Our New Common App Essay Video is Live!
This may sound a little strange. Unlike many people, even some of my colleagues, I actually look forward to helping students with their essays! After years of teaching students to construct arguments and interpret literature, a 650 word max, page and a half personal statement is a pleasure for me (not that I didn’t enjoy the other stuff).
That’s why I am excited to announce that our new video “Moments, Not Topics” is live on the Less College Stress website!
Why is our video unique? It helps students approach the essay positively by eliminating the “what’s my topic?” question. Instead, we focus on the moments found in stories, because well-crafted storytelling holds readers’ attention.
After helping hundreds of students through the essay process, I get it. Students are not always ready to dig down to find their stories. That doesn’t stop me, and it won’t stop our essay coaches. We ask a lot of questions, the kind that students can’t answer with a yes or no. The more we engage, the more we discover. The best story is there to be found, and once it reveals itself, structuring the events and refining the language is the easy part.
My mission is to help families avoid college process stress whenever possible. What can be more frustrating than trying to get your teenager to “find something to write about?” I get that too! We provide a buffer, which can help a student relax, open up, and reflect more easily. We get to work on essays as soon as the challenges of junior year wind down, which can be as early as April but more typically in late June, depending on the student. Best of all, we encourage students to develop confidence about their writing and produce unique essays that admissions officers want to read.
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