Starting out: confronting the blank screen -- The first step: picking a prompt -- What to do and what not to do when you begin writing -- More advice as you write -- The prompts and some illustrative essays -- The supplemental essay -- Special creative questions -- Special usage rules for college essays -- Special usage rules II -- Editing -- An interview with an experienced college counselor -- You hit the submit button. Now what? -- What if you don't get your first choice? A final hint: life doesn't end

"This book is a handy, readable manual, which deals with the practical problems students face when writing their college admission essays"--