Hello there, Class of 2025! I hope this finds you rested and ready to take on Spring Semester of Junior Year, a time of reflection and...

Those of you laboring over Labor Day weekend take note: Writing the "why" short answer doesn't need to be grueling, but you will need to...

Aarthi Lokram authored a searing piece about the importance of understanding one's identity. She moves from passive to poignant to...

Xander Brown committed to Indiana's Purdue University today earning $105,440 over his four years there thanks in part to this essay which...

Tons of colleges asked the Class of 2021 in supplemental essays what, exactly, they did during the pandemic. I'm guessing the question...

Austin Garza's pillar essay is a terrific example of a workhorse piece. At first glance, it seems written to lay out his work experience...

I'm super irritated with higher education today: SAT scores were released this week--which freaks everyone out no matter the earned...

When Madi Bourquein first interviewed with me last October, she worried she didn't have all the usual stuff colleges look for on a...

I had completely forgotten about the "This I Believe" radio series until a student asked me if I could sit as his subject for one....

Some 1,700 colleges removed standardized test requirements during the pandemic, a move seen by many students as an opportunity to "level...

Students from poor and wealthy backgrounds have, in theory, little trouble paying for college. But everyone else? Well, it gets...

By Julie Blair Riekse, Pragmatic Pen Writing Coach Yes, I've been telling you to write big. This allows you to infuse your piece with...

By Julie Blair Riekse Pragmatic Pen Writing Coach Dear Harvard: Buzz off. You are seducing my phenomenal students with crisp, crested...

By Julie Blair Riekse Most of my students simply want a "good" education at a "good" school so they can get a "good" job and live a...

By Julie Blair Riekse Pragmatic Pen Writing Coach My Big Failure and What I Learned From It How Hardship Shaped Me I Have a Servant’s...

Knowing what to write about is as important as knowing how to write it. And while I've told you your essay should be "authentic" and be...