Author: Caroline Hertz

Three Unexpected Ways a Subject Tutor Can Be Useful

Academic subject tutors are much more than just homework helpers

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

Once the school year is humming along, it can be difficult to get a clear sense of how your child is doing, both emotionally and academically. Assignments and tests can come fast and furious, and extracurriculars can keep students busy (or too busy) outside of class. That’s why it’s doubly important to keep an eye out for signs that your student might benefit from an academic subject tutor.

Here are three ways that a subject tutor can be useful that you may not have considered::

  • Data Collection—Depending on what time of year it is, your student may have taken many or only a few tests and quizzes. But even a couple of assessments can provide essential data. Whether these results are used to undermine claims like “oh, History is my easy class,” or to support cries of “please, Math is so hard—I need help,” a subject tutor can help you make sense of your child’s various assessments.
  • Evaluation of Teacher/Student Relationships—Data, of course, isn’t everything. A subject tutor can also help you take a close look at how your child is interacting with individual teachers. If your child declares a dislike for a certain teacher, motivation may not come easily for tough assignments, and animosity can even impair learning. In critical subjects, it is important that every student has a voice that he or she can trust. One-on-one attention from a coach who has been carefully selected to match your child’s personality can go a long way in evening out the inconsistencies of the classroom learning experience.
  • Time/Schedule Management—Certain times of the year can be especially challenging for students. Mid-fall, in particular, can be a harrowing time—summer optimism has worn off, and extracurriculars and assignments have piled up. But fatigue can strike at any point of the year. An academic subject tutor can be a needed guide and cheerleader for students struggling under the weight of many time commitments.

Remember that academic subject tutors aren’t only useful for students who are struggling. For advanced students who don’t feel challenged by a particular class, a subject tutor can be a great resource for added insight and practice.

There’s no wrong time to employ the services of an academic subject tutor. If you need help with any of the issues mentioned above, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Legacy Admissions Tracker

In the post-race-conscious admissions landscape, one of the hottest topics is legacy admissions. Here, we track how colleges are considering legacy in the admissions process.

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

legacy admissions

In the post-race-conscious admissions landscape, one of the hottest topics is legacy admissions. Many argue that legacy admissions unfairly benefit affluent students, which, in turn, can thwart efforts to build diverse campuses. Others argue that to pull legacy admissions practices just when legacy pools start to become more diverse is counterproductive—and that colleges need legacy preference to maintain connections to (and donations from) alumni. Colleges across the country are reckoning with this very question right now.

Some have already taken action in eliminating legacy preference—loudly, like Wesleyan University, or without fanfare, like the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech, which simply updated their Common Data Sets to reflect that alumni/ae connection is “not considered.” Others are devising new ways to be inclusive of legacy relationships without including a formal “box”—for example, in 2023  the University of Virginia introduced a new essay question that allows students to write about their relationship with the institution, and they include language around relationships that might include being descended from laborers who worked there.

Below is a list of states and colleges that are popular with Private Prep students and that do NOT consider legacy in the admissions process.*

States

California — all public and private universities

Colorado — all public universities

Florida — all public universities

Georgia — all public universities

Maryland — all public and private universities

Virginia — all public universities

Individual Colleges

Amherst College

Baylor University

Binghamton University (SUNY)

Bryn Mawr College

Carleton

Carnegie Mellon University

Clark University

Cooper Union

Emerson College

Hunter College (CUNY)

Indiana University

MIT

Purdue University

Rutgers

University of Illinois — Urbana Champaign

University of Miami

University of Michigan — Ann Arbor

University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill

University of Pittsburgh

University of Connecticut

University of Texas — Austin

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin — Madison

Wesleyan University

*Information sourced from colleges’ Common Data Sets and/or institutional press releases.

It is important to note that, just because a school has stated that it does not officially consider legacy status, that does not necessarily mean that students can’t or shouldn’t write about a family connection to a school in a “why us?” essay. While legacy status may not give an official boost the way it once did at some schools, it can still be a compelling part of demonstrating interest and highlighting fit. Colleges still want to admit students who will come; legacy may be a part of that story for some students.

Need more personalized guidance on crafting your college application? Contact our college admissions team.

