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Blog – College Dollars and Sense

Conflict Is Great (for Your Essays)

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 1,444 views
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. One of my favorite shows of all time, Breaking Bad, opens with one of the most unforgettable scenes in television. The main character, Walter White, is wildly driving an…
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Don’t Study Business (as an Undergrad)

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 987 views
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. Many students come to me with the intention of studying business as undergraduates. If that’s your dream, I will bend over backwards to help you make it a reality. But it’s…
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The ABCs of the Why This School Essay

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 790 views
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Crafting college essays is frequently more an art than a science, and how you approach your writing process should represent your individuality in experience as well as…
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What Makes an Elite Essay

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 935 views
The essay is one of the most revealing pieces of the college application process. Not only are you expected to bare your soul in 650 words or less, but you’re also offering a window into how you think…
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Focus on Your… Flaws?

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 651 views
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D.  Unlike the rest of your application—which is about telling colleges what you’ve done—the personal statement for the Common App is about telling them who you are. That’s…
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Waitlisted? Now What?

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 846 views
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. For many students, landing on a college waitlist hurts. Some even (wrongly) perceive it as a failure (trust me, it’s not). They might even question what they didn’t…
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What Do You Really Care About?

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Admissions
  • 745 views
By Adam Muri-Rosenthal, Ph.D. No college information session would be complete without a colorful Powerpoint peppered with grandiose value statements. Diversity! Sustainability! Intellectual excellence…
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Could ChatGPT Write Your College Essays?

  • Distinctive College Consulting
  • Essays
  • 1,265 views
By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D. Perhaps you’ve heard of ChatGPT. Introduced in November 2022, it has been one of the greatest disruptions to our sense of selves as human beings in history. Its ability…
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