Resources
Recent Online Articles About Applying to College and Writing College Essays
Grand Valley State 2009 Accountability Report – Looking at a Michigan Public University? Use this incredible set of statistics to compare apples and apples in areas such as tuition, average number of students per professor and graduation rate.
How College Application Essays Can Reduce the Achievement Gap–A novel solution to a difficult problem. Bill and Melinda Gates Educational Foundation: please take notice!
Rocketing Past the Application Blunders August 19, 2009–Deans and college counselors have seen it all. Here’s what to do if you want them to take you seriously
The Choice Blog by Jacques Steinberg in the New York Times–Demystifying College Admissions and Aid
Essay Coaching Publications–A Great Way to Get Started
College Admissions: From Chaos to Control. A Guide for Students and Families for Solving the College Admissions Puzzle, by Debbie Merion, John Boshoven, and Geri Markel is a friendly, valuable, stress-reducing resource for students and parents. Fill-in-the-blank exercises give students a quick start with choosing their essay topic.
What a wonderful book! I only wish I’d had it a few years earlier. –Lisa Pasbjerg. LMSW, DCSW, President and CEO of Focused Coaching
Read these excerpts from the book:
Read Debbie Merion’s revealing story about how U-M admits undergraduates: “Paper Cut – The U-M Picks Its Freshman Class”
Listen to Media Presentations
Debbie’s essay writing tips aired the week of Sept. 22, 2008 on Dateline: Schools Radio WPHM-1380 AM. Listen.
Debbie at the Ann Arbor District Library 2007 College Night
Helpful College Sites
Google University Search
Common Application
College Board
US News College rankings
How Important is Your Essay When Applying to Michigan Colleges?
Scholarship and Essay Competition Information
Additional Informative Books
Elbow, Peter (1998) Writing With Power, New York, Oxford University Press
Goldberg, Natalie (1990) Wild Mind, New York, Bantam Books
Goldberg, Natalie, (2007) Old Friend from Far Away, New York, Free Press
Lamott, Anne (1995) Bird by Bird, New York, Anchor Books
Lunsford, Andrea (1999) EasyWriter, Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s
Murry, Donald M. Shoptalk, Portsmouth, Boynton/Cook Publishers
Murry, Donald M. (2002) Write to Learn, Boston, Thomson Learning
Rodale, J. I. (1986) The Synonym Finder, New York, Warner Books
Strunk, Jr., William (2000) The Elements of Style, Boston, Allyn and Bacon
Zinsser, William (1998) On Writing Well, New York, Harper Collins
About College Essays Or Applying To College
Bauld, Harry, (1987) On Writing the College Application Essay, New York, Quill
Curry, Boykin (2003) Essays that Worked, New York, Ballantine
Fiske, Edward (2006) Real College Essays that Work, Naperville, Sourcebooks
Greene, Howard R. Making It Into a Top College, New York, Harper Collins
Harvard Independent (2002) , 100 Successful College Application Essays, New York, New American Library
Hernandez, Michele (2002) Acing the College Application, New York, Ballantine
Mason, Michael James (2000) How to Write a Winning College Application Essay, New York, Three Rivers Press
Princeton Review (2006) College Essays That Made a Difference, New York, Princeton Review
Wissner-Gross, Elizabeth (2006) What Colleges Don’t Tell You, New York, Penguin
Download a free PDF help guide.