For Applicants by Natasha B. '16

I know it’s late in the college application season–the deadline is near and the pressure is on–but for all of you who are still typing away at your application essays, fretting over phrasing and wondering what to say, take a look at admitsphere.org.

Admitsphere was devised by a floormate of mine, Jacob Cole ’14, along with Prabhav Jain ’14 and Merry Mou ’16, to sustain high school students through the application process. Here, successful college admits post their college application essays and offer advice/tutorials for younger students. Their ambition is “to become a central, open-source, online hub that high school students look to in order to learn how to win at high school, college applications, and life.” In other words, to help you!

From Jacob:

“We believe that you shouldn’t need to buy an expensive book or pay an independent college counselor to get real college essays and relevant advice. Through collaboration, we can give everyone access to the inside knowledge they need to write a powerful application, regardless of their financial situation or the quality of their school’s college counseling.“

Enjoy. If your brain grows numb and your eyes go hazy from the computer screen, go for a walk and look at some trees:

Rowena, the sister; Nola, the dog; Home, the place.

And if you’re still freaking out, be glad you’re not a duck.

My fourteen-year-old brother has taken an interest in raising birds, and while these ducks were, at one time, rather fuzzy and adorable, their incessant quacking makes me think they’d have a difficult time composing an elegant college application. You’re smarter than a duck, and you can write better too.

Have confidence, and have fun!