Caroline Koppelman
Why This College Essay Question Guide and ...

Why do you want to go to school here? If there’s one prompt you are certain to write more than once, it’s this one. This prompt comes in a few different flavors, but at the end of the day, they all want to know why their school is the perfect school for you and why you’re the perfect student for them. No pressure or anything.

Caroline Koppelman
Official Common App Essay Guide 2024-2025

We’ve spent the last few weeks breaking down the Common App essay prompt by prompt, and today we’re going to give you our ultimate guide to writing the Common App essay. There might be seven different prompts, but ultimately, all schools want the same thing from their applicants’ Common App essays: a story.

Caroline Koppelman
Rejected Early Decision from Columbia 2023

Getting a rejection in the Early Decision round is definitely not easy. But the good news is, it’s really just the start, and that one rejection has no bearing on how you’re going to do with other, similarly competitive schools. The thing about Early Decision is it comes alone and it comes first. It’s sometimes easier to tolerate a rejection when it’s preceded by several acceptance letters. College admissions are extraordinarily competitive these days and the Ivies are just more competitive than any other time or place in history. That’s it. It doesn’t get harder. And Columbia in particular has just a 4% acceptance rate! So, if you’ve been rejected in the Early Decision round, don’t despair. We have some advice about how you might go forward. (And don’t worry, it’s really not that much more work!)

Caroline Koppelman
Deferred by Harvard — Now What? (2023-24)

If you’ve been deferred by Harvard, you are not alone. Harvard is notorious at this point for deferring an enormous percentage of early admission applicants. While most elite colleges with early admissions programs, like early decision and early action, only defer students they are seriously considering for the next freshman class, the statistics Harvard has released on early admission suggest that they take a very different approach.

Caroline Koppelman
Writing the “Why This College” Essay

Even though every college has slightly different supplementary application materials, you’ll likely run into a variation of one question more than any other: “Why do you want to attend this school in particular?” It’s every institution’s way of saying, Let’s cut to the chase. Why us?

film

Best Colleges for Creative Writing and Film

There are some majors that you can pretty well count on at nearly any college: Biology, Math, English, History, and a smattering of foreign languages, to name a few. But there are other subjects that you can’t necessarily expect to have as options, and we aren’t talking about Underwater Basket Weaving. Creative Writing is one of those majors that students expect to see as an option in college, but that is actually a rare one. Film, too, is one of those subjects that you need to make sure is an option at your prospective colleges if you are even considering pursuing it. Not having access to your preferred major is one of the top reasons for transferring, and that could generally have been avoided with proper research and planning during the application process.

Best Undergraduate Schools for Film

If you want to work in film, pack your bags baby, because you are going to Hollywood! Well, at least you are in 4 years after you learn the ropes by getting a film degree. There are top film programs across the US, but you will most likely end up in California, New York, or surprisingly enough, Boston. When looking for a film degree, it’s important to think about what made you interested in film as well as what kind of school you want to go to. From big universities to art schools, to liberal arts colleges, many have film programs that have specific specializations. If you don’t know where to start, we suggest these top 10 undergrad programs for film:

10 Best Summer Film Programs 

If you’re interested in a film major—or just movies in general—a summer pre-college program focused on film and the entertainment industry is a great way to get an introduction to the business. These summer programs can help you show colleges just how interested you are in film. Precollege programs also give you a preview of college life—you can live on your own and meet students from all walks of life.