US vs. UK College Applications: A Breakdown for Students

Thinking of applying to college in the UK? Here's everything you need to know about the difference between applying to college in the US vs. the UK!

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

 

us vs. uk college applications

We are seeing more and more students interested in pursuing their undergraduate degree internationally—which is a great thing! There are so many outstanding higher education institutions outside the United States, many of which have even stronger international reputations than top US schools.

In many ways, international applications tend to be simpler—but those students who are interested in international universities should be informed about the different processes and plan ahead. Below, we highlight some of the key differences between the UK application process and the domestic one.

Topics covered:

  • Overall differences
  • Preparing for the application process
  • Timeline
  • Application review
  • Personal statement
  • Interviews
  • References

Overall Differences

Level of specialization

Generally speaking, UK university education is more specialized than American higher ed. Students apply directly to courses (what we call majors), and have far fewer general education requirements. While there are a growing number of more general programs, on the whole, UK university students have to commit to their academic path when they apply, as opposed to US schools, where students can usually wait until the end of sophomore year to declare a major.

Length of study

In the UK, a bachelor’s degree is 3 years; in the US, it is 4 years.

Collective vs. independent learning

At many UK institutions, there is a greater emphasis on independent student learning and research than on synchronous / instructor-facilitated learning.

Grading system

There are different marking criteria in the UK, which can be a huge adjustment for American students. At many institutions, a 65% is a very good grade; an 80-90% is publishing level.

Campus life

Campus life can be quite different at UK institutions, with more students living off-campus after the first year (Oxford and Cambridge, with their college systems, are notable exceptions).

Preparing for the Application Process

Here are our top tips for students preparing to apply to schools in the UK.

Major first.

In the US, many students identify colleges they like first, then consider their majors. When considering UK schools, you should choose your course first, THEN the university. The UCAS website (UCAS is the rough equivalent of the Common App in that it is a centralized application portal) is a great resource for this — put in your subject of interest first, then look at the differences between the degree programs.

Look at entry requirements!

The system is very transparent, even harsh. When they say minimum entry requirements, they do mean it. If the minimum entry requirement is a 32+ on the ACT and 4 AP scores of 5 or more, they won’t consider you if you have a 31 and won’t have AP scores.

Think carefully about your program list.

On the UCAS platform, students can apply to up to 5 programs. These can be different courses within a university, or different universities. You only have ONE application, which cannot be customized, so students should be applying to similar programs.

Because you may only apply to 5 schools, it is critical to have balance on your list, and ensure there are a couple for which you easily meet or exceed entry criteria.

Timeline

Here’s everything you need to know about a typical application and admissions timeline for UK schools

You can submit your application beginning in August, and submission deadlines will be either October 15 or January 15

  • The UCAS system opens in the spring, but students can’t start submitting until August. Applicants have until October 15 for Oxford or Cambridge (note the “or” here – students must choose and may not apply to both universities!). For everyone else, the deadline is January 15. Don’t leave it for the end! After that deadline, they’ll be marked as late, so while some may still read it, it’s unlikely to gain entry.

You might hear back soon — like, super soon

  • Students can start hearing back within a few weeks—for example, for any student interested in St. Andrews, we have seen them return decisions as early as October (for those who submitted at the very start of the school year).
  • UK schools try to get all decisions made by March 31.
  • Sometimes there’s an interview component that occurs before decisions come out — Oxford, for example, interviews just about everyone with academic potential.

Know the difference between conditional and unconditional acceptance

  • If admissible to all five UCAS choices, the UK system doesn’t allow students to keep all 5 options — they have to narrow down to 2, a firm choice and an insurance choice, which is a backup for if exams don’t go as well as expected. These are conditional offers upon receipt of final grades and exams, and then offers become unconditional.
  • If granted a conditional offer and a student does not ultimately meet the entry criteria, the student will no longer have their spot at that university. This is very different from the US, where final grades are more of a formality. For US applicants to the UK, conditional offers are most likely to fall through if students don’t get expected scores on their AP or IB exams.

Application Review

Here’s everything you need to know about how UK admissions will evaluate your application. Hint: it’s different from the US approach!

Focus on the future

UK application review is not holistic like so much of American application review. In the UK, they are very focused on predicted grades — they want to know where students are going to get their final year, and want to see their final set of AP or IB scores. It’s much more about what are they going to finish with, not what they’ve done.

