How to Turn Your Campus Visit Into The "Why This College" Essay

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How to Turn Your Campus Visit Into The "Why This College" Essay

Write everything down right after the visit.

Bonus points if you can take notes during the visit. At the very least, share your impressions right away with a close friend or family member who can later help jog your memory. Most students I work with visit colleges well before they start writing the essays and can’t remember their general impressions, let alone the specific details of buildings or major requirements that show you’re paying attention.

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Exclusive: 4 Surprising “LOCI” Waitlist Letter Tips From Current and Former Admissions Officers

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Exclusive: 4 Surprising “LOCI” Waitlist Letter Tips From Current and Former Admissions Officers

An admissions officer from a top-20 national research university shared this insight with a former waitlist letter student:

“Once we have heard from all of [the admitted students], we will see where the holes are in the first-year class and make offers. The first round of offers will be at the beginning of May, and we hope to have it all wrapped up by July 4th. Our waitlist is not ranked, because we don’t know who will say yes of the admitted students, and if we need more engineers or teachers, for example, we’ll focus on that during the waitlist process.” 

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Surprising Questions to Ask — and Not to Ask — On Your College Visit

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Surprising Questions to Ask — and Not to Ask — On Your College Visit

DON'T ASK QUESTIONS YOU CAN FIND ANSWERS TO ONLINE

If your question can be answered with a quick Google search, you're doing it wrong. I completely understand how overwhelming the college application process is and get that families will schedule a frenetic back-to-back tour schedule, (another no-no, see #2), but this is just a waste of your time. Asking if this college has fraternities or a journalism major is such a forehead smacker. This is your unique opportunity to get answers that could help narrow your stressful college search - why would you waste it on such an easy question?

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6 Easy Steps to Writing A Successful Waitlist Letter (aka the LOCI)

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6 Easy Steps to Writing A Successful Waitlist Letter (aka the LOCI)

The waitlist letter is your last chance to show “demonstrated interest” and maybe get on the admit list if enough students don’t accept. In fact, some colleges are notorious for accepting fewer students than they need and then filling up their freshman class with the waitlist (this way, they get higher on the US News & World rankings…sneaky, I know). So you may have a better shot than you think. Especially this year when your chances of getting in are better than ever. At the very least, you’ll know you’ve done everything you could.

1) Find Your Specific Admissions Representative

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6 Easy Hacks to Answering the “Why This College” Essay

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6 Easy Hacks to Answering the “Why This College” Essay

In fact, just because it’s a shorter supplement doesn’t mean you should leave it for last. The “Why this college?” supplement is actually one of the hardest essays to answer. Ideally, you would’ve visited the campus, researched the school, and spoken to former alums to really know the answer. But not everyone has the privilege (or money) to travel to see schools — especially in the middle of a global pandemic. Luckily, I have some shortcuts for you.

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5 Ways to Get to Know a College Through Social Media

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5 Ways to Get to Know a College Through Social Media

A college feels very different in person than it does on paper. Ask anyone, they all have stories about how they just knew when they stepped foot on their campus. But what are things you can do to get to know a college if you’re stuck at home? Here are five things I did to get to know a school from the comfort of my iPhone.

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“Why I’m Grateful I Got Rejected Early Decision From My Dream School”

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“Why I’m Grateful I Got Rejected Early Decision From My Dream School”

Three years ago in December I got rejected by the school I applied to Early Decision and I cried in the back of my friend’s car. But here I am, a junior at her third-choice University, who is SO grateful I took that big fat L. Here’s what I needed to hear after getting rejected from my dream school: it’s not the college that’s going to have an impact on your future, that’s all you.

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3 Reasons You Might Get Rejected — And How To Avoid Them

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3 Reasons You Might Get Rejected — And How To Avoid Them

While rejection is inevitable during the college application process, it never feels good. Here are 3 of the most common mistakes that could cost you that acceptance letter to the college of your dreams and ways around them.

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10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Master the "Why This College" Essay

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10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Master the "Why This College" Essay

The “Why this college?” supplement is actually one of the hardest essays to answer.

If you’ve already tried my 5 “why this college” essay tips and are still feeling stuck, here are a few journaling and research questions I give my students to discover the deeper reasons for wanting to attend each school without descending into generic cliches.

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Exclusive: Application Essay Tips From a Former Admissions Officer (Part 2)

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Exclusive: Application Essay Tips From a Former Admissions Officer (Part 2)

 Supplement essays are sometimes more important than the Common App essay

“The other thing that's really important is their demonstrated interest essay, the ‘why this college’ essay. If you can cross out the name of the school and drop in a similar school, and the essay still works, that's a bad essay. If you’re applying to BU,and can you can cross BU out and replace it with Northeastern and Boston College, for example, and the essay still works, you have a problem. The ‘why this college essay’ has to be specific.”

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