A normal gorgeous day in Malibu. Sunset over PCH. Los Angeles this week. The Palisades Fire. Los Angeles is burning, and I am not home....

I’m so excited to share snippets of a conversation I had with a dear friend who is an application reader for one of the top honors...

Why does purpose matter? So often we find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through social media, adrift in life...

In the ever-evolving landscape of college admissions, the idea of being a well-rounded student has shifted. Rather than seeking...

When is the best time to start college apps? This is one of the most common questions that I get. My answer? Second semester junior year,...

So far this year, I’ve had students get into Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Brown, Boston College and Notre Dame. Congratulations! It's an...

The way that I like to approach the UC essays is by asking my students, what are the four to six most important areas of your life? Now,...

Many of you guys know Devi Vishwakumar from the Netflix series, "Never Have I Ever." Devi is an overachiever. She's very high strung,...

In my last post, I broke down a college essay that was generated by Chat-GPT. This time I got Chat-GPT to generate me a common app essay,...

Today, instead of breaking down one of my own essays, I'm going to break down chat GT's essay. And this is what it generated. All I put...

Struggling to write your college "why us" essay? I gotchu! I go over essential tips and tricks for crafting a compelling "why us" essay...

Summer internships, resumes, cover letters… oh my! A key component of getting into every university I applied to including Yale + Ivy...

Second semester of junior year is the ideal time to start thinking about—and even writing—some of your college essays. Here are some tips!

How do you answer questions like, “What is the biggest challenge that you’ve overcome?” I'm here with 4 tips on how to write this essay.

Presenting... the essay that got me into every single school I applied to including all 8 Ivy League universities! This essay went viral...

Imagine your life and your personhood as a spiderweb. At the center of this beautiful intricate web—the strongest part of the web, the...

Photo Credit: Soorim Lee Your common app is ready to go. Your honors and awards are meticulously listed out. Your rec letters are in. All...

High school seniors! As you dive into your college applications, I wanted to share with you some pitfalls to avoid before you commit time...

With schools across the United States making test scores optional, or even tossing them out entirely, the common app essay is...