How can you possibly condense four years of your life into 10 little boxes? With limited space and character counts, it’s important to strategize: which activities should I include, and in what order? In this workshop, we’ll walk through the required format for activities in the Common App and the UC Application, present best practices, and walk through examples from real applicants. Then, we’ll meet with you 1:1 to review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident!

With these four essays, you’ll make your case for UC admission. Whether you have 20 activities or 2, it can be tough to decide not only what to talk about, but also which 4 of the 8 prompts best fit your story. In this workshop, we’ll complete exercises to help you choose your prompts and topics, receive 1:1 feedback, and create outlines you can follow for your first drafts. Already started your essays? No problem! Our specialists will review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident. 

The main personal statement on the Common App will lay the foundation for many of your most important applications. With 7 topics and 650 words, what will you write about? In this workshop, we’ll review sample essays from real students, walk you through choosing your most effective story, and help you construct an outline you can follow for your first draft. Already started your essay? No problem! Our specialists will review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident.

For many colleges, it’s the first thing they want to know: Why are you applying? Whether they’re asking about your major, what you’re looking forward to, or how you see yourself contributing to campus, colleges want to read about your personality, experiences, and values in your response. In this workshop, we’ll review sample essays real ILUMIN students wrote for three popular schools – University of Michigan, Boston University, and Purdue University – and show you how to adapt your own  “Why Us” essay to work for almost any app! Students at any stage of writing Why Us essays for college would benefit from this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our specialists!

Many colleges require “quick takes" or short answers as part of their applications. As intimidating as a 650 word essay can be, a 50 word or 100 character response is equally strategic! In this workshop, we’ll walk through short answers from a few popular colleges – Stanford, Columbia, and USC – review sample essays from real students, and discuss strategies for writing effective short responses for any college on your list! Students at any stage of the process will benefit from this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our expert specialists.

You’ve written your “why us” and “diversity/community” essays. You think you’ve got it all covered, and then…the unconventional prompt! Some colleges want to figure out how creative you can get  – or that you love them enough to write an entirely new essay just for them. In this workshop, we’ll discuss some of the most unconventional prompts out there from University of Chicago, Boston College, Stanford, and even MIT. We’ll discuss strategies for conveying your distinct personality, values, and positive attributes through creative and engaging writing. No matter what stage you are at in the essay process, our 1:1 support from talented specialists will give you the confidence you need to launch into creative risks with confidence!

You’ve spent the last four years cultivating your skills in STEM – building meaningful projects, researching important ideas, and solving complex problems. But how can you authentically and distinctly represent what you’ve done in a way that makes sense to the application readers? In this workshop, we’ll examine how to creatively and compellingly describe your intellectual passions and connect them to prompts from top colleges like Georgia Tech, Caltech, and Harvey Mudd. If you’re an aspiring STEM major, this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our specialists will give you the tools you need to feel confident!

Ever find yourself staring at a prompt for hours, wondering —  “What on earth are they asking?!” Ever felt unsure whether your essay even answers the prompt? This workshop is for you! We’ll show you how to break down some of the most complex prompts, figure out what colleges really want to know, and organize your thoughts to ensure that you answer every aspect of the question effectively. We’ll examine essays real students wrote for three popular colleges – Carnegie Mellon, University of Washington, and Penn – but students at any stage of the supplemental essay process will benefit from these techniques and the 1:1 feedback from our expert essay specialists!

Many colleges require “quick takes" or short answers as part of their applications. As intimidating as a 650 word essay can be, a 50 word or 100 character response is equally strategic! In this workshop, we’ll walk through short answers from a few popular colleges – Stanford, Columbia, and USC – review sample essays from real students, and discuss strategies for writing effective short responses for any college on your list! Students at any stage of the process will benefit from this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our expert specialists.

How can you possibly condense four years of your life into 10 little boxes? With limited space and character counts, it’s important to strategize: which activities should I include, and in what order? In this workshop, we’ll walk through the required format for activities in the Common App and the UC Application, present best practices, and walk through examples from real applicants. Then, we’ll meet with you 1:1 to review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident!

Beyond your academic accomplishments and extracurricular resume, many top colleges want to understand who you are as a person — what makes you unique? What motivates you? How do you see yourself and the world? In this workshop, we’ll show you how to approach these questions and how to tailor your responses to each college on your list. We’ll review sample essays real ILUMIN students wrote for three popular colleges – NYU, Santa Clara University, and Rice University – but students writing essays about diversity and community for any college would benefit from this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our specialists!

For many colleges, it’s the first thing they want to know: Why are you applying? Whether they’re asking about your major, what you’re looking forward to, or how you see yourself contributing to campus, colleges want to read about your personality, experiences, and values in your response. In this workshop, we’ll review sample essays real ILUMIN students wrote for three popular schools – University of Michigan, Boston University, and Purdue University – and show you how to adapt your own  “Why Us” essay to work for almost any app! Students at any stage of writing Why Us essays for college would benefit from this workshop and 1:1 feedback from our specialists!

With these four essays, you’ll make your case for UC admission. Whether you have 20 activities or 2, it can be tough to decide not only what to talk about, but also which 4 of the 8 prompts best fit your story. In this workshop, we’ll complete exercises to help you choose your prompts and topics, receive 1:1 feedback, and create outlines you can follow for your first drafts. Already started your essays? No problem! Our specialists will review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident. 

The main personal statement on the Common App will lay the foundation for many of your most important applications. With 7 topics and 650 words, what will you write about? In this workshop, we’ll review sample essays from real students, walk you through choosing your most effective story, and help you construct an outline you can follow for your first draft. Already started your essay? No problem! Our specialists will review your work and give you the feedback you need to feel confident.