Emphasize subject-specific curiosity

Because students are applying to specific courses, they are expected to demonstrate enthusiasm and passion for that subject. They should show focused intellectual curiosity.

Tests matter — a lot

In the UK, they don’t have the ability to look in depth at high school context, so they’re more rigid and more interested in the testing. This means that if a student attends a high school without APs and is interested in UK schools that require AP scores, there will not be any exceptions for them—students must make provisions to test on their own.

Extracurriculars schmextracurriculars

UK schools are not interested in a list of extracurriculars. As an admissions officer from Oxford shared, “We don’t care if you danced five hours a week.”

Personal Statement

Here’s everything you need to know about writing a stand-out UK personal statement, which, though it goes by the same name, is a very different essay than the US personal statement.

Three personal statement questions

The UK personal statement is broken down into responses to three questions. This format is designed to provide you with a starting point in your responses and help you to structure your personal statement in a way that ensures you include the specific information that universities and colleges need to see. Here are the three personal statement questions:

  • Why do you want to study this course or subject? Here, you’re invited to demonstrate your passion for the subject in question and establish that the course of study is a good fit for you and your future goals.
  • How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course or subject? This is your opportunity to shoutout your skills in the subject and explain how your previous education will help you shine in your chosen field of study.
  • What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful? Your response to this question is your chance to highlight any work or volunteer experiences, personal responsibilities, hobbies, or achievements outside of formal education or personal experiences that demonstrate that you are a great match for the course.

Each answer must contain a minimum of 350 characters, and there is a limit of 4000 characters across all three responses.

Evidence over emotional narrative

The personal statement is an opportunity to show the admissions committee interest in a particular course. They are not interested in formative experiences. It makes no difference if you have loved law since you were three or since last month: what have you done to pursue it?

The process of brainstorming and writing a UK personal statement allows students to discover if they truly love the subject. If you draw a blank, you’ve probably chosen the wrong course.

One statement for all programs

This statement can’t be customized to specific schools — so, don’t mention any schools by name!

Specificity above all

UK personal statements need to be very specific. Saying “I really love biochemistry” is not useful for UK committees. What aspects? What books, documentaries, podcasts does the student explore? They are looking more for super-curricular, rather than extracurricular, connections. 80-90% of the essay should be academic; 10-20% extracurricular is fine.

Professors will read your essay

Yes, professors read these in the UK! This puts an additional burden on students to really dive deep into their area of study. Academics are used to spotting made-up things! They have to truly believe that your interest in and commitment to the subject is sincere. Simply saying you read a book isn’t enough — what did you gain from it, in specificity? For many students, it is better to engage with fewer texts so they have something deeper to say.

Go for a more formal tone

Whereas in the US, admissions favors a more personal, informal tone, the UK application is more formal. There is still student voice, but UK admissions officers specifically advise applicant not to try to be quirky or to go for some kind of dramatic opening sentence. Moves like this can backfire and be off-putting.

Interviews

Many UK institutions do not use interviews. However, Oxford and Cambridge can’t make an offer without an interview. As with the rest of the process, these are highly academic in nature, and the interviews are with academics, not the admissions office. This is not a test of polished social skills—it’s an academic conversation. Can the student talk fluently about their subject? Can they have a back-and-forth conversation and come up with interesting ideas? UK professors want to see how the student thinks.

References

Your recommending teacher should be subject-specific

The UCAS system only takes one academic letter of reference, and they expect it to be as subject-specific as possible. For American applicants to UK schools, this may mean asking a different teacher than the one(s) writing your American letters of rec, depending on the course to which you are applying.

Keep your guidance counselor in the loop

If you are considering UK schools, make sure to speak with your school guidance counselor as early as possible to make sure they have the information they need about the differences in the process. Some US high schools have a great deal of experience with UK applications; others may have none. The burden will be on the student to share key information.

Our #1 tip for students considering UK schools — plan ahead and investigate early! As we noted above, entry criteria are firm. Students may have to plan ahead to ensure they will have the requisite coursework and potential scores to be eligible for admission. If and when they do, the UK process is actually far more transparent and easy to navigate than the holistic mess we have here—but it requires lots of planning well in advance!

Need more personalized guidance on brainstorming or crafting your application? Contact our college admissions team.

