A myth you shouldn't miss...

Just a reminder that college application season is in full swing (not that anyone applying to college or sharing a household with anyone applying to college needs any reminding). The Washington Post offers some timely advice with a list of seven college-admissions myths; you might want to take special note of #6:

6. Essays don’t really matter much in the end because grades and test scores are so dominant in admissions decisions.

Don’t believe it. A poorly written, typo-filled essay can kill any application, and a beautiful piece can lift a student over another who looks similar on paper. Yes, college admissions officers can often tell if a student didn’t actually write the essay. Some compare the writing with SAT and ACT essays. And no, don’t think every subject will work as long as it is well written: Admissions officers have no interest in a student’s love life, brushes with the law or the trip to Costa Rica to fulfill a community service requirement in which the applicant wound up learning more from the locals than the locals got from the applicant.

Ah, good advice: A great essay can make all the difference, but only if it's the right essay, and that means the right topic and the right words for the student who is writing it. Anyone who wishes to learn more about how VW can help precisely with this process is invited to navigate over to the For Students section of the site.

And thus ends the shameless plug. Happy Halloween!