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JP Morgan Chase The Fellowship Initiative

Good news on Winning College Essay–Julian Jimenez, Princeton

May 7, 2020 by Sara Nolan Leave a Comment

Julian Jimenez's winning college essay begins, "Here comes Satanás... Behold his fiery, mischievous, defiant glory." I know: a risk. Just the kind that apparently makes admissions teams sit up and then salute. I had worked closely with Julian on his main college essay and supplements--if they don't take him, they're confused, I'd think. In admissions, though, criteria are complex. Excellent writing stands out, but it doesn't stand alone. Though the tone was often playful, I knew he wasn't playing. So when I saw his long list of impressive acceptances in the email, I was not surprised, but my heart did crack open. You'll remember my name Julian was dubbed "Satanas" as a child; Satan may have a really bad reputation in many circles, but we know what that figure does well is convince others to do things. In this case, his power of language (y'all are going to know my name!) held sway over admissions officers. They remembered his name and they put it on their BRING IT list. Committed to Princeton Julian wrote: "I'm proud to tell you that I have committed to Princeton! I actually got into roughly 90% of my top choices including Dartmouth, Columbia, USC, UCLA, Berkeley, Swarthmore, University of Notre Dame, UCSD and UCSB , and a few others." Now, if you follow my admissions essay work, you know I am not an Ivy Preacher nor swayed by school branding that's not backed up by substance and stellar education. Any school must be a potential a fit for that applicant. (Because, no, the Illustrious Ivies are not a fit for all, nor is their egregious price tag). But in this case, the enormity of the nations top schools saying YES YES YES CHOOSE US speaks volumes about Julian's renovation of his entire life, and his family's life and prospects. His was the kind of family this country claims currently to not want within our borders. Voice to and through the struggle Most of us have no idea what some students struggle through to get even a decent  Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Solutions, Stories, Students, Uncategorized Tagged With: admissions officers, college acceptance, college access, college essay, JP Morgan Chase The Fellowship Initiative, student stories, voice

What is “authentic” voice?

October 11, 2016 by Sara Nolan

Your authentic voice? answer with an anecdote! The student in my college essay revising workshop tipped dangerously far back in his chair.  Even the chair was nervous. "Can you look at my essay?" He called.  No matter that I was in the middle of a sent-- He handed me an essay draft with tight lips. It was all about how he went from careless to caring about his school work over a few challenging years. "I don't like it." He said. "It's boring." He wasn't fishing for praise.  He didn't like it. "Well, if you are bored by it, it's probably boring," I agreed. I skimmed it.  Yup.  Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Integrity, Questions, Solutions, Uncategorized, Writing Tips Tagged With: anecdote, authentic, college essay writing, JP Morgan Chase The Fellowship Initiative, not boring, personal story, voice

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