73: How to Write an Essay that Helps You Get Accepted to the College of Your Dreams

Decades ago, I wrote my college application essays, and then went through the process again—twice in fact—when I applied to two different graduate school programs.

While things have changed over the years—the numbers of applicants have exploded thanks to the common app and the internationalization of the applicant pool—one thing has remained the same: the importance of writing well-crafted essays that tell your story in a compelling way, in a way that sets you apart from the thousands of other applicants also vying for a spot at the school of your dreams.

To offer some advice on this topic, I sat down recently with Dr. Aviva Legatt. Dr. Legatt is the founder of Ivy Insight Group, where she advises high school and college students on getting into competitive colleges and graduate programs.

She’s also the author of a brand new book, “Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self" (St. Martin's Griffin).

In our conversation she explains how the college application process has changed over the years, and she shares some of the frameworks and tips she writes about in her book.

To watch the video of our conversation, head over to my new learning community, Write With Impact Academy, and enter your email to sign-up. There you’ll find lots more free videos, podcasts, and articles with writing advice.