5 Best Academic Planners

Strategic, beautiful planners to help you get organized — and stay that way

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

A key factor in your success as a student is your ability to keep track of all of your responsibilities — from performances & games to homework, chores, and self-care. For a lot of students, the system that allows all of that to happen includes a planner, either as the principal tool or as a once-a-week strategy to get everything you need to do in one place so that you can visualize the days ahead. Regardless of how you decide to use the planner, here are our favorites for students:

Order Out of Chaos Planner

This planner lets students write their classes just once all year, clearly divides classes, and gives space to plan hour-by-hour. It also has room for notes and offers both a monthly and weekly view. For anyone who consistently finds themselves over-scheduled, this is the best planner to visualize your commitments and take note of when you have downtime and when you’ll have to eat as you travel from one activity to the next.

Check out this planner!

Clever Fox Planner

We like the undated weekly planner from Clever Fox. This planner gets points from executive functioning coaches and from students for being holistic without getting into too much detail. The weekly view asks users to identify their top 3 each day and offers a to-do list, habit tracking, and reflection without being overwhelming. It also includes space for a vision board as well as monthly views. We recommend this planner for students who can get lost in the details and lose track of the bigger picture.

Check out this planner!

Class Tracker

The college planner from Class Tracker is exceptional. The weekly view has space for tests/quizzes, assignments, reminders, a daily plan, and a self-care corner. The high school planner offers a separate space for activities & the middle school planner encourages breaking out subjects separately.  If your biggest challenge is balancing short-term & long-term assignments without forgetting about your activities, this planner offers a great solution for whichever level of school you’re in now.

Check out this planner!

Global Date Books

This planner is our Amazon pick. It’s nothing fancy and might resemble a planner you’ve gotten from school in the past, but it’s a step up because it includes monthly and weekly views, each with space for goals and reminders. You can pick your preferred size, and there’s also an elementary version for younger kids. If your planner is more of a homework book than anything else, this one’s for you.

Check out this planner!

Tiny Calendar

If you use a digital planner like i-Cal or Google Calendar, first we’d say that a digital calendar can’t entirely replace something that you actually write on. Then, we’d highly recommend that you use a companion app that has features like natural language input (i.e., “study history 20 minutes every day for the next 4 days”) and superior view options for your phone. For an app that works on all Mac and Android devices, we like Tiny Calendar.

Looking to get organized once and for all this school year? Our executive functioning coaches are always available to offer personalized expert guidance. Contact us or reach out to your Director of Client Services to set up a strategy session.

4 Exercises to Discover Your True North in High School

How to tune out the noise and tune into what really matters to you

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

discover priorities high school

 

High school brings with it competing demands for your attention in the form of club choices, academic goals, sports, volunteerism, friendships, and more, depending on your interests. When you feel pulled in so many directions, having clarity about what matters most to you will make the otherwise impossible task of prioritizing entirely achievable. That’s why we’ve rounded up our top four exercises to help you find your true north — to discover your priorities and personal values. Try one or do all four to create a personalized guide to being true to yourself as you navigate high school.

The Values Exercise

This exercise from our College Admissions experts is best approached without overthinking. From our list of over 100 values, you’ll identify your top 3. Come back to the list regularly for a gut check and to take note as your sensibilities evolve with everything you’ll learn over the next few years.

Try the Values Exercise ⇒

The Motivation Statement

Many students end up struggling to work toward goals that feel disconnected from their deeper motivators. If you want a particular GPA or are pushing yourself to excel at a specific extracurricular activity, it’s worth taking a moment to ask yourself why that’s important to you. When the time comes to push through challenges on the way to achieving your goals, you’ll draw energy from knowing exactly how your short-term goals are putting you on a path to reaching your dreams.  On the flip side, there is an opportunity to reframe undue stress related to goals that you can’t connect to your motivation statement.

Try the Motivation Statement ⇒

The Affirmation Exercise

One way to resist the urge to compare yourself to others during high school is to consistently remind yourself of your strengths. To do that, we love a personal affirmation statement. This exercise was designed to help students overcome nerves around big tests, but you can easily modify it for life in general or specific situations. Once you have an affirmation, say it often and say it out loud to keep your confidence up as you make your way through new challenges.

