Hi, I’m Brennen Carter. I’m a Higher Education Specialist with the GOAT’s and I’m here to talk to you about writing “golden” college apps.

Working with students for over 10 years, and with them on elements of their college apps for over 7, I’ve found that the best college applications are ones that are “golden”.
What I mean by that is that they follow the letters of gold… You know the periodic table letter abbreviation for gold–AU (but also golden in the normal sense too).

What does it mean to write a “golden” app?

Well–look to the letters–AU. Writing A–well written, well narrated, grammatically sound application essays and of course, U–about you, you driven, you focused.

Remember, colleges want to see that you are a strong writer, as writing is a big part of college. So polish and edit your essays as best you can. Perhaps find someone like me, a higher education specialist, tutor, teacher, or the like to edit your essays. You want them well-written, sound in terms of content, and of course, to have great grammar.

The other MAJOR, MAJOR part is writing U. That means the majority of what you say is about you, not your school’s club, the university’s Biology program you’re applying to, your friends, etc. They want to know about you! They know about the school’s program–they read apps for the school and perhaps work there in some facet as well. They don’t want to hear extensively about the club you were President of or the well-to-do hospital you volunteered at either. They want to hear about YOU. YOUR experience with that club, the impact the hospital had on YOU, how YOU grew, what YOU think YOUR future will hold, how YOU will get there, etc.

Remember, to write “golden” apps, write the letters of gold: A & U.

*Source: Brennen Carter