Tip of the Week - September 1, 2011

Keep a journal of memorable experiences. 
Write down how you feel in the moment and how you think each experience impacts has or will change your life. Flip back to past journal entries and add to them if you feel the experience made a significant impact on you. The entries do not need to be long, but can help you your senior year when you are trying to come up with ideas for your college essays. Most college essays have a topic that requires you to write about a person or experience that has had a major impact on your life. You may look back through your journal and find your essay has already been written! 
The most common question our Education Service Councilors receive this time of year is "Where and how do I start my college essay?!". If this is a question you have, it may be comforting to know that you are not alone; most high school seniors have trouble starting their college essay.
Here are 5 tips to help you start writing.
1. Don't start at the beginning.
Write any random potential anecdotes, details, or ideas as they come to you. You can work on connecting them later. It's possible (and highly likely) you will write the most effective sentences of your essay only after a great detail of free-writing. Feel free to use any format that works for you in the brainstorming stage - it can be bullet points, an outline, or just a word or two. Your goal is just to get as much down on paper as possible.
2. Ask a friend to interview you.
Find someone you know and trust to ask you several questions about your passions, experiences, hobbies, authors, TV shows, etc. This is much more effective than the broad (and scary!) question: "What do you want to do with your life?" After having this focused interview, your "interviewer" will be able to give you extended feedback on your interests, strengths, and weaknesses. This will be helpful in figuring out your essay topic.
3. Use writing prompts.
Filling in the blanks can help you overcome writer's block. Ex. "I like ____ because it makes me feel ____." "A global issue that excites me is _____ because ______." "I enjoy learning about ____ because ______."
4. Browse your first-choice college's website.
Since you're probably passionate about your first-choice school, looking over its website may help you figure out themes to discuss in your essay.
5. Make a list of your passions.
You'll notice the idea of passion comes up a few times here. That's because passion is necessary for engaging writing. If you don't enjoy what you're writing, the admissions officers probably won't either. On the other hand, if you're clearly excited about whatever it is you have to discuss, it's more likely the admissions officers will be, too.
REMINDER: The deadline to register for the October 1st SAT is Friday, September 9th. That is less than 2 weeks away!If you plan to take this test, register today to avoid late fees.