"Don't forget to read the prompt multiple times! You don't want to respond to just a part of the prompt and if you only read it once, you might forget something."

"Just write. Don't worry about the word limit. Get your ideas down and then we can cut. That's always easier than not having enough."

"Remember that no matter what the prompt says, this essay has to be about you."

"Don't tell the colleges things they already know. Students often write things like, 'I want to go to the University of Michigan because it is a Big 10 school (They know.) with a great football team (They know.)' Or students write something like, 'The University of Illinois has a great engineering program (They know.)'"

"If you can't think of anything, consider writing a metaphor essay. A metaphor essay is one in which you use a metaphor to describe yourself (and your life?). For instance, as a poet, I might want to chose to write an essay about how I am like a poem myself. In a band? Could your instrument be a metaphor for you? Is your guitar or violin or oboe or zither or theremin a good metaphor for you? Or how about sports? Do you play a game and are still bitter Dr. Jeter said that sports essays are cliché? Now's your change to write not about the big game you won, but about how the line drive in basketball actually is you!"