Gabrielle Glancy

About Gabrielle Glancy

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July 31 2019

The Common App Essay: Start now, Worry Later

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My daughter absolutely LOVED working with Gabrielle Glancy. Gabby was a huge help, support and inspiration, and taught her how to think about writing in a whole different way.

Believe it or not, the time to start writing your Common App essay is now.

The clock is ticking. There are two weeks left of summer before school starts.

A recent article in Forbes hits the nail on the head:

The end of summer feels imminent. . . With the school year approaching, college applications are weighing heavily on rising seniors’ minds . . . Many students can expect to have at least one application due by early November. Yes, this is over three months away, but the fall can be hectic with classes, sports and activities.

Just reading this will make you nervous. Of course, Brennan Barnard, the author of this article, is right. But do you have to rub it in? 😉

So, you know you have to get started, but you\’re not sure how to do that.

First off, I would relax. I know that seems paradoxical, even impossible, when you\’re faced with such a high stakes game like getting into college.

What you need most to write a great essay is a great state of mind.

Most people in my position focus on the externals of writing — picking a topic, structuring your essay, making the language come alive.

I\’d like to focus on the internal aspects of writing — what I like to call the Inner Game of Writing — which is the main subject of my new book UNSTUCK: How to Break Through Writer\’s Block, Find Your Voice and Get Into the College of Your Dreams.

Had I not suffered from writer\’s block myself, I wouldn\’t have earned my stripes.

I had a bad case of it! In fact, writer\’s block is the reason I almost became a doctor instead of a writer. I just could not overcome my anxiety. It was paralyzing. \”Hamlet, the main character of Shakespeare\’s play Hamlet . . .\” EEK! I can\’t write that!

One day, I learned to let the river take me. I realized that I had to put my thinking mind to sleep and write from another place, what I have come to call \”the trance-like state.\”

But how do you get into the \”trance-like\” state.

In a way, you have to trick yourself into relaxing.

One of the best ways to do this is to adopt an attitude of \”play.\”

Many people — including trained professionals — will tell you that you need to find a topic before you can start writing.

I think you should start writing to find a topic! \”The wand must find the wizard.\”

But what do you write, what do you start with?

Anything!

And then you free write until there is nothing more to say, not worrying about order of ideas, grammar, punctuation, spelling — just write write write.

Let me demonstrate.

From where I am sitting now, I see an old-fashioned upright bicycle leaning against the wall in the courtyard across from my office.

I will begin to free write on this bicycle with no particular topic in mind.

Note: The mind is a wild animal. If you truly follow its meanderings, you\’ll see that, like a chimpanzee going from branch to branch, your thoughts will jump around.

That bike reminds me of the green Raleigh I got for Christmas, it must have been 1975. I had a Raleigh later that I loved. I biked all around London with it. The courtyard is terra cotta, with late afternoon sun cutting across the middle in a small town in the South of France. My father motorcycled to the South of France every year, to the Arts Festival there . . . That year I got 4 bikes stolen. I bought a Motobecane, silver, from a street vendor on St. Mark\’s. That one must have been stolen too. Once all that was left was a skeleton of a bike still attached to a parking meter and the chain I locked it up with. I used to carry it down the three stairs to my favorite cafe, Cafe Mogador . . .

And so on and so on.

This free write is actually rich with possibility, even though I had NO IDEA what I was going to write and it didn\’t seem at the time I wrote it as if I could use it for anything.

But my train of thought took me to many interesting places all over the world. And the stolen bike theme is a metaphor, as is the skeleton of a bike attached to the parking meter — of the lives we live and leave behind? I would have to write more to find out.

But that was the easiest 150 words I ever wrote. I just let myself leap from thought to thought without a care in the world.

That\’s the idea of the free write.

You can start anywhere. Pick an object (such as the bicycle), a person, a meal, a place, a memory, a dream, a scene in a movie . . . and just start free associating from there. (Remember: Write in full sentences!)

What will this have to do with your essay? You have to write enough so that a pattern or theme will emerge.

Then you have to read what you\’ve written to figure out what you\’re trying to say.

This is the complete opposite of what everyone else will tell you. Trust me.

The beauty of this way of doing it is you take the anxiety out of the equation.

I outline this method in my new book UNSTUCK, available from Amazon on September 1.

You can read a review of it here.

I would be happy to guide you on the amazing journey of writing from the inside out with an attitude of play and freedom, rather than nerves and anxiety.

Feel free to give me a call to ask me how I would do this or Book a session now.

UNSTUCK full cover FINAL NEW TITLE FRONT

July 19 2019

Get UNSTUCK!

Gabrielle Glancy Blog 0

Shout out to BroadwayWorld.Com for their wonderful review of my new book UNSTUCK!
In something of a sequel to her acclaimed book The Art of the College Essay, her latest book UNSTUCK, out September 1, concentrates its focus on the critical, and often terrifying, juncture in which a writer comes face to face with a blank page.

How to Begin the Common App and UC Essays

June 1 2019

How to Begin Your Common App & UC Personal Insight Essays

Gabrielle Glancy Blog 0

Writing is difficult for everyone! Writing under deadline is even more difficult.

And yet that is what you face in writing your college admissions essays.

In fact, in applying to college, you are asked to write the most important essay(s) of your life — under deadline, with word limits, often answering specific prompts.

To me, this is a recipe for ANXIETY!

Writing and anxiety don\’t mix.

Rather, they are like oil and water. Once anxiety enters the picture, creativity skulks away and hides in a corner.

I think it\’s Freud who said \”Anxiety is the great narrower.\”

Anxiety makes you contract, freeze, get small and afraid.

So we want to avoid anxiety at all costs.

But how do you avoid anxiety in a high stakes game like trying to get into the college(s) of your dreams?

Actually, teaching students how to do that is one of my areas of expertise, and, in fact, may be my biggest secret to success and claim to fame. 😉

Beginning your college essays early is one very simple antidote to that which shall not be named — writer\’s block.

Except in rare cases, writing takes time. True, there are instances in which you sit down and write a brilliant essay from start to finish all in one go. I like to call this a dangerous piece of luck. It\’s not the norm. It\’s rare. And you can\’t count on it.

If you start early, at least you eliminate one of writing\’s most insidious arch enemies — time pressure.

But the truth is, even if you have all the time in the world, writing still seems to stir up some anxiety.

I have come to believe that this is because there are two warring parts of the brain — the creative part and the critical part — and, like Japanese fighting fish — if you let them near each other, they\’ll devour each other!

So what do you do to keep the creative and critical parts of yourself apart?

For one thing, you have to realize that there is a difference between Product and Process.

Most people, even your teachers, get them confused or think they\’re the same. They\’re not.

Product is what you are aiming for, what it should look like when it\’s done.

Process is how you get there.

To write a good college essay — or anything, for that matter — you need to know the difference between product and process.

This distinction is so important that I devote a whole chapter to it in my book The Art of the College Essay.

In this case, product is a narrative personal statement that shows the Ad Com what you\’re made of! It should be 650 words or less (for the Common App Essay). It should be compelling, revealing and authentic.

How do you write one of these essays?

Well, that\’s why I have a job!

Most people think you read the prompts, brainstorm ideas, and write an essay from A to B.

If that works for you, great!

That would give me a big case of that which shall not be named! (Writer\’s block!)

There\’s no harm in looking at the prompts for the Common App. You may get ideas just from reading them. I often read them aloud to students and ask them if anything comes up for them.

But remember, they are just prompts. They are meant to trigger ideas. In fact, prompt 7 is Topic of Your Choice. So in reality, you can write on anything you want.

There\’s no harm doing anything that generates ideas. If reading \”Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening\” makes you think of the winter your grandfather died and you ran out into the snow and wouldn\’t come back home, then Robert Frost\’s famous little poem served as a prompt for you.

