When I was applying to college... we pretty much just applied to college. 

Now, social media allows countless strangers on the internet to endlessly share advice about the college application process, driving a weird new neuroticism about the best possible "strategy" for college applications. 

These "strategies" often take the form of, "It's easier to get into XYZ School if you say you want to major in Blah — then after you get accepted, you can switch into BlahBlah."

This is a terrible strategy, and here's why:

The most important essay on the Brown Writing Supplement is this one: 
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Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it. (250 words)

Crazy story: a few years ago, there was this weird bug in the Common App website that caused the last paragraph of essays to get deleted. 

​That means that countless applicants spent hours brainstorming, writing, and revising their essays... Only to submit an incomplete essay with no conclusion.

Some of the most common college essay advice... is also the most terrible. 

I've been an education consultant and college counselor for eight years — at this point, I've heard it all... And it almost feels like a moral obligation to tell you that the advice people have been giving you is probably wrong.

If you want to go to Yale, you have to work for it.

Both by being an amazing student with incredible teacher recommendations...

And by writing seven supplemental essays. 

I already discussed the first Short Take, "What inspires you?" Today, let's explore the next question:

This is a post for all the aspiring Bulldogs who are feeling stumped by Yale's "Short Takes" on the Common Application.

The first thing you need to do is understand why the Yale admissions team is asking these zany questions.

This blog is full of ideas and advice about writing successful college essays — yet one concept I always emphasize is that your recommendations matter at least as much as your essays.

​You can say anything you want about yourself... So colleges are very interested in what your teachers have to say about you. 

Overall, the essay prompts on the Common Application don't change much from year to year — but 2020 brings a notable exception. 

In response to the maelstrom that is 2020, the Common App has added a new, optional essay in the Additional Information section:

Out of the thousands of universities and colleges, Chapman might be the most beautiful.

But that's only one of many reasons to consider making this your home for the next four years.

"Welcome to paradise!" the Stanford band blasted across the quad my first night of freshman orientation. 

They were right: Stanford is​ a paradise. But the Stanford application... can feel like hell.