Learning Curve: College Essays

Going through my tweets of the last week, I saw a lot dealing with writing college admission essays. I never really had to write an admission essay, so I don't have a lot of personal experience with the process. I did have to write an essay about myself to send in with my housing application last year when I was living in the dorms. One of the best websites I can recommend for any of your college related questions/information is College Board.com. They've got a lot of really great tricks/tips, just really good college information. If the name sounds familiar, these are the same people that do A.P. (Advance Placement) test.

A few of the tips they have about college admission essays seem really helpful & I wanted to share them with you.


1. Keep Your Focus Narrow & Personal: Don't try to explain EVERYTHING you've ever done. Just like with any other essay, find a main point & elaborate on it. Pick a few related events that you think paint a good picture of who you are. Even if you don't have that much to explain, if you explain it well & in enough detail you're usually pretty good.

2. Prove it: Just like any other essay, you need to prove the point you're trying to make with specific examples, quotes, facts, reasons. Sometimes it's better to let your story...well...tell the story..

3. Be Specific: Essays that say "I volunteered at the nursing home 3 times a week. It was fun." or something along the same lines are boring. ELABORATE! Tell them WHY it was fun! Is there a certain patient that would do/say crazy things that you bonded with? What about the time Mr. Jones started the food fight in the cafeteria? (these are totally made up, but hey, it could happen!) Essays like that are the ones that really stand out.

4. Don't Write What You Think They Want to Hear: When you do, you end up sounding fake. Be yourself & write the essay you want to write. Don't worry if you don't think it's up to "college standards". Most essays are for the purpose of getting to know the applicant better, not judging you on your writing ability.

5. Don't Write a Resume: Everything like that that they need to know is already on your application. They don't need your life story either. Most schools just want to know why you would be a good addition to their school, not how when you were 4 you broke your arm because your sister pushed you out of the tree house.

6. Keep it Short & Sweet: Don't get wordy, it's not impressive. College professors have hundreds of papers to read and grade at a time. Say what you want to say in the most simple way possible.

Example from College Board:

Okay: "Over the years it has been pointed out to me by my parents, friends, and teachers—and I have even noticed this about myself, as well—that I am not the neatest person in the world."

Better: "I'm a slob."

7. PROOFREAD!: You might think it's awesome, or you just want to be done with it and don't really look over it. That could be a mistake. Read it 2 or 3 times. Print it off & have your parents, grandparents, friends read it. They might have something really good to add or tell you that the wording of a sentence is weird and that you should change it.

These aren't just college essay tips, these can be applied to any kind of paper you have to write. College essays aren't meant to be scary or intimidating. Take a deep breath & let your fingers do the talking. It'll turn out better than you think, I promise.

Hope everyone had a great week. Things are finally starting to settle into a normal pattern around here, but that doesn't make it any less busy or hectic.

♥ Jen

Allie DiMeco Joins The Deko and Posh Blog as our Celebrity Blogger

Allie DiMeco joins our team as one of our Celebrity Bloggers. Allie is from The Naked Brothers Band. Welcome Allie, we are going to have some great times!!

Happy Birthday Emma Roberts

Happy Birthday Emma...Deko and Posh and all your fans wish you a very happy birthday.

Emma is 18 today!

Meet Posh

Posh finally finished her makeup...

Daechlle will be the Official Celebrity Blogger for dekoposh, Inc. at Baby & Tween Celebration LA

Daechelle will be blogging about and interviewing your favorite celebrities all weekend on April 25th & 26th at Baby & Tween Celebration LA. Come share in the excitement and meet Daechelle and the rest of the celebrities. Radio Disney will be live and don't forget you will be able to meet Deko and Posh.

Happy Birthday "AJ" Amanda Michalka

Happy Birthday "AJ" Amanda Michalka. Deko and Posh and all your fans wish you a great day :D

AJ is 18 today!

Happy Birthday Elle Fanning

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Ms. Elle, we think you are so posh! Deko and Posh and all your fans :D

Elle turns 11 today!

Happy Birthday Kristen Stewart

Happy Birthday to you! We love you Kristen...from Deko and Posh and all your fans :D

Kristen turns 19 today!!!

Happy Birthday Jesse McCartney

Happy Birthday Jesse, Deko and Posh and all your fans wish you the best day ever :D

Even though Jesse is not a tween/teen and that is all we usually post about, we still know all of you want to wish him a very Happy Birthday!

Jesse is 22 today.

Deko is finally here...

Hey V.I.T.s,

Deko is finally here, he will be live at Baby & Tween Celebration LA on April 25th and 26th...stop by and say hi, he will be signing autographs :D

BTW---Posh is still fixing her makeup, she will show her face very soon!

Savvy & Mandy will be performing at Baby & Tween Celebration LA

Tune into Radio Disney on April 11th...vote, vote, vote...

The Recession-April Fools, and The Obama's

The recession is still ongoing. The latest jobs report shows that we have lost 2,000,000 jobs in 3 months. Staggering numbers. But, there are some economic indicators that we may be starting to rebound from the recession. Keep your fingers crossed. Meanwhile in Europe Pres. Obama and Mrs. Obama are wowing the continent. Even Queen Elizabeth gave Michele a hug. Its nice to see that America is appreciated and not hated.

Last Wednesday was April Fools day. The republicans presented their economic proposal. No, fooling.It was a little underwhelming. Let's see we need some good news. I know, baseball starts this week. At least we will have something else to talk about. Oh, I almost forgot, TIGER IS BACK!! Tiger Woods won his first tournament in 8 months. So with good thoughts of our economy showing some signs of recovery, baseball and spring in the air, life is looking up. Keep being positive and remember there are people who still need help, do what you can. By helping one another better days are ahead.

Come see Austin Anderson Perform at Baby & Tween Celebration LA

This boy can dance. Come see Austin Anderson on April 26th at Baby & Tween Celebration LA.

Denzel Washington Helps a Local Boys & Girls Club in New Mexico

Denzel Washington has donated $50,000 to save a Boys & Girls club in New Mexico.

According to reports, Denzel handed over a check and urged Roswell residents to follow suit, resulting in a further $5,000 in donations.

Dear Denzel,

You rock :D
Thank you for helping!!!

You can find the Boys and Girls Club on our Hot Charities/Causes List on the left side.

Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy Spent the day Planting Trees

Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy tweeted yesterday that she was out planting trees for the environment. She said "Planting trees in eagle rock! Yay tree people!" "That was absolutely amazing. Planting trees feels so good! Sunshine, nice people, amazing exercise, and helping the planet = happiness."

You can visit Alison Sudol at A Fine Frenzy or @afinefrenzy on Twitter