Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.

- Mark Twain

College Admissions Tips

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📄 The Great Essay Cutback (and Why It’s a Trap)
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💡 The “Why Us” Essay, Minus the Fluff
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🏷️ The Hidden Tax of a Familiar School Name
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📨 The Recommendation Letter Window Is Open—Here’s How Not to Waste It
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Why “Big Words” Are Sinking Your College Essay (And What to Use Instead) 💡
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🙅🏻 There Is No Safety School Anymore 💣
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The Quiet Before the Application Storm ⛈️
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🧠 The Blank Page Problem: How to Actually Brainstorm Essay Topics 📝
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⏲️ The Early Advantage: Why Timing Has Become the Defining Variable in College Admissions 📆
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The New Rules of Getting Into College: What the Class of 2026 Tells Us 🎓
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Grammar and Writing Tips

Featured
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✍️ Know Your Dashes—A Punctuation Punch List 🥊
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😉 More Than a Wink: The Case for the Semicolon ;-)
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Who or Whom
🤷🏻‍♀️ To “Whom” It May Concern: You’re Probably Using This Wrong
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🤬 Expletives Are No F*@KING Joke
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🤔 Maybe or May Be? Here’s the Trick
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🤯 “You and I” Syndrome: When Correcting Grammar Makes It Worse
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🎉 Learn Vocabulary the Fun Way! 🙌
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👌 The Right and Wrong Way to Begin a Sentence with “Because”
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⚠️ Please Don’t Smell Your “Colon”: It Doesn’t Smell Good 👃🏻🤢
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🤷🏻‍♂️ “Affect” or “Effect”? A Simple Trick to Remember the Difference 🧠
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Dear college applicants, Somewhere along the way, you were told to list everything. Every award. Every title. Every leadership position. Every hour spent doing something “impressive.” So you start writing … and it feels like a r
Something nobody tells you about high school: the teachers who assign the “extra” workbook or textbook usually aren’t doing it to make money off you; they’re doing it because they actually believe in giving you more tools to s
Hi, YUNicorns! 🦄 If you’ve ever used one of the free grammar guides, writing breakdowns, or resources here on The YUNiversity, I wanted to take a second to actually talk to you about how this whole thing runs. Short answer: coffee. Lots of i
DISSONANT: (adj.) harsh and disagreeable in sound 🎧😖 A great word ... and honestly underused outside of music class. We reach for “loud” or “off” when something sounds wrong, but dissonant carries a sharper edge; it’
🎓 Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision ... which one should you choose? The truth is, there’s no universal answer. The right strategy depends on YOU: your goals, your financial situation, and how ready your application is. Here&
🏔️🏖️ Pomona College has a tradition that never fails to sound fake until you see it happen: Ski-Beach Day. Once a year, in early spring, a busload of students piles on board before sunrise—parkas, gloves, beanies, the works—and heads ou
PROPOUND: (v.) to suggest for consideration; to propose Not just “to say,” to propound is to put an idea forward with a bit of weight behind it, like you’re placing it on the table for others to examine, debate, or build on. Philos
Group projects: the great equalizer of higher education. 😂 You’ll sit in lecture convinced everyone around you is secretly a genius—footnoting Foucault from memory, doing mental calculus for fun, name-dropping internships you’ve n
“What if I fail?” 😰 “What if they laugh?” 😳 “What if I’m not good enough?” 🤔 That loop can get loud. It feels real. It feels urgent. But here’s the truth: most of those “what ifs” never
“I’ll start tomorrow …” Sound familiar? 😅 When it comes to college applications, procrastination is almost a rite of passage. But here’s the thing: deadlines creep up faster than you think—and suddenly “t
🎓 Did you know? Before it became Columbia University, the school was founded in 1754 as King’s College, making it one of the oldest universities in the United States. After the American Revolution, the name was changed to reflect the new nat
📚✨ Word of the Day: ENUMERATE ✨📚 Ever heard someone say, “Please enumerate your points”? Enumerate (verb) Pronunciation: ih-NOO-muh-rayt Meaning: To list or mention things one by one, clearly and in order. It’s a more formal a
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