Or perhaps it was a dream you had . . . a snippet of conversation . . . a moment of musing on the hidden benefits of paper clips. (Ask me and I\”ll send you an amazing college admissions essay on paper clips!)

So it really doesn\’t matter what gets you going. It only matters that you get going. And honestly, anything can trigger that.

Once you free yourself from the idea that you have to write an essay from start to finish, the world is your oyster! Sometimes when I\’m stuck, I pick a random book off my shelf. I particularly like books on astronomy and quantum physics! They are very rich in metaphor.

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.Black holes can be big or small.

Any number of phrases from this little paragraph can be the source of inspiration.

Take \”squeezed into a tiny space,\” for example. What does that remind you of? A long car ride with your brothers and sisters? Sitting in the back of the bus? Climbing into a cardboard box to hide from your mom?

And how about a feeling you might get, a \”space\” you might be in, where \”gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out?\”

So anything can inspire you if you\’re free to be inspired.

If you squeeze yourself into a little box and believe you have to write your essay from start to finish based on one of the Common App prompts — good luck! That\’s a hard road to hoe, as they say.

Rather, allow yourself to be triggered by any thought, memory, idea, passage from a book, or even prompt . . .

— and then . . . you know what I\’m going to say . . . FREE WRITE!

Once you\’ve done that, you can read what you\’ve written to figure out what you\’re trying to say!

In a Free Write, as you may recall, you write anything and everything that comes to mind in relation to whatever has prompted you in the first place, stream-of-consciousness-like, with no attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation or even paragraphs. Only one requirement — FULL SENTENCES.

Once you start writing, you may find yourself far afield from your original \”triggering subject.\” That\’s fine. That\’s okay. You\’ve succeeded in allowing the creative part of yourself to have free reign while the critic sits in the corner cleaning its fingernails.

The time will come for the critic to emerge and see how the whole thing might fit together.

For now, you\’ve gotten started — and that\’s what we set out to do.

It really doesn\’t matter what the prompt is for the Common App essay.

The UC Personal Insight Questions are a different story — in a way.

For those, the prompts are more specific, and you do need to address them. But there again, you start in the same way. You allow your mind to wander on the subject at hand, you brainstorm and write down whatever comes up for you, and then . . . you got it! You FREE WRITE on that subject.

I will go into more detail about the UC Personal Insight Questions as that deadline draws closer. You can also take a look at the post I dedicated entirely to the Personal Insight Questions.

For the moment, you know how to begin.

Just FYI, and to see whether looking over the topics stimulates any ideas, here are the Common App prompts, followed by the Personal Insight Questions for the UC\’s.

Allow these to inspire memories and thoughts. Don\’t be too literal and get locked into dutifully answering them. Remember, that\’s a recipe for that which shall not be named.

I\’m happy to guide you through this process, step by step. Soon my course on How to Stand Out to Get In will be available for you to use.

In the meantime, I absolutely love to help students find their way to great topics and write amazing essays that will get them in. Click here to get started!

2019-2020 Common App Essay Prompts

Businessman hands busy using laptop at office desk, young female student typing on computer sitting at wooden table

The Common Application has announced that the 2019-2020 essay prompts will remain the same as the 2018-2019 essay prompts. Based on extensive counselor feedback, the existing essay prompts provide great flexibility for applicants to tell their unique stories in their own voice. Retaining the essay prompts provides the added benefit of consistency for students, counselors, parents, and members during the admissions process.

Plus, with essay prompts remaining the same, students rolling over their existing Common App accounts have more time to plan and prepare their applications prior to the final year of high school.

Counselors looking to get a head start with application workshops this year can take advantage of Common App Ready, a suite of on-demand resources, training videos, and infosheets, details everything students, counselors, and families need to know about using the Common App. This resource includes details on application creation, detailed descriptions of each section, and submission requirements. The tool also includes Spanish language resources.

2019-2020 Common Application Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Describe a problem you\’ve solved or a problem you\’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you\’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

During the 2018-2019 application year, the most popular topic of choice was: “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you\’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” (24.1%). The next most popular topics were: “Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.” (23.7%), followed by “The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?” (21.1%).

\”The prompts as they exist today offer a broad range of approaches, accommodating students with a diverse set of experiences and ideas about the world to respond in a thoughtful and illuminating manner,\”\’ said Ian Watson, Associate Director of College Counseling at The Rivers School (Weston, MA).

Personal Insight questions

What do you want UC to know about you? Here’s your chance to tell us in your own words.

Directions

You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you: But you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.

Keep in mind

All questions are equal: All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions: It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.

Questions & guidance

Remember, the personal questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?

Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?

How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?

Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today?

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family?”

6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs — and what you have gained from your involvement.

Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that?

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place — like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better?

From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little.

Need more help?

Download the worksheet for freshman applicants [PDF]
See our writing tips & techniques

Ready to get started?

It’s a good idea to work on the questions before you enter them into the application. Here’s a word doc with all the questions to help you.

Download the freshman personal insight questions [DOC]

May 2 2019

Why Hire a College Counselor?

Gabrielle Glancy Blog 0

In the wake of the college admissions scandal, it’s more important than ever to find an honest college counselor.

You need a college counselor who knows the ropes and is devoted to helping students find and articulate their strengths, choose the best fit schools for them, not just the most prestigious, and forge a path with clear sightedness and integrity in this most important rite of passage.

A few years ago, I was interviewed by Indian Currents magazine on the role of Independent College Counselors in today’s world of admissions. I was delighted to answer Kamini\’s questions.

Her questions made me think about what it is I do every day, what makes me unique, and what makes what I do so important.

Every high school across America has at least one college counselor to help its students with all the essentials of the college admissions process. These counselors are tasked with keeping students on top of deadlines, administering PSAT’s, and sending out official high school transcripts. In their spare time, they write college recommendations for each and every student in the school; they guide students towards the right schools for them; they counsel them on majors and career paths; they help students with their FAFSA; and finally, they edit their students’ college application essays! Not!

In fact, high school college counselors don’t have any spare time! There is often a 400-600:1 ratio between students and college counselors, even in the best of circumstances.

What this means is that students don’t get the help they need to navigate what has become a very complicated college process.

Without that help, they often find it difficult to choose the right schools – and most importantly – to write an essay that will help them get into the school(s) of their dreams.

The world of college admissions has gotten much more complicated than when I applied to college many years ago. High school college counselors are busy and overworked. Even though both my parents were teachers, and this was quite a few years ago, I did all that I describe above — for myself! And I didn’t do it very well. I ended up transferring after my freshman year of college.

The burden then falls on parents. But we all know how easy it is for parents to help their teenage kids with their college essays?? 😉

I like to say, if parents could do the work of helping their own kids navigate the college process, I would be out of a job!

So here’s what I said to answer Kamini’s questions. These are questions I get asked, in one form another, all the time.

1. What does private college counseling entail?

When someone asks me what I do, I say that I help students realize their dreams. What does this mean? It means helping them succeed in school and get in to where they want to go. It means helping them make choices about the courses they take, the extra-curricular activities in which they engage, the schools to which they apply, the topics on which they will write their college essays. Private college counseling is no different than what a high school counselor does, except as a private counselor, you can have much, much more frequent and targeted one-on-one sessions with students, and tailor your approach accordingly. High school college counselors are stretched very thin and also have to deal with red tape. For this reason, it has become increasingly popular for people to use private college counselors. If there weren’t such a dire need for my services, I would be out of a job! But as it is, my phone is ringing off the hook!

2. How has the application process changed? How do you and your business plan to address these changes?

In the almost thirty years I’ve been working in college counseling, the application process has gotten more and more complicated. Take the UC’s for example. For the last eighteen years or so, there were two questions required to fulfill the UC Personal Statement. Now there are eight questions, of which students must choose four. There used to be only the Common App. Now there is the Coalition App and the Universal College Application. When I was a student, you took the SAT’s once. You didn’t prepare in advance. You just took it. Now you must choose between the SAT and the ACT. And then there’s the SAT 2 Subject Tests! It has become a great challenge to navigate the college application process. Even experts like myself have to work hard to keep up with the changes so we can advise our students accordingly.

3. At what age or grade do you recommend students start to work towards their applications and college goals?

Believe it or not, I sometimes see students in 8th grade. Once I even saw a 5th grader!! (That’s a little too early 😉 But I would say it’s most beneficial to meet with a college counselor at least once in freshman year and once in sophomore year, early in each of those years. And then it’s a good idea to make a concrete plan for SAT/ACT prep and begin that prep at the end of sophomore year or in the summer between 10th and 11th grades. The earlier you start, the better chance you have of taking the right courses, signing up for the right extracurriculars, and finding out about summer programs and internships that might interest you. When I meet a student in 11th grade, I often say, “I wish I met you a year ago!” Start early! It will make all the difference in the world.

4. What do students need from your services that they are unable to get from their counselors at school?

I answered this in a general way in question 1. But more specifically, I can’t imagine students could find someone better to work with on college essays 😉 I literally wrote the book on it –– The Art of the College Essay! College essays are my area of absolute expertise. I even train teachers in the methods I use to help students optimize their chances of getting into the schools of their dreams. So there\’s that. In addition, because I\’m not wedded to any one institution, I have a lot more flexibility. I\’m not grooming higher achieving students to get into Princeton, Stanford, etc and discouraging the others. I can help every student find the path that is right for them, and then pull out all stops to get them into the school(s) of their dreams. I\’m not overworked. I love what I do. And I have been extremely successful. Almost everyone I work with gets into their top school — and takes a deep and beautiful journey to get there. Does that answer your question? 😉

5. Have you noticed an increase in students using counseling services in recent years? How is the business of college counseling growing?

As I mentioned, I am incredibly busy. There is a HUGE need for my services. Students have no idea how to write their essays. They are filled with anxiety and stress. And they don’t know where to turn. A big part of my job is helping them calm down, find their stories and write winning essays that will get them in.

6. What expectations do you want people to have when beginning to use consulting services?

I always tell parents and students that though I cannot guarantee acceptance 100% of the time (only about 94%), I can guarantee that when they press send, students and parents alike will be super confident in their applications and essays, that in fact, they will know in their hearts they could not, under any circumstances, have done better if they tried. That\’s a good feeling. The rest we leave up to the gods!

The only question Kamini didn’t ask me was what makes my services unique?

I’ll let parents and students speak for themselves. You can also take a look at this video to get a feel for what I do and who I am. If you think you’d like to find out more, please give me a jingle at 415-637-1955. If you know you’d like to work with me, don’t hesitate to Book Now!

Gabrielle Glancy is amazing at connecting with teenagers.

We have worked with her for our son (now a junior in the UC system) and currently she is working with our daughter who is in the middle of the process now — Gabby does everything she can to make a real connection with our amazing young adults and to help them learn and develop the tools to be successful with the test-taking, essay-writing process.

The college process is daunting, but Gabby is there with the kids and the parents to guide the way!

My daughter is a senior in high school and missed the second half of her sophomore year due to an illness. She came out of the hospital in June and had to start summer school right away. College applications were the last thing on our mind as she started her junior year. I contacted Gabrielle Glancy (as well as some other consultants) and found that Gabby\’s style and approach matched our needs. From the outset she respected my daughter\’s experience and was all about listening to her and helping her discover her story and communicate it in a compelling way. I feel like Gabby is not trying to make my daughter into someone else just to look good in an application.

The essay writing process, in particular, has been amazing and will have lasting benefit!

The process of free writes, reflection, developing insights and meaning, and connecting meaningful moments into stories has been a wonderful growth process for my daughter. She is becoming a better writer, even using some of the techniques in her school work. The reflective essay writing process has been a great opportunity for my daughter to think deeply about herself and authentically tell her story. This alone has been worth it. Working via Skype has been terrific too. No driving in rush hour to make an appointment and wasting time. They pop into Skype together and get to work. At the end, my daughter has her to-do list and knows what she needs to do. I have been hands off but check in and get involved only when necessary and it has been terrific. I could never have guided this process myself. Each session is based on what my daughter needs – discussing edits or issues in an essay, working through writer\’s block, strategizing about how to use various pieces of writing in different essays. Wherever my daughter is, Gabby has a technique or approach to support her and help her move forward. My daughter started the process skeptical, with concern and some anxiety since she missed school etc., not sure she had anything to say, but she is really enjoying working with Gabby and has found her confidence and power. We\’re applying early action, to UCs, CSUs, and some East Coast/Ivys. It is a lot of work!

Gabby has created a very do-able process and flow of work. Gabby is busy, but I have found her flexible and supportive throughout the process

Gabby worked with my daughter on her college essays and I’m so thankful we found her! What I found was that the process of digging deep to write an amazing personal college essay takes time and a lot of effort. Gabby uses a free-write process to get ideas flowing and gets these kids thinking outside the box to come up with something unique. The results do not come overnight but THEY DO COME! Gabby is super busy. Scheduled back to back most days. But when it’s your time, she is there 100%. My daughter never felt rushed or stressed by Gabby. My daughter felt as if she was working with a trusted friend throughout the process. But my daughter truly received a master class in writing, and has already used techniques she learned from Gabby in applying for an honors program in college.

Our daughter absolutely LOVED working with Gabby Glancy.

I don\’t think college essay writing can be done in even a few sessions; it really is a process, and in fact, requires a particular style of writing that many students don\’t really learn in high school. Our daughter worked with Gabby starting early in her junior year and through the mid-point of her senior year. Gabby was a huge help, support and inspiration, and taught her some invaluable ways of writing. Gabby taught her a whole new way of writing that really captures her unique voice and experiences, which is why the \”free writes\” that the parent below mentions are so important. These college essays must really be the student\’s authentic voice and experience – and that requires a process of discovery, experimentation, reflection, writing, editing, feedback and then more writing and editing. We knew that the colleges our daughter were interested in place a high value on the quality of the essays, and that they really need to stand out. Using the writing techniques Gabby taught her, our daughter got into a very competitive summer fellowship (5% admissions rate), and she just got into a highly competitive, top-choice college early decision. Gabby has a strategy for helping young adults dig deep within themselves and find ways to work through writing blocks to come up with compelling, meaningful, authentic and excellent essays. I would definitely give her a call. She\’s very organized, accessible and fun to work with.

I would like to add to the many recommendations for Gabby Glancy as a college admissions counselor. She worked with my daughter on all aspects of the application process, from helping her choose the right schools for her, to SAT tutoring, to writing essays.

Gabby is a former college admissions officer and really knows her stuff.

She helped bring up my daughters SAT scores significantly after just a few sessions, and really pushed her to write essays that she was proud of. My daughter said that her writing skills, which were already good, have improved so much since working with Gabby, and I think that that is worth its weight in gold. These are skills that will.

Gabby also clearly enjoys working with kids at this stage in life and really understands them.

She acted as a therapist to my daughter throughout the process, giving her pep talks exactly when she needed them.

I only wish we had met with her earlier in the process….my son is a freshman, and I\’m going to take him to see her this Spring!