Try the Affirmation Exercise ⇒

The Life Path Quiz

Career Explorer is a fun and free way to learn about possibilities for your future and unique traits that might not otherwise occur to you. After answering questions about what you would like or hate to do, you’ll get a wealth of information: a list of standout characteristics, possible careers, ideas for learning pathways and degrees, a trait report, and a personality report. No, it’s not definitive, and yes, you might take issue with some of the suggestions, but it’s empowering to think of all of the ways you can make your way in the world.

Try Career Explorer’s quiz ⇒

As a bonus activity, take all of your findings from the above exercises, and make a vision board of You. In the end, remember that education is the pursuit of your greatest potential, and you are exactly the right person to know what that means. Looking for extra guidance on how to apply your personal values and priorities in crafting a class schedule, a college list, an overall high school strategy, and more? Contact us or reach out to your Director of Client Services to set up a free consultation.

How to Formalize Your Child’s Accommodations

Plus, why it's critical for your child's accommodations to be officially documented — before they get into the weeds of college admissions tests.

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

 

formalize accommodations

Though 9th grade is a little early to start thinking about college entrance exams, high school graduation requirements, or possible learning supports in college, it’s not too early to put everything in place so that each of those tasks goes as smoothly as possible. For students who have diagnosed learning disabilities or other diverse learning needs, a few thoughtful steps now can save headaches down the line. Because high school marks the start of an academic career that directly impacts the rest of a student’s life, it’s essential to make sure that any accommodations your child needs are formalized and documented.

Why formalize accommodations?

Many students receive informal supports from grade school teachers without any formal documentation — but some testing organizations (The College Board and the ACT, for example) and many colleges will require some level of documentation and/or formal history to offer similar accommodations.

How do I formalize my child’s accommodations?

The formalization process can vary depending on whether your child is in public or private school, their specific diagnosis, and the extent of the accommodations. Below are a few steps to consider:

1. Evaluation

If your child has a diagnosis, you’ll want to have an up-to-date evaluation when you apply for their accommodations on standardized tests, for outside programs, or for college. Typically, any evaluation more than 3 years old is not considered by any of those organizations.

2. Get it in writing

A diagnosis in and of itself is not always sufficient, nor is it always necessary for a successful accommodations application outside of your child’s school. If there are accommodations that your child has been getting informally, coordinate with their counselor to begin the process of having those accommodations formalized. In a public school, that might look like a 504 or an IEP, whereas a private school might offer a 504 or a learning plan.

3. Is anything missing?

We meet a lot of students who find the work and content manageable through middle school, but become overwhelmed in high school. Knowing how common that is, we recommend taking a moment to reflect on accommodations that your child hasn’t had up until now, but which you believe could benefit them. You have plenty of time to have those written into the formal documents we mentioned in the above step.

If all of this feels daunting, remember that you’re not alone. Our executive functioning coaches are always available to offer personalized expert guidance. Contact us or reach out to your director of client services to set up a consultation.

Control the Controllables

Ace your grades, ease your mind: empowering strategies to tame anxiety and turbocharge your academic success

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

There’s a big test coming up, and you’re super nervous about it — or maybe you have a presentation that’s giving you butterflies. What if the test focuses on the ideas that you found most confusing? What if someone has a cold and can’t stop coughing, so you can’t focus? What if someone in your audience laughs? To overcome all of these challenges and get your best results, focus on what’s within your control.

When we focus on what we can control, we develop agency and use our energy to affect change and influence outcomes. Having a sense of agency has been shown to have a strong correlation with virtually all measures of success. Here are some concrete steps you can take to control the controllables in your life:

1. Make a list

Make a list of both the factors you can control and the factors you cannot control that might come into play during the lead-up to whatever you’re preparing for. If you find that you’re stressing about something in the “can’t control” column, the simple recognition that the factor is beyond your control can help you move on. Identifying what you can control will clarify the most important steps you can take to prepare.

2. Do a “premortem”

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin advocates for conducting a “premortem” by considering the worst-case scenario and thinking through our response. This exercise forces you to shift your focus away from worrying or catastrophizing and towards your ability to act. In the case of someone laughing during your presentation, for example, you might decide ahead of time that you’ll make eye contact with a focused audience member, take a deep breath, and continue.

