Best College Essay prep book?

College Essays
1

<p>I am a soon-to-be high school senior who is looking to get a head start on the college essay process. (The Common App. has already released topics) Since I am the first college bound sibling in my family, I don't have an older brother or sister to ask advice from, and my parents don't know much about the essays these days. </p>

<p>Has anyone used a college essay tips/prep book that has been helpful? I know there are quite a few on the market; does anyone have any advice? If not, then any basic college essay advice would be appreciated. :)</p>

2

<p>I like the one by Alan Gelb. The new edition is coming out any day now and he also has a website.</p>

3

<p>There are a lot of highly-rated books on Amazon that I would personally never recommend. Many of them fall into two categories -</p>

<p>1) self-promotion. They feature a lot of ‘contributors’ who wanted to their name out there for resume and personal-business’ sake. Everything sounds flashy and nice, but the information only gets you so far. </p>

<p>2) common sense-based. They feature advice that isn’t exactly wrong, but doesn’t help you write amazing statements either. The key word here is ‘amazing.’</p>

<p>One reference in particular that I find effective is Harry Bauld’s ‘On Writing the College Application Essay’. He is/was a full-time English teacher and has admissions experience, so his advice is much more practical and useful for students at the drafting stage. His examples and commentary are spot-on and up-to-date, unlike a certain Harvard reference.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you can check out my online guide. It’ll walk you through the whole process - getting into the right mentality, brainstorming, drafting, revising, etc.</p>

<p>[The</a> App Style - A College Application Guide](<a href=“http://www.theappstyle.com%5DThe”>http://www.theappstyle.com)</p>

4

<p>I just bought the Bauld book for my daughter and she appears to be reading it, so I am hopeful!</p>

5

<p>That’s great to hear. The book is a breeze to read through from cover to cover and a nice way to get started.</p>