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Health & Fitness

College Application Essays - Avoid the Stress

“We make plans and the Universe laughs at us.”
Your teen takes all the “right” classes, gets all the “right” grades, does all the “right” extra-curricular activities, and even donates his kidney to save a life. What happens next? He doesn’t get into his top three choices and is wait-listed by another four of his top picks.

Meanwhile, his buddy, the one who in the sixth grade set his sister on fire, managed decent grades in high school, wasn’t involved in half the activities your son was in and the only thing this kid ever donated was DNA for a police investigation gets into YALE, HARVARD, PRINCETON and OXFORD.  

Colleges are looking at all sorts of statistics in order to have a diverse yet balanced student body. There are so many variables out of your control, you can map out and execute the “perfect” strategy and still be left shrugging your shoulders in disbelief.  

Don’t be depressed:
1-  It’s not the college….it’s what you make of it. I know MANY students who ended up at their third or fourth choice and LOVED it. I also know MANY students who got into their first choice only to transfer out because it wasn’t what they thought it would be.  

This is where the essays come in:
Let’s assume that your teen’s transcript looks identical to all of the other transcripts being viewed by a particular college. (For example: Yale received 28,870 applications this year). On paper, your student and the other 28,869 students took twelve AP classes, have 4.0GPA, were Valedictorians, cured Cancer, and won Olympic Gold.  

The ONLY tool to make your son or daughter stand out is the essay process.
This is where your teenager becomes a three-dimensional human being so the college call assess on some level how well your child will fit into the school community and culture…..not as an academic…not as an athlete… as a person. What makes your son laugh? What is your daughter passionate about? (Other than science, math, engineering and playing first violin in the school orchestra). How will your son or daughter contribute to the school community? Does she play Frisbee? Does he cook? (I can hear the parents now signing up their tenth grade sons for baking lessons). Stop. Your teenager IS unique. I don’t mean to sound like Oprah but each of us is unique and special. The essays are your opportunity to express that uniqueness.  

Stop thinking so hard:
You need not be abducted by Aliens to be unique. It’s right there in front of you. What makes your son or daughter a well-rounded, likable, lovable teen?  

MUCH MORE SPECIFICS TO COME IN FUTURE ARTICLES….
I’m late now for my baking lessons….  

I will be presenting a FREE workshop on the Top Five Mistakes Students Make on their College Application Essays at each of the following libraries. (Pre-registration is strongly advised. Please call the library if you wish to attend) I am also available to speak at PTA meetings, JCC, etc....
Sept 26 - Avon Public Library 
Oct 6 –  National College Fair (Nassau Coliseum) 
Oct 9 –   My 55th BD….I’ll be under the bed, curled in the fetal position, crying.

Randy Levin is the ONLY college application essay expert asked to speak at the National College Fair- Nassau Coliseum – Oct 6th 2013. The vast majority of Randy’s clients are accepted to the Ivy League or other prestigious colleges. He has a MA in English and a MFA in Creative Writing. He is a published writer and was a high school English teacher in high achieving north shore Long Island school districts for close to ten years.  For FREE information, go to his website: WriteToCollege.com

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