College application essays matter. Why? Most colleges want more than an army of academic robots; they want to build a community. High GPAs and activity lists don’t reveal enough. A strong application ...

Writing college essays that stand out is a critical step in the college admissions process. College admissions officers read thousands of essays each year, and a compelling essay can make a ...

A member of the board of admissions examining applications at Princeton University in 1962. School is out and summer is here. Yet future high school seniors and their families are likely already ...

Writing a college admissions essay is hard. But using AI could backfire badly. Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite; Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Every fall, high school students applying to ...

In January, I raised my hourly rate to $300 before wondering if I could get away with charging anything at all. I teach high-schoolers how to write college essays, helping students claw their way out ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Brennan Barnard writes about the nuances of college admission. If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” ...

This story about generative AI was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

A wave of updated 2026 personal statement guides is changing how students approach college essays, stressing authenticity, narrative craft, and rhetorical strategies over mere achievement lists.

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Universities nationwide, including Caltech, are debuting artificial intelligence tools to evaluate applicants.