Every now and then, I get a hyperbole-filled recommendation from a former student about resources they love that I want to share with everyone else. These are genuine resources that either I’ve used or have been personally recommended to me - I get zero money for this and am sharing because I sincerely think they’ll be helpful. If you have any you’d love to add that have made your college application easier, please let me know!

1) If you need help proofreading your admissions essay
I just discovered Grammarly recently, and love it! It’s a new (free) tool that can catch typos, which is so important when proofreading your Common App before submission. I already discussed the secrets to proofreading your admissions essay, but this is a great secondary tool to use in addition to reading the draft out loud and showing it to someone who’s never seen it. Of course, no online tool can compare to an experienced editor, but this a wonderful supplement if your eyes are losing focus. Just download the Chrome extension and boom! Good to go.

2) If you need help finding cool tech internships
Of course, there’s the LinkedIn juggernaut which makes applying super easy with one click. My friends also shared Wave Mentoring & Internships, which is an amazing mentorship program for young women aged 15-22 years old with professionals in tech as part of a 1:1 Advisor program. The goals are to expose young women and non-binary students to a variety of careers powered by tech, arm them with practical skills for their first job, and help them build their first network.

3) If you need help finding easy scholarships
My go-to in high school was FastWeb, which is an amazing scholarship search engine that we used to find the famous $100,000 essay contest. But these days, current college students love the new site Going Merry which is genius and I wish was around when I was applying. Going Merry is like the Common App of scholarship sites and lets you apply to multiple scholarships at once with easy auto-fill options.

4) If you need help overcoming writer’s block
Even professional writers get writer’s block, which is what happens when you’re feeling stuck and can’t write. I covered a few tips to beat writer’s block, but this is a new approach I just discovered. A copywriter friend recently introduced me to this brilliant motivational pep talk that is perfect for when you’re feeling blocked, stressed, or uninspired.

What are some of your must-have resources?