Best in Class Essays

01/14/2024

Congratulations to all the applicants who've recently gotten some great news! If you're among the very talented and deserving students who've been deferred, keep your hopes up; it's an affirmation to remain under consideration.

09/06/2021

OUTLINES ARE ESSENTIAL!

Outlines are just as important for application essays as they are for school essays. They help you focus on the points you're making or story you're telling, clarify what components go where and provide assurance that you're saying what you think you're saying.

If you're the type who always has more than you can fit in, it's perfectly fine to let loose with all your ideas, then make an outline of what you just wrote. At that point, you'll be able to consider the outline rather than the word-storm.

07/30/2021

ANY TIME ZONE!

The 2020-2021 application season confirmed that coaching from a distance is as effective as coaching side by side. Applicants from any time zone can be accommodated. Let's get started on a great essay.

05/09/2021

I LOVED THIS ESSAY!

The young man who wrote this had a profound understanding of how clichéd essay structures--including narratives of triumph over adversity--can themselves be oppressive. When it's your turn to write an essay, tell the story that is meaningful to you.

Yes, I’m a student from the “hood.” But we have more to offer than our adversity.

02/24/2021

Congratulations to Kate Hawthorne on having her choice of seven Global Health/Public Health programs: Brown, Columbia, Duke, Case Western, George Washington, NYU and University College London!

01/20/2021

Time's up, SAT subject tests!

12/12/2020

Congratulations to Eliza Hawthorne, one of my Chappaqua clients, on her admission to Carleton. Great work, Eliza!

12/10/2020

Congratulations to Zara Anwar, early admit to Lehigh University!

09/14/2020

TODAY'S TIP: "I LOVE WHAT YOU'RE NOT" CAN BE A WEAK COMPLIMENT.

When a college asks,"Why us?", answering "because you're not in a big city," for example, isn't exactly flattering since that's just as true for hundreds of other schools. Do some research and address a virtue of the college that's much closer to being unique.

07/29/2020

THE 2020-2021 ADMISSIONS CYCLE WILL BE ESPECIALLY CHALLENGING.

Read about why at:

Melissa Mizel, Best in Class Essays The 2020-2021 college admissions cycle is on track to be the most challenging anyone has seen, and here are the reasons why: Fewer Spots Parents, when you think of “going to college,” do you envision the family basement? How about closed dining halls? No parti...