Things are hopping over here… for you too?
We’re doing a lot of work with rising seniors as they brainstorm their stories and resumes for their applications, and — counter to the well-meaning advice that students hear from so many sources — we don’t have them writing their application essays just yet.
That’s because they’ll save themselves a lot of time and, more importantly, they can be more strategic about their applications once they can see how they want to mix and match different essays for different colleges. And they can’t get that full list of their supplemental essay topics until the 2022-23 Common App opens up on August 1.
So for now, they’re staying plenty busy with their essay “pre-work,” which, no surprise, will make their essays stronger when the time comes.
If you want to follow along, come check out our weekly assignments on our blog.
1 - University of Washington now on the Common App. Finally. The skies part, the angels sing. 👼
2 - A round-up of AP score policies across different colleges. From our friends at Compass Prep. (Link)
3 - A wheelchair user’s guide to preparing for college. (Link)
A common complaint I hear from students is that they never seem to have enough time to finish all of their work. They vent about how many hours they spend — late nights reviewing in the library, weekends sacrificed to paper writing — but no matter how hard they try, there always seems to be something else due. As Matthew, a straight-A student from Brown, explains, it’s easier for college students to become “stuck in a state of permanent catch-up.” Understandably, these students feel like they have reached their academic limit; they believe that unless they forgo sleep or any semblance of a social life, there are simply not enough hours in the day to stay on top of their schoolwork.
Let’s start by getting one thing clear: This belief is false.
From How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport