admissions
How important is the college essay?
Hello students. It is a pleasure to be part of It's MI Life, and we look forward to blogging for this site. I am Kim Lifton, a journalist, executive ghost writer, blogger and writing teacher. I started a company with my long-time business partner, Susan Knoppow, to help kids write better. We named it Wow Writing Workshop because we want you to wow people who read your writing. Our focus: the college essay.
On our own blog (found at www.wowwritingworkshop.com), we write about the college entrance process, tips for writing compelling essays and success stories.
Colleges want students who want them
Most schools ask you to respond to some variation of the question "Why do you want to go to school here?" in the application.
The key to success when you answer this question is to be as specific as possible - show the admissions counselor reading your application that you're not applying just for the heck of it.
What about the campus and the academic programs excites you? What campus groups exist that you'd like to be a part of? How does it match your passions and your personality?
Saturday Preview Days
April 17, 2010
May 15, 2010
June 26, 2010
A great college admissions essay
A great college admissions essay can open a lot of doors, but many students just don't know what it takes to write a good one. Do you have a successful strategy to share? Thoughts on what went right or wrong? Questions? This is the place. Michigan State student Tricia Bobeda, also a full-time journalists and an admissions expert, will give advice, help students sort things out, and answer questions. So jump in!
Beware the "Shift+F7" Essay
"Shift + F7" is the keyboard shortcut in Microsoft Word for accessing the thesaurus. As a college essay writing coach, it's easy to spot the writers who use it too much.
A sentence that probably started out like this:
"The best part about volunteering with the local food bank was getting to know the people I worked with there."
Ends up like this:
Best Reads on College Admissions
A blog suggesting someone read a book? On paper? That's right.
Stores are flooded with books promising to demistify the college admissions process. Some of them aren't worth the paper they're printed on. But if you find yourself with a gift card for Amazon or a bookstore this holiday season, consider these books on the college admission process.
(Or stand in the store and read them, then buy something more fun with the gift card.)
On-Site Admissions
So lately, we've been having representatives from different colleges come to our school and discuss on-site admissions. Today, Wayne State attended my school and the admissions counselor told us all the perks of applying with them on-site.
On-sites really do take the hassle out of sending all of those applications. With some schools, the application fee is waived and you can get to ask an admissions counselor any question you want directly. With paper and online apps, you might not get all of the answers you want about admissions or anything else you want to personally know.
So Much To Choose.
I don't know if it's just me or not. But, everytime I go to the mailbox, I'm bombarded with a million tons of mail from colleges. They all seem so good on paper and when college representatives call they seem so informative and they make me want to attend their schools. I have a list of 10 colleges right now and that's the condensed one. It seems like everyday I get persuaded to apply to another school because they all have so much to offer and they seem like they fit me.
