Video Transcript

“Hi, my name is Stephanie. I’m a former admissions officer from Northwestern University. I’ve read thousands of applications and helped hundreds of students craft the perfect college application essay. So, let me give you some of my best tips with respect to making your application the strongest it can be.

Tip #1 is that it needs to be about you. So, even though your parents or your grandparents or your sister or brother is really inspirational, your application essay has to be about you on your best day.

Tip #2, think about that Disney show, “That’s So Raven”; if somebody picked up your essay and read it, they should be able to say, “Oh my God, that is so you!” If you’re not sure what those qualities are, ask someone who’s close to you (ask a friend, ask a parent) what makes me, me? What differentiates me? What’s my superpower?

Tip #3 is to be careful with anything that’s extremely personal such as boyfriend, girlfriend, or family drama. Decide whether sharing it or not is central to who you are and reflects the qualities you want to highlight to the admissions committee.

Tip #4, It’s great to have strong views, but you never know who’s reading your application and what their political, social and moral beliefs are. While being true to what you believe is important, be careful not to offend others in your application and essays.

Tip #5 is to find someone who has read applications on a regular basis, like a former admissions officer, who will be impartial and who can read your application and give you great feedback. So, the company I work for, Admissionscheckup.com, is made up of 60 different admissions officers who’ve worked at some of the top schools. So, upload your application to our website, we’ll read it, give you really brutally honest feedback — seriously brutally honest — and send it back to you.

You can check your application, you can edit it, and then submit the best application possible.

Better application. Better chances of admission. Better odds at scholarship money.

Good luck.

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