First Things First: Take It Off Your Stress List
As a private writing, reading, and college test prep tutor over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed some. . .stress. Parents wanting their kids to study for the SAT as early as sixth grade. Students Skyping me in-between violin and swim practice to wrangle out topic sentences comparing Atticus Finch to Abraham Lincoln. Copies of The Scarlet Letter flung across the room in frustration. (Okay, I confess).
So why would I add to the academic anxiety by suggesting that high schoolers start thinking about their college applications as early as their junior, sophomore, or even freshman year?
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For a full discussion of the special nature of the college application essay and why you should consider starting early, see the rest of this article in Chapter 1 of our title How to Write a College Application Essay: Expert Advice to Help You Get Into the College of Your Dreams.
Photo by Tammy McGary, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Tania Runyan, author of How to Read a Poem and How to Write a Poem.
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Providing everything a student needs to go from draft to polished essay, the instruction in How to Write a College Application Essay is straightforward, easy to apply, and inspiring. Includes sample essays from students who got into the colleges of their dreams.
“How to Write a College Application Essay is a valuable resource that I enthusiastically recommend to my students and their families.” —Lisa Scanio, High School Counselor, Adlai Stevenson High School
Tania Runyan
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Bethany R. says
Great point about being the best version of your unique self. You want to get matched with a school you’re comfortable in for the long haul.
Donna says
I love this and will definitely share with others! I have friends who teach high school students and this will be a great and maybe even soothing piece for them, as teachers who are advising and mentoring students. 🙂
“If you’ve done all you can to let your best self shine on the page, but you don’t make it into that “dream” school, maybe that school wasn’t so dreamy in the first place.”
Beautiful words. I love that sentence! 😉