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Health & Fitness

COLLEGE ESSAY JITTERS

Parents and High School Seniors are feeling some serious jitters about now. They've worked hard to get themselves, their families, their transcripts and their budgets ready for what's ahead.  And for many, completing the final application steps for early action and early decision comes down to finishing and finessing their college essays.    If your senior is on edge, here are a few pointers to stay calm and on track:
1. Keep it Simple - The college essay is not meant to be a test.  The reader, who is closer to your age than mine, just wants to know what kind of classmate, roommate or teammate you might be.  What about your daily life would your friends or family say, "Oh, that is SO you [INSERT YOUR NAME]!" Write a few of those down.
2. Write What You Know Best - Once you have a couple of those, chose one or two to "free write" on.  That means just type away for five minutes WITHOUT editing yourself.  No one will see this but you, right.  Set a timer so you don't cheat yourself out of finding potentially fruitful material.   Do this at least twice.  A helpful tip here is to write as many details as you can, perhaps in a list first, then use all the items in your list in the free write.  The details are what will set your story apart from other similar stories - no two people's experiences are exactly alike!
3. If You Are Stuck - Then write about being stuck.  Get it out of the way. Clear all the muck and tell it like it is, how crazy stuck you are and how what you really want to say if you could is this, "...!"  Then back up and look at what you've written.  Can you expand on any of the free writes?  Do any of them relate to the essay questions, even remotely.  If so, jot down a few more ideas to flesh it out and free write again for five or ten minutes.  
4. Get Neutral Feedback - before you delete everything you just wrote (I.e. DON'T DELETE EVERYTHING YOU WROTE), get some feedback.   Someone telling you how cool it is that you collect model rockets, or that you're the only family on the block without cable TV, or that your obsessed with the cooking channel, might be enough encouragement to keep you going.  
5. Breath.  Deep cleansing breaths.  You too mom and dad.  

If you are really stuck, I'm giving 20% off of my coaching package if you register your senior this weekend!  Visit www.naomivladeck.com for details or read my blog for helpful prompts and writing tips!

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