Carolina College Bound
The intimidating college essay: It’s all about the brainstorming
Carolina College Bound file photo Families are often surprised when I tell them that brainstorming essay topics is typically more difficult than writing the actual essay. Writing the essay can…
Read moreUNC Chapel Hill has released this year’s essay prompts
Photo courtesy of UNC Chapel Hill If you’re a rising senior and you ask any of your soon-to-be-college-freshmen friends for one piece of advice about college applications, I know what…
Read moreThe December affliction of Reluctant Writer Syndrome
LEE SHULMAN BIERER An Adrian College student studies in her dorm in Adrian, Mich. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Reluctant Writer Syndrome, like the flu, hits every year around this time. Most…
Read more10 top tips on the fine art of essay editing
LEE SHULMAN BIERER thumbnail”> “Once and done” doesn’t cut it with the college essay. Essays need to marinate and be reviewed, revised and edited again. Word or character length of…
Read moreHow to answer the “Why this college?” essay question
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by UNC Asheville Why is the “Why this college?” essay so important? Colleges care why students put their college on their list, and many colleges incorporate…
Read moreCarolina colleges’ essay prompts are out
LEE SHULMAN BIERER The essay spigot has officially been turned “ON.” What was a trickle a month or so ago has recently turned into a flood of college essay prompts…
Read moreEssay brainstorming 101: Getting started
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Robert Kinlaw, collegetownnc.com Summer is a great time to ponder deep thoughts, and right about now, rising seniors should be pondering their college essays. The…
Read more10 tips for writing a killer college essay
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Robert Kinlaw, collegetownnc.com It’s easy to identify essays that don’t work; ones that are unoriginal with cliché topics, ones that are boring and brag, or…
Read moreColleges — including UNC — start to release essay prompts
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Robert Kinlaw, collegetownnc.com It’s mid-summer, and for all those soon-to-be-seniors who are committed to not being procrastinators with their college applications, I have some good…
Read more“New and Improved” Common Application prompts for 2017-2018 just released
Calling all juniors, high school class of 2018 and college graduates of 2022 – the college admissions process has officially begun. The Common Application, accepted by nearly 700 colleges across…
Read more