I work with rising high school seniors to help them identify the meaningful, personal stories that make for standout admissions and scholarship essays. Subscribe to my newsletter to get the latest college admission and essay writing information.
The mistake I see on almost every A&M essay
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Hi, Reader! Quick story. Every summer for the past five years, I’ve gone to Texas A&M to run essay workshops for aspiring Aggies. When I head up there on Tuesday for this year's workshop, things will be different: A&M just added four new required essay prompts, which means more students than ever will be writing essays they’ve never seen before, without much guidance on what A&M is actually looking for. Students often show up with ideas already — which is great. But at least half of them are answering the wrong question. Not the wrong topic. The wrong question. They’re responding to what they think A&M wants to hear — or they’re responding to what the prompt says instead of what A&M actually wants to learn in your answer. These are the most common mistakes I see. And with four brand-new prompts in the mix this year, the risk of not answering them effectively is higher than ever. Let's take Prompt 4 — the “Why A&M?” essay. It's is the kind of prompt students answer with a list of things they like about the school's tradition or reputation. But the prompt isn’t asking for that. That’s what this guide is designed to fix: It reframes each prompt so students stop guessing and start writing the thing admissions officers actually want to read.
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Julia Byrd: Essay Coach
I work with rising high school seniors to help them identify the meaningful, personal stories that make for standout admissions and scholarship essays. Subscribe to my newsletter to get the latest college admission and essay writing information.
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