Launching the Uncommon College-App Essay In-Person/Online
- Date:
- Thursday, June 8, 2023
- Time:
- 7:00pm - 8:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Wakelin Room
- Campus:
- Main Library
- Audience:
- Adult Teen Young Adult
- Categories:
- Teen Event
- Online:
- This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
This energetic talk helps college applicants and their parents see the application-essay writing project less as a challenge and more as an opportunity — even an enjoyable one! The founder of Hillside Writing, Allan Reeder, shares instruction and strategies for young writers embarking on the self-exploration that informs meaningful, effective, authentic essays.
With a case-study approach — up-close, with a large-screen view — Allan invites attendees to enter the sentences and the evolving sensibilities of past college applicants who have progressed beyond the worry about having to say something significant and into the confidence of having something specific and meaningful to say. He offers practical preliminary steps forward, helping soon-to-be-applicants see how essential specificity is to discovering and articulating their stories, and ultimately to arriving at truthful, memorable reflection.
The talk ultimately replaces students' worries and head-scratching with an informed sense of purpose and an eagerness to get started, and parents have greatly appreciated the calming effect of Allan’s teaching. For instance, one parent recently wrote: "I was blown away by this presentation — some of the most engaging and inspiring teaching I've experienced, ever. It not only made me wish that my kids had had Allan as a teacher; it made me want to write my own college-application essays all over again, which is saying something!"
The talk, including a period of Q&A, lasts 90 minutes.
BIO: ABOUT ALLAN
Sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries.