Dream School College Counseling

🎓✨ Tip Tuesday: Don’t “finish” your college essay. Build it.

One of the biggest mistakes students make over the summer is trying to force a perfect final draft too early.

Instead, focus on *building raw material*:

* Write messy drafts without editing too soon
* Capture real stories from your summer as they happen
* Reflect on moments that actually changed your thinking (even small ones)

Strong essays aren’t written in one sitting. They’re collected over time.

By the time application season hits, the students with the best essays aren’t the ones who started the earliest… they’re the ones who started noticing earlier. 💙

I recently had the chance to visit Gettysburg College and enjoy a tour with other college counselors.

It was a gray, rainy day, and yet that did not diminish the charm of this gem of a school. Gettysburg is one of the nation's most historic liberal arts colleges, combining rigorous academics with a campus deeply connected to American history. Located adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania, the College offers students a distinctive blend of classroom learning, leadership development, research opportunities, and experiential education.

From its beautiful campus to its strong sense of community, Gettysburg offers a college experience that is both intellectually challenging and deeply personal.

Thinking this school might be a good fit? Read my full college profile to learn more about academics, campus life, admissions, and what makes Gettysburg stand out, here: https://www.dreamschoolcc.com/post/college-profile-gettysburg-college

🎓 Tip Tuesday: Use the "Why This Matters" Test

One of the biggest mistakes students make in college essays is stopping at the story. Playing a sport, volunteering, getting a good grade, traveling abroad, those experiences alone don't make an essay memorable.

What admissions officers really want to know is: **Why did that experience matter to you?**

The next time you're writing an essay or activity description, ask yourself:

👉 Could another student write this exact sentence?

If the answer is yes, keep digging.

The strongest applications don't just tell colleges what you did. They reveal how you think, what you value, and how you've grown.

That's where the magic happens.

Sometimes going on college tours means spending a day in the rain, wearing my sea bands to avoid car sickness on the buses, and dragging my suitcase down soggy hotel steps.

But I love every second of it!

Students won’t have sunny days every day on campus and I like to report all the amazing attributes of a college despite bad weather!

Rain or shine, every campus has a story to tell. And I’m always excited to discover it!

On a recent rainy day, I had the chance to take a counselor tour of Dickinson College.

I fell in love with this gem of a school that offers terrific programs for its students. For more than 240 years, Dickinson College has prepared students to become engaged global citizens. Located in the historic and adorable town of Carlisle, Dickinson combines the close-knit feel of a liberal arts college with a strong commitment to global education, sustainability, and experiential learning.

Learn more about this school offering the intimacy of a small liberal arts college with opportunities often associated with larger universities in my most recent college profile, here: https://www.dreamschoolcc.com/post/college-profile-dickinson-college