OMG COLLEGE APPS? START HERE

NOTE: Coaching sessions referenced in this video are only available to students who purchase the full package from ESSAY CURE’s website. Stay tuned for updates on weekend-scheduled group coaching events via Zoom for self-study students who are “founding subscribers” on Substack.

“Where your fear is, there is your task.” — Carl Jung

Welcome! I want to give you an overview of all the work that you need to get done. The Common App is refreshed, so you should be able to log into your account and access all the updates for this application year. This is what I want you to be working on if you haven't already finished. As you can see here, this is my account. It's a practice account, but it should look somewhat like yours so that I can come in here and show you what it is that you need to do.

You also have a Google folder where you and I are working on documents together, your parents probably have access to this folder as well.

Inside this Google folder, there's a student activity sheet. I need you to complete this for many reasons. We're going to use the information from this sheet to include in your requests for letters of recommendation, in helping you to fill out the activity section of the Common App, and in helping me to see where you've spent your time, which could lead to interesting and unique college application essays. At the end of this process, this sheet is going to become the basis of your resume. And then you can just keep updating that in college and beyond so that you have a current resume.

It's important to double-check the organization's names. For example, Key Club is technically Key Club International, so use the correct words.

If you anticipate participating in an activity your senior year, go ahead and list it.

Also in this folder is the tracker that we're using with the list of schools that you're applying to. This one is blank, but yours should be starting to fill out by now. And I've put a lot of data in here to help you see how you measure up to last year's freshmen. So if the list of schools that you're considering applying to still feels fluid or lofty Now. Is. The. Time. Pour your energy into researching schools that are going to be a good fit for you.

Notice my word choice here.

I'm not asking you to build “a lofty list of prestigious schools that you dream about” (although I'm fine with one or two of those being on your list!)

I'm asking you for a list of schools that would be a good fit for you after taking in all the considerations of your standardized test scores, your grades, your leadership activities, your academic interests, and your ability to pay. What are your reasons for going to college? What do you want to study? Your list should reflect the highly individualized and personalized answers to these questions.

This list isn't written in stone, and it may be modified as the process unfolds, but unless you have a strategy and a plan with this list, we can't even begin to start on your essays.

Remember, this is not the list of schools that you will pick where you go to college from. There's this whole “Sorting Hat” process that happens after you apply over which you have no control. You must build a list that's unique to you so that you will benefit from your efforts. It can't be your best friend's list. It can't be the list of all the schools that would impress your parents or people in your high school if you got into. It needs to be a list that's a good fit for you to achieve your academic goals.

I need you to be thinking in this direction as we embark on this journey together, okay?