Common Application 2017-2018 Essay Prompts

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Every year the Common Application adds or revises essay prompts.  Here are the announced changes to essay prompts that rising seniors can expect to answer:

2017-2018 Common Application Essay Prompts

1. No Change:  Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 

2. Revised:  The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Revised:  Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. No Change:  Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Revised:  Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. 

6. New:  Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [New]

7. New:  Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. 

After reviewing the essay prompts with my core team and discussing it with several admissions officers at different Ivy league and highly selective colleges, we have developed a list of tips that you should consider when choosing and answering a question so that your essay stands out:

  • Choose a prompt that best describes you.
  • Answer the question!
  • When you write your essay, write about something that matters to you.
  • Use your own voice.
  • Be honest.
  • Pick a topic that will give the admissions committee an idea of who you are.
  • Write about your perspective – the lens through which you view your topic.
  • Consider the schools’ perspectives
  • Write succinctly.
  • Proofread, proofread and proofread!

When I give advice to my clients about their essays, I literally spend hours getting to know them, their motivations, their passions, their strengths and weaknesses. This exercise inspires them to free-think and brainstorm.  We then, together, consider different essay themes as they apply to their individual personality, in an in depth conversation.  My clients then individually re-brainstorm and commence writing their essays in their own voices.  Their peerless and unparalleled essays become memorable and powerful lyrics to great songs enjoyed by the admissions committees.

My belief is that a college essay is a personal branding and marketing tool to convince a group of culturally, emotionally, academically, intellectually and socio-economically diverse people in a room (at each college) in 2-5 minutes why they should accept YOU in their institution! This is easier said than done when students are taught to speak, tweet, text, email (and look) just like everyone else in their respective communities.

Are You Ready For College Admissions 2017-2018?

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Summer is here. The gaokao is over. And that means it’s time for many students to start their college application planning. Many students will start visiting colleges across the globe. As you visit schools, I recommend that you really try to get a good sense of how you feel about each college campus. This will help you to narrow down what will become your top choice schools. As you near the pinnacle of your college admissions journey, you should celebrate this portion of your journey.

As you visit colleges, take the tours; learn as much about the environment, where you may ultimately be spending four years of your life. Be sure you are comfortable in the surroundings. Do the colleges and universities to which you plan to apply have broad categories of courses that interest you?

Keep an open mind as you plan this next step in your educational journey. If you are applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges, remember that the admissions committees scrutinize an entire student profile and use a holistic as well as team approach in selecting applicants for their incoming classes.  Academic criteria are important to their selective process, however, they look at far more than test scores and grades.  Their goal is to assemble a diverse, well-rounded freshman class, and that means admitting exceptional individuals of all types.

Are You Ready To Be Admitted to Your Dream College or University (5 Reasons Why You Must Hire College Admissions Experts)

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Because of the increasing competition to get into top colleges, many families feel overwhelmed and stressed by the college admissions process. Moreover, the process can seem so complex that families may want the assistance, resources and knowledge of an expert who focuses solely on the college admissions process and who spends more time and individualized attention than guidance counselors can provide.  Many parents and students discover too late (their children receive rejection letters) in the college admissions process that they should have hired a college admissions expert.

If your child is applying to Ivy League and highly selective colleges as well as combined BS/MD programs, you may want to consider the below:

(1) In a February 2015, in an op-ed piece in USA Today, former First Lady Michelle Obama, wrote eloquently: “There’s the world of the schools most of our kids attend where school counselors are too often under-valued and overstretched, and they simply don’t have what they need to do their jobs. While the American School Counselor Association recommends no more than 250 students per counselor, the national average is one counselor for every 471 students. And often, school counselors are burdened with all kinds of unrelated responsibilities such as proctoring exams, substitute teaching, even monitoring the lunchroom. Many school counselors find themselves doing triage, juggling those duties while trying to help kids in crisis and also keep up with the latest college admissions deadlines and requirements.”

(2)  The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) 2014 State of College Admissions reported that on average, high school guidance counselors spend only 24 percent of their time on college admissions counseling. High school guidance counselors spend the majority of their time on school activities unrelated to college admissions.

(3)  The National Association for College Admission Counseling survey indicated that high school guidance counselors have an average caseload of 125 to as high as 500 students making them unable to provide adequate college guidance.

(4) The Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) stated: “An educational consultant brings to the family the knowledge and skills of an experienced professional coupled with a commitment to assuring the [student’s] best interests are met. Educational consultants counsel students and their families in the selection of educational programs based on the student’s individual needs and talents.”

(5) The Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA) stated: “A professional educational consultant works one-on-one with each student, helping to identify colleges and universities that offer the best matches for the student’s unique needs, and keeping the student on track through every phase of the college application process.”

“Top qualified applicants, after all their hard work (and parents’ work) and preparation deserve the best and should not settle for less” – Dr. Paul Lowe

(Pictured: Dr. Lowe at his alma mater – Brown University with Bruno, Brown University’s mascot)

Why “Dr. Paul Lowe Admissions Expert Blog”?

~ drpaulloweadmissionsexpert

Dear Readers,

Welcome to “Dr Paul Lowe Admissions Expert.Blog!

The purpose of the blog is to provide valuable insight and expert advice on private school, college, BS/MD program and graduate school admissions based on Dr. Paul Lowe’s over 21 -plus years experience as an independent  educational consultant and admissions advisor.

Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe, Sr. is the co-founder and CEO of Pinnacle Educational Center; and is one of the world’s leading independent educational consultants and expert admissions advisors.  Pinnacle Educational Center which has expanded into a network of admissions advisory services:  Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group.