Winning college application essays take admission officers beyond the numbers and shows them what the students really care about, how they think, and who they really are. But even the best of students can be daunted by the task. This easy-to-follow guide provides the tools to tell a memorable story. Updated to reflect recent changes to the all-important Common Application, which nearly all applicants to competitive colleges use, this book provides a clear path to an essay that says, Pick me! Features: Best approaches to the new Common Application questions. Clues to how colleges read essays Simple steps for successful drafts. Revision strategies. Quick fixes for procrastinators. The right role of parents in the process. Critiques of actual sample essays guide students toward the best practices and away from common mistakes. No other book on this topic has this breadth and depth of expertise.