Getting waitlisted or deferred from your dream school is hard. We know it’s hard! You feel rejected, but it’s this weird non-rejection rejection that can leave you feeling lost and confused. And while a lot of things in college admissions are totally out of your control, there is something you can do if you’ve been waitlisted or deferred to give yourself another chance. A letter of continued interest, sometimes known as a waitlist letter or deferral letter, is one of the few, actionable things you can control when admissions decisions seem so out of your control. It’s your only chance to make a good second impression, and we help students write them every single year.
Getting waitlisted is the ultimate limbo – it’s not not a rejection, but it’s not a full-on denial, either. And depending on your circumstances, you could be feeling everything from mild disappointment to full-on panic. Don’t get yourself into a tizzy just yet, because there are things you can do to give yourself a shot at getting off the waitlist and make sure that you have a plan in place for the next year.
Hey, look, sometimes ED doesn’t work out the way we want it to, and we have to change strategies. If you just got rejected or deferred from your ED/EA option, we’d like to introduce you to our good friend, Early Decision 2. ED2 is just as binding as ED, and it signals to the school that you are serious about attending that school, and guess what? Schools like when you’re serious about them.
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.
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.
Students sometimes ask us whether or not they can submit different versions of the Common Application essay to different schools. As we’ve said before, the Common App is changeable. So yes, you can absolutely change the essay, submit it to a school, change it, and submit it again.
But why on earth would you do that?
If you’ve worked with us, are working with us, or have read any of our sample college essays, you should know by now that we are big fans of creative writing. But if you’re thinking about majoring or minoring in creative writing in college, there are a few things that you should know first. Creative writing programs are competitive and sometimes cutthroat. Small workshops are the foundation of a positive creative writing experience, but that also means fewer seats are available - sometimes as few as 6 for a high-level course.
For most students, picking a major is a process. Yes, you write about one in your application, but you have at least a semester or two, and normally until your sophomore year, to really decide what you want to focus on. Even then, it isn’t rare for a college student to change majors as they gain a better understanding of themselves and what they want in life. A pre-med student might end up in the English department, and an English student might wind up majoring in computer engineering. After all, most students pick a school based on its overall credentials, not because of one specific major. But if you are thinking about pursuing a pre-professional journalism program, this does not apply to you.
When writing the college essay, a lot of kids tell us they have Writer’s Block; they sit down to get started and after hours of trying, produce nothing. Don’t worry. You’re not a professional novelist (yet) and you probably don’t have Writer’s Block. You’re just a little stressed and don’t have an idea. So here are some steps you can take to come up with an essay idea:
We know that you’ve all been listening very carefully every time we’ve told you to hand in your application materials by the deadlines. So, we’re sure that this blog post doesn’t really pertain to you who managed your time well, sent in everything months ago and have just been relaxing with your feet up. But in case you’re wondering what our hypothetical advice to those racing against the clock, wondering if they should pay to have their test scores expedited would be, here it is:
Ah yes. The inevitable “should I change my essay” freak out. We know it well. Listen, the past year has been all about training yourself to have a ton of energy--energy for SATs, APs, college essays, sports (hopefully not too many) and homework. At this point, you’re basically the Energizer Bunny. So, in the final leg of the application marathon, it’s natural that you would want to direct that energy (or dare we say stress) towards the last part of the application left in your control. So, should you keep going and going and going on your essay?
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: you can write about almost anything for your college essay, in almost any format, as long as it fits the 250-650 word length requirements, but there are a few topics that we feel very strongly about avoiding. And by very strongly, we mean very strongly. This isn’t because we’re kill-joys or trying to dull your sparkle. It’s really in your best interest.
Scripps College is a small all-women’s liberal arts school in Claremont, CA. It’s a part of the Claremont Colleges, which include Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer. Like the West Coast equivalent of the Five and Tri-College Consortium. Scripps’ supplement has two parts—we’ve broken down how to approach it all. Read on:
The College of William & Mary is a public school in Williamsburg, Virginia with an enrollment of about 9,000 students. Located in the quaint, colonial Williambsurg (think carriage tours and folks dressed in 17th-century attire), William & Mary is the perfect school for someone looking for a rigorous academic environment coupled with a small-town vibe.
Oberlin College is a small liberal arts school located in Oberlin, Ohio. Though the town has a population of less than 10,000 and a student-body enrollment of 3,000, this school has a reputation as one of the most progressive, accepting, and creative colleges in the country. Alumni of Oberlin include Lena Dunham, Alison Bechdel (of the Bechdel Test), Ed Helms, and Liz Phair. That is some very hip company to keep.
Fall is the time in which the stress of the college application process typically starts to set in: The classic “I showed up to the first day of senior year without any of my stuff” nightmare, difficulty paying attention in class knowing an incomplete Common App still sits on your desk, dreading running into your parents’ friends, for fear they might ask you where you’re applying. We’ve been there. Stress can be pretty brutal. It can get in the way of your productivity during the application process, but a healthy dose of it can also be motivating. So, we’ve decided to highlight a few tips on how you can use a little bit of stress to your advantage without totally panicking.
Northwestern is a prestigious private school that has aspects of a big, midwestern state school. In addition to rigorous academics, an incredible location on the coast of Lake Michigan, Northwestern is also a part of the Big 10. Some would say Northwestern has it all: Division 1 sports, access to the bustling city life of Chicago (only 30 minutes away by train), and is located in Evanston, one of the most culturally diverse towns in the country.
It’s like having that nightmare: Your college applications are due today and you haven’t completed any of them. Except, it’s not a nightmare. It’s real life, it’s almost the deadline, and you don’t have a teacher recommendation yet. Here is a quick and easy guide to locking that recommendation:
Imagine you are a little kid again and your parents tell you that if you took out the trash every day for a week, you can get a new toy. You’re probably going to want to demonstrate your compliance by alerting them, somehow, to your success every time you complete the chore. Perhaps you have a chart with gold stars, or you walk them over to the newly-emptied trash can each day, or maybe you just yell across the house as the door slams behind you, “IT’S WEDNESDAY AND I’M TAKING OUT THE TRASH AGAIN.” What you don’t do is take out every piece of trash, put each one on your parents’ desk so they can see, put the trash back in the bag, and then take the bag outside.
It’s no surprise to us that University of Michigan is a very popular school amongst prospective students. Wolverines enjoy top-notch academics, a great college town, football, and a uniquely-balanced social life for such a high-ranking university. This past year, nearly 60,000 people applied for about 7,000 spots. That number might seem intimidating, but granted each kid we’ve ever helped with the Michigan application has gotten in, we are confident in our method:
Trinity College is a small, selective liberal arts school in Hartford, CT. With about 2,300 undergraduates enrolled, Trinity prides itself on being an “urban” liberal arts school. Their supplement is interesting and requires students to defend their opinions and perspectives on multiple issues. Here’s how we tackle it: