Working with Dr. M is one of the greatest decisions I made during my son’s high school years. Prior to meeting her, we had tried several writing tutors. To say it simply: Dr. M is the best! I had not met Dr. M before reading reviews on an educational website. Yet after several minutes of Skype conversation, my heart told me that Dr. M is the one we were looking for for a long time. My son’s acceptance letters and full scholarships prove that my intuition was correct. I still feel so lucky that I found her, Dr. M!

Dr. M is fun to work with and patient with her students. I appreciated her ability to dig out my son’s thoughts and highlight his talents and specialties. My son actually enjoyed every session he had with her (compared to being bored and sleepy with high school tutors). On the other hand, Dr. M sets her standard very high. She regularly filtered out some trivial ideas that my son thought were “good” before. She made my son think hard and write multiple drafts until the work stood out. I cannot remember how many extra sessions she scheduled with my son. One day, while working on several scholarship essays, they even worked for over four hours! In the end, my son was accepted to Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, CMU, and other schools with full scholarships.

There are so many examples that I cannot list them all here, but in summary, I want to say that Dr. M is a smart, passionate, and dedicated professional. Three months passed by quickly, and although the college application is over now, the friendship with Dr. M will last. If I could do it over again, I wish we could have worked with Dr. M earlier, when my son was in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade.

Grace, Parent of Matt, Undergraduate Applicant

I strongly recommend Amy to families with kids who are applying to college. After my daughter and I met with Amy only once, we knew she was the right person to help with Jenny’s UC essay. She is very knowledgeable about the UC system and what admission officers are looking for. After brainstorming with my daughter, Amy was able to come up with a recommendation with regard to what major my daughter should apply. She was also able to connect with my daughter’s passion, volunteer experience, and academic path. After my daughter finished the draft, Amy helped her edit bring to life and make it stand out through the editing process. The essay turned out to be very smooth, interesting, and convincing  while telling the reader about my daughter’s involvement, passions, achievements, and dreams. As a result, my daughter was accepted by numerous UCs including UCSD, UCD, UCI, UCSB. I’m very grateful to Amy for helping my daughter get into her dream school, UC San Diego.

Sarah, Parent of Jenny, Undergraduate Applicant

Before I met Amy, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about for my personal statements or even how to go about brainstorming. However, after telling her about some of my extracurriculars and interests at our first meeting, she was able to organize and connect my ideas quickly, forming a sketch for my essays in only a matter of minutes. Every time I met with her after that, we continued to develop and shape my essays, and I felt the heavy burden of college applications being lifted off my shoulders. She helped me brainstorm and gave me plenty of creative ideas for my writing. She also really forced me to look at myself to see what type of person I was; through the process, she helped me realize that environmental sciences was the right major for me. By the end of the process, I knew I had two really strong and unique essays, only to be confirmed when I got accepted into most of the schools I applied to, including my dream school, UC San Diego. Without her help, I don’t think I would have gotten this far, and the application process would definitely have been much more stressful, no doubt. Thank you so much, Amy, for all your help, the time you invested in helping me, and the effort you made to get me to learn a little more about myself through the questions you presented. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Jenny, Undergraduate Applicant

I was working with a student on a mock alumni interview a few weeks ago and threw this practice question out to her: “What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?” Her immediate response? “Apply for college!” Of course, I advised her not to use this answer, should she encounter the question with a real interviewer. The truth is, however, that applying for college is a big job and requires you to think, write, and present yourself in ways you probably never have before. Is meeting (and exceeding) the challenge worth the effort? Definitely.

Because the admissions process involves so many different components, when you are completing your application, you are creating a multifaceted academic and personal profile. This profile, in its parts and as a whole, serves as your “sales pitch” to an admissions officer. Admissions officers know what they are looking for. To them, each part means something. Yet more important is how your admissions profile works as a whole. Are the parts complementary? Does each facet reflect something new about you? Does the whole present a dynamic and unique personality? If you can answer these questions affirmatively, then an admissions officer will surely get to know you. Below is an explanation of the significance of each part of your admissions profile.

Standardized test scores: Your standardized test scores usually serve as a baseline indication of your competitiveness. Each school works with a mean SAT/ACT score particular to that school. If your score meets or exceeds the mean, you will be considered for admission. If your score is well below the mean, your application will probably be discounted. If it is just under the mean, your application will be considered. SAT II subject tests reveal more about you. Schools will look at the subjects you’ve chosen in relation to your chosen course of study, and they will be especially impressed if you’ve taken subject tests you have not had a class in. Doing so demonstrates initiative and intellectual intensity. The same goes for AP exams.

GPA: Your GPA is extremely important. A strong GPA reveals diligence and an ability to handle a variety of subjects. If you do well in math and science but not in English, your application will reveal a weakness in critical thinking, an indication that you do not think reflectively. Even if you are aiming to be an engineer, strong critical thinking and writing skills are considered essential and will make a difference in your chances for acceptance. Alternatively, if you are strong in the humanities but weak in math and science, your application may be compromised in this digitally-driven world. Then there is the issue of what your weighted GPA says about you (if your school has a weighting system). To take an example, if you have a 4.2 weighted GPA but a 3.5 unweighted GPA, this means that you received some B’s in your AP classes but got the extra points for taking them anyway. While taking these AP courses reveals your ambition, it may negatively reflect on your decision-making skills and compromise your competitiveness. If you have a 4.4 weighted GPA and a 4.0 unweighted GPA, your set of grades reflects academic strength combined with good choices.

Classes: Although not mentioned in the question, the classes you have chosen to take throughout high school additionally say something about you. If your school offers many honors and AP courses but you have not taken that many, it will look like you did not take advantage of the many opportunities available to you. On the other hand, if you attend a school that does not provide many advanced classes and have pursued them on your own at a local college or through self-study for an AP or SAT II exam, your choices and achievements will impress your reader. It is also important to know that admissions officers assess your formal academic profile in relation to the school you have attended. In other words, they will look at the larger context of your academic performance.

Extracurricular Activities: Being engaged in activities outside of the classroom has become an extremely important indicator of an applicant’s character. The most successful list of extracurriculars includes demonstrated commitment to activities or causes through steady, multi-year participation. If you’ve joined 10 clubs but have not stuck with them, you will present yourself as someone without direction. But if you have soared through Speech and Debate competitions over the years, effectively revamped your Korean club, or excelled at a sport over a significant period of time (and perhaps even coached younger kids all the while!), you will show yourself to be someone who uses your free time wisely and deliberately. Better yet would be an activity that you conceived, established, and executed. Admissions officers love students who show initiative and leadership. And even better would be an activity initiated by you that has social value. The dream student is one who possesses creative and strategic vision, leadership qualities, and a commitment to the social good.

Essays: It is in your essays that you can most powerfully communicate who you are to a university and shine as an individual. When mired with applications, all with similar GPAs, exam scores, and an activities profiles that are of equal merit, admissions officers rely on your essays to find a distinguishing mark. The essay is your big chance to display your thoughtfulness, strength, value, character, and above all, your unique voice. Almost any admissions essay, no matter how stern and academic it might seem, allows for great strategic and creative leeway. Go for it! Be clever or sensitive or funny, share insights or lessons learned, show your reader what you’ve got to offer to a world much larger than your high school. The essay or essays play a very important role in admissions decisions. If the rest of your profile is excellent but your essays are drab, you might very well be rejected by a school you are competitive for; this kind of admissions profile may present you as someone who does everything right but cannot think creatively or deeply. On the other hand, the essay can compensate for shortcomings in other parts of your profile. If you received a C in physics but can tell a hilarious and insightful story about it, you will be imparting a great deal of information to your reader. Wow your reader, write something that sticks, and university doors will open. For more tips on writing the personal essay, see my September post.

If you are applying to private schools, and even some public schools (University of Michigan among them), chances are you will be using the Common Application. The Common Application acts as an electronic clearinghouse for all undergraduate admissions applications submitted to its 456 member schools (including some in Europe). You can even submit an art supplement through it.

The great thing about the Common Application is that it makes life easier for everyone (except, I venture to guess, the technical support). Last year, about 2.5 million applications were processed through the Common Application.

What the “Common App” does is streamline the application process. It consists of two main components: one part acts as a sort of “central application” containing information required by all schools while the second part, called the “supplement,” provides information specifically requested by a particular school. The University of Pennsylvania, for example, asks different questions than does Cornell. And, yes, each part requires an essay or set of essays. More on that below.

But first, to familiarize yourself with the Common App, I suggest the following steps.

1. Go to the Common Application website and, at the risk of stating the obvious, get an account.
2. Familiarize yourself with the tabs in the lefthand sidebar. The green tabs represent pages for selecting your schools and filling out their supplements. The grey tabs link to various parts of the Common Application.
3. It is best to familiarize yourself with the Common App tabs and pages first. Do not worry about Future Plans yet; this tab works only when schools have been selected. The first three—Applicant, Demographics, and Family—should be pretty clear.
4. Under the Education tab, you will need to enter your school’s code and your guidance counselor’s information. Once you have completed this part, you will be able to send counselor report forms to your guidance counselor through the School Forms tab. Also note the checkbox at the bottom asking if you’ve taken any college courses for credit. If you have, when you check the box, it will expand into a form for entering that information.
5. Before I go further, this must be said: click Save often.
6. Under the Academics tab, you will be asked to enter your GPA, standardized test scores, current year courses as well as academic distinctions earned since ninth grade.
7. When you click on Activities, you will be asked to list your extracurricular, volunteering, and work experiences in the order of their importance to you. Be careful about how you word your Position Held, Honors Won, etc. since you are not given much space. Abbreviate well! For example, if you have played on the volleyball team, making your way up to captain and winning a national club championship, for “JV/Varsity Volleyball,” you might write something like this: Varsity member (9^th, 10^th), Captain (11^th, 12^th); 13^th in Nat’l Jr. Olympic Tournament (10^th).
8. Next comes the Writing tab! In it, you will find space for a very short essay about an activity. Here, you will also submit your personal essay, otherwise known as the “Common App Essay,” which needs to be 250-500 words. While you need to cut-and-paste your answer for the short essay, you can upload a document for your personal essay. You will find the prompts for the personal essay on this page.
9. The Signature tab provides you with the final step of the process: submitting your application to a particular school and paying the application fee.

You can’t apply, however, until you’ve selected your schools and completed each supplement. To gather your list of schools, click on the Search for Colleges tab and then type in the name of the school. Once you have checked the appropriate school (sometimes more than one comes up for your search term) click Add, and you will be directed to your My Colleges page. The My Colleges pages will pretty much become your dashboard. On that page, you will see a grid listing your chosen schools. From there, you will be able to access each supplement where you will need to fill out some basic information (each school has its own variation) and submit your supplemental essay or essays. You will also be able to complete the Future Plans section of the Common Application for each school at this point.

Remember, each school’s supplement is unique. You must read its questions and essay prompts very carefully to make sure, for example, that you are writing an appropriate personal statement. Note, too, that you should submit your strongest essays to the supplemental portion. Target the supplement. Admissions officers pay particular attention to it.

The Common App now has an instructional video! You can access it on the FAQ page. There is also a Help page. And if all else fails, contact good ol’ Applicant Support (link on the Help page).

Good luck!

Dr. Morgenstern wasn’t just a college consultant who helped my son correct essays for grammatical mistakes; she was there to truly understand him so that his essays shined. I really felt she could take something we had originally thought was very ordinary for him, just something we almost took for granted, and expand on it in a significant way to fill out those college essays to show who he is. It seems almost as if she speaks the language of the admissions committees and knows exactly how to pull out those little quirks from someone and squeeze everything into a couple paragraphs.

While it is natural to be anxious and worried as a parent, especially during college application season, Dr. M helped us get through the process easily. She always kept a detailed record of every session from beginning to end, and she updated us via email. Dr. M was able to take care of everything, from researching a particular school to student questionnaires and helping my son prepare for interviews, making him really stand out at the most crucial moments. We would have been unprepared for all the little details that add up to the grand scheme of the college application process if not for Dr. M, and we’re really grateful for everything she’s done for us. We could not have done it without her; she’s really focused on the tasks at hand, and the acceptance letters prove it!

Sarah, Parent of James, Undergraduate Applicant

她全神贯注地做事，我的录取通知书证明了这一点。。。

 莫根施特恩M博士不只是一个大学升学顾问，她还帮助纠正我的儿子作文的语法错误；她去真正了解他，从而使他的散文光芒四射。我觉得，我们原本以为发生在我儿子身上的是很普通的一件事，但M博士却可以站在她的角度把它变成很独特以致最后作文的结果是真真实实地把我儿子的特点表现了出来。她讲话时就像一个大学招生老师，因为她知道如何让对方把底牌暴露出来。

虽然作为父母对孩子的未来总是感到焦虑和担心，尤其是在申请大学的季节，可是M博士却帮助我们很容易地度过了这个时期。她总是永远保持不停每一次会议的详细记录，然后她通过电子邮件将每次的上课的进展详细告诉我们。是博士总是能够面面俱到。从选校到学生的问卷调查以及到帮助我的儿子准备面试，她总是在最关键的时候出手，以致我们的儿子总是能够平安度过难关。我们真的很感谢她为我们所做的一切因为如果没有她为我们做这么周密的准备，大学申请过程真是让我们不寒而栗。我们不能这样做，没有她，我们是不会有今天的收获的，我儿子的录取通知书，证明了我以上所说的一切。

Sarah, Parent of James, Undergraduate Applicant詹姆斯·萨拉，家长，本科申请

Junior year is hectic; you need to keep up your AP classes, clubs, sports, extracurriculars, just about everything.  My first time meeting Dr. M, with all her flair, reminded me of the hyped-up junior year, as it seemed she did it all.  She’s an artist with a Ph.D. in philosophy, knows her way around different cultures, and seems to have learned just about everything from biology to programming games to the ins-and-outs of admissions (of course).

At this point, Dr. M would declare that it was enough about her, and what about me? During each session she would be able to take the most out of our conversations, paying attention to every single detail and organizing everything into a neat, 500-word essay. This very attention to detail while still being efficient is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Dr. M; during sessions, she would take note of how long it took me to program a game while telling me to fix the comma splice in a particular sentence.

I started working with Dr. M in January of my junior year, and even as I landed myself in Carnegie Mellon’s Game Academy that summer with her help, she did not act as if her job was over. Dr. M always went above and beyond her job description, never ceasing to keep up with how I was doing throughout the summer. As a result, she was aware of the interview opportunities that were given at the school; her advice for meeting with admissions administrators was invaluable, giving me a distinct advantage and confidence throughout the interview. As if that weren’t enough, by keeping tabs on my progress, Dr. M was able to help me start my college admissions essays early, which made meeting deadlines later on that much easier.

As essays are started, the infamous writer’s block is almost guaranteed to strike at one time or another. Dr. M not only never gives up, but she also has a toolkit containing an infinite amount of tips and tricks to help applicants continue writing. From making the text color white to links to helpful research sites, she always makes sure the process continues according to schedule.

As school resumes after summer, what little time is available must be used carefully since senior year is basically junior year plus college apps. While the process may initially seem long and arduous, with Dr. M acting not only as my friendly neighborhood “Grammar Nazi,” but also my coach and mentor, the process is over soon and easily, with very noticeable results. This is how I have come to see my work with Dr. M: she helps you bake the cake that is an application essay. You provide the raw material, the flour and eggs, and Dr. M is there during every step of the process, magically whipping up a multi-layered cake, complete with the powdered sugar that you forgot you even brought.

I gained a lot more through the entire process than early admission to Carnegie Mellon; I’ve gained a greatly improved sense of grammar that I will take with me through the rest of my life. I have grown as an individual and have learned to have more confidence in my own accomplishments. Because of Dr. M, I’ve had my first true mid-year “break” in the last few years and the best present my family and I could get in time for the holiday season!

James, Undergraduate Applicant

在整个申请卡内基•梅隆大学过程中，我获得了远远比我想象要多的东西

.大三是忙碌的，因为你不仅需要跟上AP班进度，还要参加俱乐部，体育，等课外活动。与她所有的天赋，当我第一次会议的博士时，她让我更加肯定我的大三确实是疯狂的，因为她经历过了这一切。提醒我宣传的大三，因为它似乎她做了这一切。.她是一个具有博士学位的艺术家 i她似乎什么都知道，什么都学过。当然，大学申请是她最拿手的）。

她究竟是个什么样的人？她是一个极其注重细节的人。.每次见面她都能够让你把最真实的你说出来，她注重每一件事，每一个细节都不会逃过她的眼睛。然后再将这些话变为一篇只有500字的短文。届会议期间，她将能够采取了我们的谈话中，注重每一个细节，一切组织成一个整洁，500字的文章。这种非常注重细节的行为举止，是很有效的，它也是M博士最显着特点之一。

我在一月开始和她一起工作的，即使在我被自己卡耐基梅隆大学的游戏学院录取以后，M博士也一直与我有联系，以致她非常了解我，因此，在应征工作时，她也能给我提出宝贵的建议。

M博士有时就像一个工具箱，里面包含有无限量的技巧和窍门，以致可以帮助所有的大学申请人写出好文章。

随着时间的推移，M博士不仅成为了我的好朋友，还是我的语法教练也是我最好的导师。在她的教导下，我的进步很快。虽然我现在已经被卡内基•梅隆大学的提前录取了，但这个过程将使我一辈子受益无穷。特别是我的语法水平是突飞猛进了。我取得的成就让我对自己更加有信心了。因为M​​博士，现在的我可以和我的家人去度一个真正的快乐的假期！

James, Undergraduate Applicant詹姆斯，本科申请

Dr. M seemed to be able to read my mind. I had great ideas for my essays, but I had a difficult time putting them into words. Fortunately, Dr. M was there to help me.  She got to know me very well, perhaps even better than I do, and even helped me remember activities that were most relevant to my essay prompts. I am proud of all the essays Dr. M helped me write, and I have high standards for myself. Furthermore, Dr. M genuinely cared about me and my essays. She always scheduled enough meetings for us both to feel confident in my essays. One day, we worked for over four hours! She was also always eager to answer my sometimes spontaneous questions over Skype. Last, I dare say that I actually had fun working on college apps, something that would not have happened without Dr. M.

Thanks for all the help you have provided!

Matt, Undergraduate Applicant

说实话，我的申请大学的过程很有趣

M博士一开始就好像知道我在想什么。我有很多想法，但是我就是不知道怎么把它们写出来。幸运的是，我遇到了M是博士。她了解我比我了解我自己还多。她的提示经常是我已经忘记的东西但有非常有用用意思的。我对我在M博士帮助下写出的文章都有一种自豪感，现在我已经知道如何为自己订更高的目标了。另外，M博士从心里真正地关心我和我的文章。她总是安排足够的时间直到我们彼此都对我的文章有信心。有一天，我们居然一连工作了4个多小时！她总是通过Skype热心地回答我所有的问题。最后，我想说，我觉得我的申请大学的过程是非常有意思和有趣的，这全都M博士的功劳。

感谢你提供的所有帮助！

Matt, Undergraduate Applicant马特，申请人本科

My graduate school applications (MFA) were due in less than a month, my personal statement was weak and disjointed, and I was panicking. I appealed to Dr. Morgenstern via email one evening, and within a couple of hours, we were Skyping from one end of the world to another, getting to ready to work together. From that first conversation, I knew she would help me write a strong statement. Her energetic and determined voice made think, “OK, this is going to work out!”

Working with Amy is an intense process whereby she’ll have you write and work until it all comes out, and until it’s perfect. She pushed me to develop my ideas in greater depth, to extract and explore what was really essential in my art-making. During the whole process, Amy also makes a point to get to know you personally, to understand where you’re coming from and what you want to express.

Amy is excellent. She is sharp, incisive, precise and discerning. It is clear that she has a great passion for writing, for words, for literary constructions and for art as well. She has an amazing capacity to listen, analyze, edit and synthesize. I also particularly appreciated Amy’s artist background and understanding of aesthetic issues.

Amy’s working method is the best you can get. She genuinely wants you to succeed!

Thanks for everything Amy!

Lori, MFA Applicant

她是尖锐，精辟，准确和挑剔

我的研究生（MFA）的论文，还有不到一个月的时间就要上交了，我个人的陈述也是很弱和不通顺，我恐慌极了。 一天晚上，我通过电子邮件联系到M博士，几个小时之内，我们从世界的两端用Skyping开始了对话以及合作，越来越愿意共同努力。从第一次的交谈，我就知道她一定可以帮我写出一个非常棒的个人简历。她总是说：没问题，一定会好的。与艾米一起工作是一个紧凑的过程，因为让她会让你一直把你所有的东西都写出来，直到她认为你的东西可以让你的文章完美才行。将你写的工作，直到所有出来，直到它是完美的。她会一直旁敲侧击地启发我，挖掘我的潜能，直到我可以更深入的理解什么是真正的艺术创作的重要性。在整个过程中，艾米无非就是想多了解你，最终知道你想要表达什么。

艾米是优秀的老师她是尖锐，精辟，准确和挑剔。显而易见，她是一个对写作，以及艺术。她是一个有惊人的倾听，分析，编辑天赋的人。 等综合能力。.我也特别感谢Amy的艺术家背景和对审美问题的见解。

艾米的工作方法是你可以找到的最好的。她真诚希望你成功！

感谢艾米给我带来的一切！

Lori, MFA Applicant洛瑞，外交部申请人