Every year more than a million students use the Common Application, a standardized electronic form accepted by more than 1,000 colleges, to apply to college. And every year since 1976, the Common App, ...

Every fall, high school students applying to college face an intimidating task: They must write a stylish, memorable essay that will boost their admissions chances. So who can blame them when they ...

In the high-stakes world of college admissions, there’s one lesson every hopeful applicant should learn early: sometimes, what you leave out of your essay matters more than what you put in. As Sophie ...

The college essay is the bane of many high school seniors’ existence. Students belabor the essay prompts, writing draft after draft in pursuit of elusive perfection. Their essays are reviewed by ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Brennan Barnard writes about the nuances of college admission. If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” ...

Students dread the application essay. Critics think it’s an exercise in fakery. Here’s why it’s worth preserving — and how to save it. Liza Libes is a writer and college counselor in New York City. It ...

A member of the board of admissions examining applications at Princeton University in 1962. School is out and summer is here. Yet future high school seniors and their families are likely already ...

Carter Osborne started a side hustle tutoring students on their college admissions essays in 2017. The Stanford graduate shared his recommendations for students looking to ace their personal essays.

This story about generative AI was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.