JRA Educational Consulting Blog

Finishing your personal statement in the Common Application, that 250-to-650-word essay that goes to nearly every college on your application, is a major accomplishment. Celebrate!

Topics: College Application Essay

Read More

 

Topics: College Application Essay, Common Application, College Application, Coalition App, UF, FSU, UCF, Personal Statement

Read More

Applying to college is never a one-and-done deal. As we’ve observed in previous articles, applying to college extends beyond the application itself, encompassing other activities like essays, test scores, and recommendations, all of which take time to complete or “collect” – in addition to the hours spent researching where you’d like to apply first! If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that our mantra is apply early. But, you may be saying to yourself, “Surely, I can get my college applications done in a day or two.” How long do college applications really take?

Topics: College Application Essay, Common Application, College Application, Coalition App

Read More

Students and their families often ask us how to get into college. Whether it’s into a small private college or a large public university, the steps are the same—adhering to purposeful planning, and getting an early start. Below, we’ve provided our top seven tips to help make admission to your dream school a reality. Let’s get started.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, College Planning, Educational Consulting

Read More

Over and over in our chapters up to this point, we’ve stated explicitly that your personal statement must convey qualities that reveal your character to the admissions reader. It’s not coincidental that the closing sentences of your personal statement essay should also leave the reader with a final burnished image. In the best case, you tie together your narrative with mature reflection. Therein lies the impact of your writing.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Personal Statement

Read More

College admissions directors read hundreds − if not thousands − of college application essays, morning, afternoon, and evening.  They're the people in college admissions looking for the good read, the applicant’s essay that will make their day. That’s why getting the reader’s attention right from the start goes a very long way toward making you stand out from a long procession of students.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Application, Personal Statement

Read More

Three of the four qualities we listed in our last blog chapter – maturity, self-reflection, and intellectual curiosity – must be combined well in order to be effective; your essay must tell a story whose conclusion demonstrates the fourth quality, the impact as expressed through personal reflection. You are not simply telling a story; you are demonstrating your observational powers at this stage in your life – specifically, how your story affected who you have become.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Personal Statement

Read More

“To be or not to be” might be germane for Hamlet, but one that’s relevant to the topic at hand is “To Create a College Application essay outline” or to try winging it without one – and the correct answer’s cogent for demonstrating the type of character that admissions officers look for in applicants.

As background, we’ve worked successfully with many thousands of students on their essays, so we’re acutely aware that while one can “get there” with lots and lots of winging, one’s just as likely to both come up with a substandard essay and have one’s fingers fall off.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Personal Statement

Read More

There's no reason to panic – at least not yet– but because college applications are due during the first semester of your senior year, you should begin working on them now if you haven’t already done so. And if you're just getting started and wondering how to complete your personal statement for your college application, we’re here to help, so you've come to the right place.

More than 800 colleges accept the Common Application, so that's what we’re going to focus on in this post.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Personal Statement

Read More

Before we tell you what colleges are likely looking for in your list of activities, we’ll say this: their importance has not diminished in any way. In fact, it has probably increased in the face of so many colleges going test-optional because of COVID-19. Admissions officers will scrutinize your activities list and read between the lines to understand the true nature of your involvement to each activity. That brings us to activity “fundamentals” – what you must strive to include in your list.

Topics: College Application Essay, College Admission, Common Application, College Application, College Counseling, College Tips

Read More