14 College Essay Examples: What Works, Why, and How

Listing of college essay examples

(If you just want to see the list of college essay examples-keep scrolling to the table.) It’s easy for students to put off writing their essay for their college applications. After all, chances are that the most commonly requested essay, the personal statement, is something the student hasn’t had to do before. And it’s only natural that their first reaction leaves them feeling as if they couldn’t possibly provide an answer that wouldn’t sound contrived or pathetic. So they start looking for college essay examples to see what is expected and possibly for inspiration.

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5 Ways Parents Can Help Their Students Get Great Letters of Recommendation for College

mother helping daughter on computer to get letters of recommendation

Mother helping daughter get great letters of recommendations for collegeThis is one area where parents can sigh with relief because things haven’t changed that much since they were in high school. While colleges are expecting high school students to have taken more classes and with more of them having been AP level and participate in extracurricular activities to demonstrate depth, they aren’t asking for letters of recommendation from Nobel Prize winners, or at the very least, your state’s senator. High school teachers are still the accepted goto for letters of recommendation for college.

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Have You Covered These Adulting Topics on Your College Move-in Checklist?

woman with computer and planner representing Legal documents for college students

woman with computer and planning representing Legal documents for college studentsAs parents swing between the excitement of going through the latest dorm checklist from Target or cry in their morning coffee cup while making hotel reservations for the college move in date, they shouldn’t overlook the most important checklist, the adulting checklist. The reality is that heading off to college also marks the transition to adulthood. While many see college as a sort of intermediate step to becoming a full adult, as far as the law is concerned, your 18 year old is an adult. So take the time to go over the following adulting topics and make sure you have them covered by move-in day.

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The Two Biggest Things Parents Can do to Help Their Kids with Test Prep

Father helping daughter with test prep decisions on laptop

Father helping daughter with test prep decisions at laptopThe following is a guest post by David Recine, a testing expert at Magoosh

Your kids grow up so fast, don’t they? Sometimes it feels like they were just in grade school or junior high. And now, suddenly, they’re on the precipice of adulthood, trying to get into a good school. You want to help out now… but helping someone enter adulthood is a lot harder than helping someone enter kindergarten, or even helping them learn to drive a car.

As parents, it’s good to understand your role in helping your son or daughter get into a good school. What can you do? What should you do? Let’s look at two big things you can do to help.

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Expert Advice to Get You Started on Your College Application Essays

hands writing and on a keyboard representing starting your college college applicaiton essay

hands writing and on keyboard representing starting your college application essayIf you haven’t started your college application essays yet, it’s time to stop procrastinating and get to work. Why? Because even though the college application essay would seem to fall under academic tasks you have already mastered in high school, it is an essay after all, the reality is that it’s not. By that I mean it’s not an academic task.

The college application essay has nothing to do with your ability to craft an essay to demonstrate to a teacher your analytical abilities in literature or history. It has everything to do with figuring out who you are and how to show it to the people reading your application. Now which high school class covered self-discovery?

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Why Teen Checking Accounts Should be Part of Your College Prep

A teen checking their account balances while inserting a card into an ATM machine, with a focus on the action and the machine's user-friendly interface.

student using atm representing importance of teen checking accountsParents make sure that their kids are prepped for the college admissions process. They make sure they take the right classes, get the appropriate grades, study for the ACT or SAT, and participate in extracurricular activities. But do they make sure they’re equally ready to handle the financial aspects of independent living? Students may be able to do the math to calculate interest rates yet 43% don’t understand the differences between debit and credit cards.

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