On a gray November morning, stacks of essays sat on an admissions counselor’s desk at a New England liberal arts college. She had already read 60 that week. “I could tell within the first five lines ...

Students facing the college application process typically dread one component: the Common App essay. Students are presented with six essay prompts, as well as a seventh option, which is “topic of your ...

As the college essay program manager for Write the World, a nonprofit writing organization for teens, I oversee a group of advisers who guide students through the essay writing process. I have seen ...

A brilliant college essay topic doesn’t just showcase intelligence — it reveals personality, curiosity, humor, resilience, or the wonderfully weird way someone sees the world. Over the years, certain ...

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. At certain moments of the year, high school students who are applying to ...

At its core, Irena Smith’s job as an independent college counselor means being a writing coach. With a PhD in comparative literature, the former Stanford admissions officer helps her teenage clients ...

Students dread the application essay. Critics think it’s an exercise in fakery. Here’s why it’s worth preserving — and how to save it. Liza Libes is a writer and college counselor in New York City. It ...

Rafael Figueroa, dean of college guidance at Albuquerque Academy, was in the middle of tutoring Native American and Native Hawaiian students on how to write college application essays when the U.S.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Brennan Barnard writes about the nuances of college admission. If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” ...

Writing a college admissions essay is hard. But using AI could backfire badly. Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite; Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Every fall, high school students applying to ...