3. Cultivate a growth mindset

When you believe that your success depends on time and effort, you will tend to look for actions you can take to learn and grow. To that end, developing a growth mindset leads to a better sense of what you can specifically control. Begin by asking yourself questions like “What can I learn from this?” or try some family activities specifically designed to help establish a growth mindset.

The path to academic success is not just about acing exams or getting straight A’s. It’s about embracing your journey and conquering the challenges that come your way. By shifting your focus to what you can control – your mindset, study habits, time management, and more – you hold the power to overcome unproductive anxiety and unlock your true potential. You have everything you need to succeed! And if you ever need extra guidance, our executive functioning coaches are here! Contact us or reach out to your director to set up a consultation.

How to Write the “Differing Opinions” Essay

Conflict! What is it good for?

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

differing opinions essay

At some point over the course of your time at college, it is basically inevitable that you will have your most fiercely-held beliefs challenged. (Unless you go to a college where everyone thinks exactly like you — but who wants that?!) Colleges want to know: how will you respond? Will you start blood feuds with people who disagree with you? Or will you meet those moments with grace, welcoming conflict as an (occasionally painful) opportunity for growth?

To answer this question, a growing number of colleges are including what we’re calling the “differing opinions” essay on their supplements. The prompts sound something like this:

At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future? (50-250 words)

Vanderbilt University values learning through contrasting points of view. We understand that our differences, and our respect for alternative views and voices, are our greatest source of strength. Please reflect on conversations you’ve had with people who have expressed viewpoints different from your own. How did these conversations/experiences influence you? (250 words)

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words) 

There are slight variations in these prompts — for example, some specifically ask about a tough conversation, while others ask more broadly about experiences — but the gist is the same. They are all asking you to think about how you communicate with those who have different viewpoints from you. They all ask you to reflect on a moment in which your beliefs were challenged by someone else and discuss what you learned from that interaction. As you begin crafting your “differing opinions” essay, use the “dos” and “don’ts” below to guide you.

DON’T

Limit yourself to conversations in which you were obviously in the right.

In fact, it can be especially powerful to write about a conversation or experience that caused you to seriously reconsider the beliefs you once considered irrefutable.

Make things too tidy.

It can be tempting to end your narrative with total agreement or resolution. Ex., “My mom once thought all gay people were just going through a phase, but I gave her a stern talking-to, and now she’s an enthusiastic ally!” Resist the urge to tie a neat bow on your essay! More often than not, disagreements about deeply-held beliefs don’t end so tidily, and acknowledging the ongoing messiness of the interaction can demonstrate a lot of maturity and nuance.

Get didactic.

The point of this essay is not to convince your reader to adopt your viewpoint. Don’t hold forth or lecture your reader about your beliefs — the essay should be less about the beliefs themselves and more about how challenges to those beliefs have influenced you

DO

Cast a wide net.

If you’ve had formative arguments with your friends, family members, or classmates about hot-button issues like mental illness, race, or gender identity, then those conversations can obviously serve as the basis for an essay like this. But they aren’t your only options! Profound reflection can originate from less “serious” subject matter. We’ve seen successful essays written about clashes over food preferences, clothing choices, and group chat etiquette. As long as the takeaway goes deep, the idea could work.

Consider how encountering or acknowledging an opposing point of view has helped you grow.

Discuss how you grew in maturity, in compassion, or in some other way. Remember that this is, ultimately, an essay about you. Even if the prompt necessitates that you allocate space in your essay toward describing another person’s perspective, it’s always a good idea to continue bringing the essay back to your development.

Maintain compassion and respect.

Even if you’re describing an encounter with true bigotry, NEVER bash the person you’re writing about. You will always come off best if you maintain respect and kindness for people with whom you disagree, especially if that disagreement is heated. This might mean that there are certain topics that are simply off-limits for you because they’re too fresh; if you can’t write about that argument with  your dad without your rage pouring onto the paper, then maybe it’s just too soon. Try to pick a topic that you can write about clearly and reflectively.

Consider writing a dual purpose essay.

Sometimes, a “differing opinions” essay can also work as a community essay. Can you think of any conflicts that have arisen within your communities that have been critical in cultivating your personal growth or enriching your perspective? If so, you might be able to write an essay that can work for both community AND differing opinions prompts.

Check out our full College Essay Hub for tons of resources and guidance on writing your college essays. Need more personalized guidance on brainstorming or crafting your supplemental essays? Contact our college admissions team.

How to Write the “Diversity” Essay

Our favorite approaches to tackling DEIB-focused essays

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

 

The diversity of a student body—socioeconomic, cultural, racial, gender intellectual, etc.—can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a college experience. When one teenager who grew up on a goat farm in rural Vermont meets the child of diplomats from Singapore and a kid from San Diego who surfs competitively, those young people will change how one another sees the world. As such, more and more, colleges have begun including supplemental essay questions that ask students to describe how they value diversity and/or how they might contribute to the diversity of a college campus. Those questions might sound something like this:

At the University of Colorado Boulder, no two Buffs are alike. We value difference and support equity and inclusion of all students and their many intersecting identities. Pick one of your unique identities and describe its significance. (250 words)

On Colgate’s campus, students engage with individuals from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, and perspectives during the course of their educational and social experiences. In 200-250 words, please share the benefits you see in engaging with a diverse body of students, faculty, and staff as part of your Colgate experience.

The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech’s community? (250-400 words)

NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience. We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. (250 words)

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community. The Residential College System is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspectives would you contribute to life at Rice? (500 words)

In answering these kinds of essay prompts, we encourage you to think expansively about the word “diversity.” Simply ask yourself: what perspective or life experience do I have that others might not have?

Tip 1: Try the community approach

Lots of students find success in writing the diversity essay by essentially writing a community essay with diversity flavor. Birds, meet stone! For example, if you write a community essay about making perogies with your Polish-American family or growing up playing in the kids’ room at your neighborhood’s Islamic Cultural Center, those are both also effective demonstrations of how you might contribute to the diversity of your campus community. And if you write a community essay about joining your local 4-H Club and having your worldview expanded by meeting people from all walks of life there, that could be an effective demonstration of why and how you value diversity.

If you’re interested in trying this approach, check out our brainstorming questions for community, diversity, and identity, as well as our guide on the community essay.

Tip 2: Try the identity/perspective approach

If you can’t think of any communities to which you belong that would support an essay with a diversity takeaway, no sweat! There are plenty of other approaches to the diversity essay. One of the most common strategies for the diversity essay is to write about an identity or a perspective that is not yet covered in your application.

Put your phone on Do Not Disturb, set a timer for 5 minutes, and quickly list out all of the ways in which you identify. And again: think expansively! “Man,” “bisexual,” “white,” and “Christian” belong on the list, but so might “feminist,” “artist,” “Ping pong champ,” “ballroom dance lover,” or “peacemaker.” Don’t judge the identities for their usefulness while you’re writing — just write. (If you’re looking for a more structured approach to this exercise, you might try our Identity Wheel.)

When you’re done, look over your list. Is one of the identities that you jotted down particularly important to you? Does one of them feel particularly unique to you? Are there identities that you haven’t addressed so far in your application? Is there an identity that perhaps you’ve found challenging to reconcile or that has been a source of conflict or stress? Any identity that you’ve written down that suits one of these questions could make for a rich and fruitful diversity essay that shows admissions officers one aspect of the unique perspective that you would bring to campus.

Tip 3: Touch on how diversity shapes your outlook

Remember: colleges ask this question because they genuinely value diversity, and they believe that education is incomparably enriched if students learn alongside those whose perspectives differ from their own. Colleges want to know that your values align with theirs—that you, too, believe in the worth of diversity. In order to effectively communicate that you value diversity, you’ll need to go one step further than simply describing how you’ve encountered diversity in your life so far—you’ll need to explain how your experiences with diverse groups have shaped your outlook.

For example, let’s say you want to write about a self-defense class for women that you took at the YMCA. It isn’t quite enough just to describe all of the different types of women who showed up and state your amazement at their wide range of backgrounds. You would also need to talk about what that class taught you about the value of diversity, or how it helped you become a more thoughtful listener, a more compassionate collaborator, or a stronger advocate for people on the margins of society.

Check out our full College Essay Hub for tons of resources and guidance on writing your college essays. Need more personalized guidance on brainstorming or crafting your supplemental essays? Contact our college admissions team.

