--- title: "The Insider: Your Expert Guide to College Admissions | College Essays" description: College Essays | The official blog of College Coach, a division of Bright Horizons. Our expert view on all things college admissions. --- [![College Coach - Your College Admissions Experts](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/hub/146790/file-1518948603.png "College Coach - Your College Admissions Experts")](http://www.getintocollege.com/) - [Blog](https://146790.hs-sites.com/blog) - [Contact](https://146790.hs-sites.com/contact) - [Login](http://passport.getintocollege.com/Account/Login) # The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts ## [How to Write a Personal Statement: Your Ultimate Reading List | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/365192/How-to-Write-a-Personal-Statement-Your-Ultimate-Reading-List-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Abigail Anderson](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/abigail-anderson) on Thu, Mar 03, 2016 @ 12:46 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-4018136673-jpg/images/books-1194457_1280.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/365192/How-to-Write-a-Personal-Statement-Your-Ultimate-Reading-List-College-Coach-Blog) [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/365192/How-to-Write-a-Personal-Statement-Your-Ultimate-Reading-List-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: Stanford University | Part 2 | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364842/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-2-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Abigail Anderson](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/abigail-anderson) on Thu, Nov 19, 2015 @ 10:10 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-3596337417-jpg/images/death_to_stock_photography_weekend_work_(small).jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364842/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-2-College-Coach-Blog) *By Abigail Anderson* Last week we began the discussion of [Stanford’s 11-part supplement](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364841/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-1-College-Coach-Blog). We covered the seven questions requiring answers in the form of either a list or 50 words and how to answer the activities essay. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364842/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-2-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: Stanford University | Part 1 | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364841/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-1-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Abigail Anderson](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/abigail-anderson) on Fri, Nov 13, 2015 @ 11:25 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-1263232660-jpg/images/img_85121.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364841/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-1-College-Coach-Blog) *By Abigail Anderson* Stanford University has one of the longest and most time-intensive supplements in American college admissions and, if their application numbers are any indication, this has done nothing to dissuade nearly 50,000 students from applying just last year. Stanford’s reputation as an intellectual, competitive, entrepreneurial, quirky California powerhouse—in academics and athletics—can make these essays feel even more challenging than they ought to be. The short and sweet version of our advice? Be yourself. You’ll find that an open, honest response bears much more fruit than a manufactured answer that targets what you think the reader wants to see. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364841/College-Essay-Prompts-Stanford-University-Part-1-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [Beating the College Essay Blues | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364814/Beating-the-College-Essay-Blues-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Kara Courtois](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/kara-courtois) on Tue, Nov 10, 2015 @ 04:00 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-3596337027-jpg/images/book-15584_640.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364814/Beating-the-College-Essay-Blues-College-Coach-Blog) [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364814/Beating-the-College-Essay-Blues-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: The University of Virginia | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364753/College-Essay-Prompts-The-University-of-Virginia-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Karen Spencer](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/karen-spencer) on Thu, Oct 29, 2015 @ 11:05 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-249036660-jpg/images/img_8115.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364753/College-Essay-Prompts-The-University-of-Virginia-College-Coach-Blog) The University of Virginia has always provided some of my favorite [supplemental essay prompts](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/?Tag=College+Essays) (and not just because it’s where I went to grad school). They are short (250 words max) and they are personal.  Both of these mean that a student is forced to get to their point quickly, something I find students struggle with when they have a longer word count, and they are forced to really think about what makes them tick. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364753/College-Essay-Prompts-The-University-of-Virginia-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: Approaching the University of Chicago Essay Questions | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364679/College-Essay-Prompts-Approaching-the-University-of-Chicago-Essay-Questions-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Sally Ganga](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/sally-ganga) on Thu, Oct 15, 2015 @ 04:28 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-3596335902-jpg/images/chicago-bean-569412_1920.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364679/College-Essay-Prompts-Approaching-the-University-of-Chicago-Essay-Questions-College-Coach-Blog) [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364679/College-Essay-Prompts-Approaching-the-University-of-Chicago-Essay-Questions-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: How to Ace Tufts’ Supplemental Essays | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364637/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Ace-Tufts-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Becky Leichtling](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/becky-leichtling) on Thu, Oct 08, 2015 @ 09:02 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-3596335607-jpg/images/people-woman-girl-writing.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364637/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Ace-Tufts-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Today, we continue with the third post in our [College Essay Prompts](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/?Tag=College+Essays) series. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364637/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Ace-Tufts-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: Tackling Wake Forest’s Supplemental Essays | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364588/College-Essay-Prompts-Tackling-Wake-Forest-s-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Karen Spencer](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/karen-spencer) on Thu, Oct 01, 2015 @ 08:35 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-3168596110-jpg/images/person-woman-desk-laptop-small.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364588/College-Essay-Prompts-Tackling-Wake-Forest-s-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Colleges that accept the [Common App](https://info.getintocollege.com/common-app) don’t pick the essays it offers. They do, however, carefully choose each of their supplemental essays, which is why these are often considered as important, if not more important, than the Common App essay.  What they ask can also tell you a bit about the college’s personality; think of off-the-wall creative topics like those the University of Chicago releases every year. How you choose to answer these essays also says a lot about *you*. I work with a lot of students who apply to Wake Forest, and the Wake Forest app is one of my favorites. This may surprise you considering there are six (yes six!) supplemental short essay prompts. I like the prompts because they aren’t unnecessarily long and they are mostly very specific, which I find students usually prefer. Let’s take a look at two of them, identify the goal of the essay, and discuss some of the [common pitfalls](https://info.getintocollege.com/college-essay-writing/). [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364588/College-Essay-Prompts-Tackling-Wake-Forest-s-Supplemental-Essays-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [College Essay Prompts: How to Answer “Why This College?” | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364559/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Answer-Why-This-College-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Kennon Dick](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/kennon-dick) on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 @ 03:30 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-530551448-jpg/images/img_8516.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364559/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Answer-Why-This-College-College-Coach-Blog) [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/364559/College-Essay-Prompts-How-to-Answer-Why-This-College-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) ## [Common App Essay Prompts for 2015-2016 | College Coach Blog](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/362252/Common-App-Essay-Prompts-for-2015-2016-College-Coach-Blog) Posted by [Elyse Krantz](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/author/elyse-krantz) on Thu, Apr 02, 2015 @ 08:30 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://info.getintocollege.com/hs-fs/file-349980058-jpg/images/img_8403.jpg) ](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/362252/Common-App-Essay-Prompts-for-2015-2016-College-Coach-Blog) ### The Common Application Reveals New Essay Prompts for 2015-16 Some students choose to write about sports. Or their love of helping others. Or even about their unusual hobby of collecting those kitschy plastic-domed snow globes. Whatever the topic, the college admissions essay is meant to reveal a glimpse of a student’s character, one that – ideally – will help set that student apart from the thousands of other applicants vying for a spot at that same institution. [Read More](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/bid/362252/Common-App-Essay-Prompts-for-2015-2016-College-Coach-Blog) Tags: [College Essays](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays) [All Posts](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/all) [Next Page](https://info.getintocollege.com/blog/topic/college-essays/page/2) ### Need help with the Common Application?  [![common application help](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/146790/cb1db37b-0d15-41e3-988b-213bb2724008.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/146790/cb1db37b-0d15-41e3-988b-213bb2724008) ### Get the Insider Advantage  College Coach experts, all former senior admissions and financial aid officers, are available to work privately with your student to achieve admissions success. 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