Caroline Koppelman

How to Write the Scripps College Supplement

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 Consortium. Scripps’ supplement has two parts—we’ve broken down how to approach it all. Read on:

How to Write the College of William & Mary Supplement

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.

How To Write the Oberlin College Supplement 2017

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.  

How to Balance and Maintain a Healthy Stress Level During the College Process

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 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.

How to Write the Northwestern Supplement

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.

How Much Testing Information Is Too Much Testing Info.?

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.

How to get into the University of Michigan

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:

To Play or Not to Play: Will Sports Get Me Into College?

Let us begin with a story.

One of our writers has an older sister who was captain of the high school basketball team. Her sister was a natural power forward with nimble feet.  Our writer was, well, better-suited for writing. As she entered high school, she thought being on the team with her sister looked like a lot of fun, so even though she had no idea what a layup was until the first practice, she joined. She subsequently developed the nickname “Bench” because that’s where she sat for most of the season.

How to Write the Colorado College Supplement

Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, CO. The undergraduate population is comprised of about 2,100 students. One of the most unique things about Colorado College is the Block scheduling system. Instead of the typical college schedule where you take 3-5 courses per semester or quarter, you take 1 class at a time. You attend class every day M-F from 9am-12pm for 3.5 weeks. Students then have a long weekend and begin a new class the next Monday. This repeats 4x per semester, and there are two semesters per year. We break down their supplement below:

How to Manage Time During the College Application Process

For many a college-aspirer, the application process can seem like an impassable mountain of paperwork. In the face of juggling both college essays and schoolwork the urge to hide under the covers can be real. Sorry, but that digital stack of to-dos isn’t going anywhere. Fear not, though, applicants, there is an end in sight and just on the other side of it is a beautiful college welcome week waiting to greet you.

How To Write the Best Conclusion for a College Application Essay and Supplement

Conclusions. Whether it’s the end of a movie, the end of a music video, or the end of your genius and spectacular college essay, they’re pretty important. Imagine cutting the last five minutes out of your favorite movie. Not the credits, but the last five minutes of the actual movie. You’d lose action, resolution, and so much more. We’ve said a lot about in your essays and supplements, but here we’re going to talk about one of the most important pieces of the written components of your applications. You guessed it, the conclusions.

What Should I Write About For The Optional Harvard supplement?

Harvard is fancy. If you didn’t know that already...well, that’s mildly (read deeply) concerning. Their admissions rate is one of the lowest in the world at just above 5% and they are notoriously finicky. If you want to get into Harvard, you have to be at the very very top in everything you do. You should have top grades, top scores, be a leader in your school and in your broader community, and (and this is where most people trip up) you need to have something interesting to say about all of that. You can’t be a damp rag when it comes to talking about yourself and sharing your work because the admissions officials are looking for just about any reason to toss an application.