all part of the process. Even Harvard recognizes and stresses the importance of revisions. Revising is as fundamental as writing the introductory paragraph.

Laura Saltz of Harvard’s Writing Center has a handout that you can obtain online: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Revising.html, and it is indeed a useful tool as you go about revising your college essays.

Conquering College Essay Procrastination

Conquering College Essay Procrastination

There are students who go through the grueling months of SAT preparation, take full loads of AP classes, and pull together summers of impressive extracurricular activities. However, when it comes to the actual task of writing college application essays, these seeming stars fade away, avoiding writing their essays until the last possible moment. This is very unwise. Procrastination can have a deadly impact on one’s candidacy. If you’re a borderline candidate (and who isn’t at Stanford, Harvard, or Princeton?) your essays can be the ultimate deciding factor. They’re one of the few things you can actually control, but only if you’re willing to devote the necessary time and effort to perfect them and breathe life into them.

College Essay Tips from Seasoned College Counselors

College Essay Tips from Seasoned College Counselors

During the recent WACAC (Western Association of College Admissions Counselors) meeting at the University of La Verne, Hector Martinez, Director of College Guidance, the Webb Schools, Claremont, CA, conducted a session on the much neglected art of essay writing: "Helping Students find their Voices in Essays".

Hector, in his college counseling position at Webb, has spent over two decades helping students brainstorm, revise, and polish literally thousands of college essays. Over the years of working with essays, Hector can recall only five that truly impressed him. Three of the essay writers actually went on to become published authors. The point Hector made was well taken: only a small portion of essays make their mark.