College app essays in the summer?

Hi John!

LOTS OF THEM!  Haha!  And honestly, since you kids are home right now because of the Corona lockdown, you can write these now, as a junior even.

Ok, seriously, before senior year starts, in the summer (or now) I would write these college admissions essays in the summer:

1. Main essay (500-650 words) — passion or epiphany or moment of growth (POSITIVE)
2. Why my major at my top choice school (~200 words and then can add or cut as needed–use proper nouns)
3. Why my top choice school is my top (~250 words, can add/cut–use MANY proper nouns from their website)
4. Diversity essay (~250 words) — SO many colleges are asking how you will bring or cultivate diversity
5. Resume –have it ready to go! — you can create right this on this site, Resources, Resume Builder
6. Calculate your weighted GPA — you can do this right on this website in Resources, GPA Calculator
7. Fill out the Common App section on the Common App but WAIT to do the Colleges sections until August 1st.
8. Additional info — if you changed schools, aren’t a good test taker, suffered bullying, have a learning disability, etc

Proper nouns = NAMES of programs, professors, classes, clubs, facilities, events, etc etc

You might not end up needing #s 2-4, but they are SUPER common. You can call your colleges and ask what their prompts are for next year. They will always tell you. And the UC prompts are not changing for 2020! If you are applying to UCs, you will use your main essay as one of their four required essays; just chop your main essay down to 350. You can also use #s 2 and 4 above.

In all of these, show passion, positivity, and intellectual curiosity, and NEVER write a WORD about sports.  🙂
Let me know if you have any other questions!

Yay, college!
Susanna