Everything you need to know about the results is on her website, but what really convinced us to find the money to get our two high schoolers tutoring with her was the woman herself. I was skeptical when I heard about the service and results she promised; my son was WAY behind on college prep; it was already October of his senior year and he hadn\’t begun to apply to schools, and though his grades were passable, his SAT scores were only 1530.

For parents of teens who are flummoxed by the complexity and competitiveness of SAT prep and college application process, I have a recommendation: Gabrielle Glancy of New Vision Learning.

My daughter, a hard-working Junior, wanted to get a head start on her SATs and needed help with writing and vocabulary in particular. Grudgingly, I scheduled a consult with Glancy in San Rafael. I was immediately taken by her intense passion, her ability to connect to my kids and motivate them with specific goals and the encouragement that only someone who has spent a good number of years in education could muster.

Glancy is determined to help students find their own strengths and work with them to identify the possibilities without selling them pie in the sky.

My son\’s SAT scores have risen to 1730. His math and writing have improved, and he\’s been motivated to apply to colleges and follow up like never before. He\’s already been accepted at Long Beach State and UC Riverside. We never thought we\’d be promoting an SAT and college prep tutor, but Glancy has taken two concerned kids and their parents and given us all the tools and wherewithal to not only survive today\’s college application process, but even enjoy it.

You get what you pay for. Glancy\’s a master.

She goes around the country giving talks on writing college essays and wrote a book on it. She took our son through the process from beginning to end. It wasn\’t cheap, but he got into UCLA and some other great schools.

You feel like you\’re in good hands working with her — expert hands.

I highly recommend Gabrielle Glancy as a college counselor. We went through the process without a counselor for our oldest, and decided, given the personality of our second, that it would be a good idea to enlist some outside help. Gabby worked with our daughter for 8 months (from spring of junior year through applications submission on 12/30), and, thanks to her, most of the stress at home around college apps was eliminated. This meant that our home was not a battlefield but rather a calm place–very different from two years ago when our oldest was at the same stage. Sophie stayed focused and on track both with the apps and with working to get her grades up (part of our agreement with her and with Gabby).

My daughter heard from her first school last week–she was accepted into their honors program with a scholarship that will cover 50% of all expenses. Gabby is worth every penny!

Gabrielle Glancy is truly the best. Our daughter worked with Gabby two years ago and got into the school of her dreams.

We started our son at the same time as our daughter even though he was only a sophomore. Gabby helped him every step of the way — with SAT\’s, his college list and the entire college process. As a rising senior, he is now working with her on his college essays. In this area, I cannot imagine anyone better. She has helped him come up with really unique topics that express his true essence, is teaching him how to write in ways he and we could never have imagined and has helped him gain confidence in himself throughout the process. I have seen them work together and they have a great rapport.

Gabby is easy to talk to but really sharp and on her game. My son always comes out of her office (or SKYPE) smiling.

He\’s calm around her and she gets his creative juices flowing. Catch her early if you can. She\’s busy. Her book The Art of the College Essay came out last year and she\’s started working with students all over the country and all over the world. She\’s worth every penny. A rare find. You can also check out her website which is pretty thorough and informative.

Gabby is the best in the business! I have three sons and I have never met someone who has as much expertise and rapport with kids as Gabby has.

She’s truly an expert in her field. As a former Admissions director, she knows from the inside out what students need to get into college.

Working with Gabby is really one-stop shopping. She is worth every penny!

Our daughter had done previous preparation for the SAT’s, but eight sessions with Gabby was worth all of the rest of it put together. She has some techniques that seemed to unlock previously locked doors for Sophia. And then she helped her find her voice and write the most beautiful essays.

We did our college process from start to finish with Gabrielle Glancy and everything that is said about her is true.

Focus on the Free Write: How to Write a College Essay The Worry Free Way

April 26 2019

The Supplemental Essays: How Much Do They Matter?

Gabrielle Glancy Blog 1

Students often tell me they don’t need to worry about the supplemental essays because they’re short – usually between 50-150 words.

But this is far from the truth!