How to Write the “Community” Essay

A step-by-step guide to this popular supplemental prompt

Posted on by Caroline Hertz

Student writing the community essay

When college admissions officers admit a new group of freshmen, they aren’t just filling up classrooms — they’re also crafting (you guessed it) a campus community. College students don’t just sit quietly in class, retreat to their rooms to crank out homework, go to sleep, rinse, and repeat. They socialize! They join clubs! They organize student protests! They hold cultural events! They become RAs and audition for a cappella groups and get on-campus jobs! Colleges want to cultivate a thriving, vibrant, uplifting campus community that enriches students’ learning — and for that reason, they’re understandably curious about what kind of community member they’ll be getting when they invite you to campus as part of their incoming class.

The “community” supplemental essay prompt

Enter the “community” essay — an increasingly popular supplemental essay prompt that asks students to talk about a community to which they belong and how they have contributed to or benefited from that community. Community essays often sound something like this:

University of Michigan: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (250 words)

Pomona College: Reflecting on a community that you are part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?  (250 words)

University of Rochester: Spiders are essential to the ecosystem. How are you essential to your community or will you be essential in your university community? (350-650 words)

Swarthmore: Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community? (250 words)

Yale: Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like. (400 words)

Step 1: Pick a community to write about

Breathe. You belong to LOTS of communities. And if none immediately come to mind, it’s only because you need to bust open your idea of what constitutes a “community”!

Among other things, communities can be joined by…

  • LOCATION
    • West Coasters
    • NYC’s Koreatown
    • Rural Iowa
    • Everyone in my cabin at summer camp
  • ACTIVITY
    • Swim team
    • ACLU volunteers
    • Cast of a school musical
  • INTEREST
    • Puzzle-lovers
    • Math club
    • Powerlifters
  • IDENTITY OR CIRCUMSTANCE
    • Army brats who live together on a military base
    • Family
    • Iranian-American
    • Queer-identifying
    • Children of pastors

Take 15 minutes to write down a list of ALL the communities you belong to that you can think of. While you’re writing, don’t worry about judging which ones will be useful for an essay. Just write down every community that comes to mind — even if some of them feel like a stretch.

When you’re done, survey your list of communities. Do one, two, or three communities jump out as options that could enable you to write about yourself and your community engagement? Carry your top choices of community into Step 2.

Step 2: Generate content

For each of your top communities, answer any of the following questions that apply:

  • Is there a memorable story I can tell about my engagement with this community?
  • What concrete impacts have I had on this community?
  • What problems have I solved (or attempted to solve) in this community?
  • What have I learned from this community?
  • How has this community supported me or enriched my life up to this point?
  • How have I applied the lessons or values I gleaned from this community more broadly?

Different questions will be relevant for different community prompts. For example, if you’re working on answering Yale’s prompt, you’ll want to focus on a community on which you’ve had a concrete impact. But if you’re trying to crack Swarthmore’s community essay, you can prioritize communities that have impacted YOU. Keep in mind though — even for a prompt like Yale’s, which focuses on tangible impact, it’s important that your community essay doesn’t read like a rattled-off list of achievements in your community. Your goal here is to show that you are a generous, thoughtful, grateful, and active community member who uplifts the people around you — not to detail a list of the competitions that Math club has won under your leadership.

BONUS: Connect your past community life to your future on-campus community life

Some community essay prompts ask you — or give you the option — to talk about how you plan on engaging with community on a particular college campus. If you’re tackling one of those prompts (like Pomona’s), then you guessed it: it’s research time!

Often, for these kinds of community prompts, it will serve you to first write about a community that you’ve engaged with in the past and then write about how you plan to continue engaging with that same kind of community at college. For example, if you wrote about throwing a Lunar New Year party with international students at your high school, you might write about how excited you are to join the International Students Alliance at your new college or contribute to the cross-cultural student magazine. Or, if you wrote about playing in your high school band, you might write about how you can’t wait to audition for your new college’s chamber orchestra or accompany the improv team for their improvised musicals. The point is to give your admissions officer an idea of what on-campus communities you might be interested in joining if you were to attend their particular school.

Check out our full College Essay Hub for tons of resources and guidance on writing your college essays. Need more personalized guidance on brainstorming or crafting your supplemental essays? Contact our college admissions team.