In fact, admissions often read the shorter ones first, especially the “Why?” Wouldn’t you?

Think about it. Rather than dive into a 650 word essay, which might or might not be worth your time, why not read a shorter one and see if it grabs you. And wouldn’t you want to know if the applicant’s interest is sincere?

So the supplemental essays are not just important, they’re critical. And they must get the reader’s attention from the get go (especially because they’re short).

Although we often start working on the Common App Personal Statement first, there is no harm in downloading the supplemental essays and starting to brainstorm on possible topics for these.

Sometimes, in fact, in the process of thinking about one of the supplementals, you might stumble upon a topic for the Common App you would not have otherwise come up with.

This is an additional benefit in not waiting too long before finding the supplements for each of your schools.

Recently I was helping a student with her Common App essay and she was stuck. Wellesley was her first choice school and she intended to apply there Early Decision.

“Let’s look at Wellesley’s supplements,” I suggested.

I knew full well what the question was and suspected it would help us think about other supplements and essays.

Wellesley College Application Essay Prompt

When choosing a college community, you are choosing a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. Generations of inspiring women have thrived in the Wellesley community, and we want to know what aspects of this community inspire you to consider Wellesley. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but the ”Wellesley 100” is a good place to start. Visithttp://www.wellesley.edu/admission/100 and let us know, in two well-developed paragraphs, which two items most attract, inspire, or energize you and why. (p.s. ”Why” matters to us.) (2 paragraphs)

Then I read her an essay written by a student who applied and got in EARLY DECISION to Wellesley.

Take a look at this deftly written pair of essays by Rose Miller whose subjects were Hilary Clinton and the Lulu Library. Rose later used both of these subjects for other essays and parts of it, amended, for the Common App. And by the way, if you like this one, you will find another essay by Rose Miller in Best College Essays 2018.

Surrounding me was a wall of solemn and powerful, larger-than-life portraits of the former presidents of Wellesley. I immediately realized they were all women! The enthralling tour ended in the majestic Lulu. Looking up at her jagged corners, the many shades of layered brown, I noticed another oddity: there were no right angles in the building. This is female power, I thought, this is female ingenuity. Women think outside the box, or in this case, outside the lines. What I saw was the true nature of women: we are strong, creative, and fearless.

And they were fearless, my group of political neophytes. The journey started with a plea for funds to take students to the state capitol. Although I got a lot of no’s, I got just enough yes’s to make bus reservations. As Chair of the California High School Democrats, it was my responsibility to make sure students had the opportunity to be civically engaged and make a tangible impact. Finally, there they were, these aspiring young politicians gazing over the whole expanse of the capitol building. I saw a bit of trepidation in their eyes. I gave them a look of reassurance, one that said I’m here to support you. This is going to be great! It was on these very steps I met one of the most famous Wellesley alumnae, Hillary Clinton. The lodestar of my political aspirations, she showed me how to be a resilient and intelligent leader. During that life-changing meeting I looked over her shoulder, just a momentary glance, at Wellesley in my future. And now, with stoic determination, my posse walked in. Calm and assured, I gave them a thumbs up: You can do this, too. And they did. Their courage was beautiful. I watched as they went up and spoke about their personal experiences. “We deserve to afford every woman the right to choose her own destiny,” they argued. My group of California High School Democrats walked out of the capitol building, grinning from ear to ear. A few months later, we heard that the resolution passed. I hope someday to be looking the other way: from Wellesley to the steps of the United States Capitol. Though there may not be a right angle in Lulu, there is an intersection, like that between my love of politics and my desire to help fellow women succeed. This intersection, like going to Wellesley, is the structure of my dreams.

My advice on Supplemental Essays boils down to this: Don’t wait until you finish your Common App Essay to look at them. They can provide wonderful triggers for great ideas!

And they need to be excellent in their own right.

Take a look at the Stanford Short Questions below. Any one of these could be used, in an expanded version, for the Common App.