Improve your chances of getting into college,

Of course! Not only is it okay -- you would be foolish not to. Great writers around the world and throughout time have solicited the input of others regarding the proofreading process. Writing the college essay is no different. Remember, however, that there is a great difference between someone else writing your essay, or writing most of it, and someone proofreading yours. Remember, the idea must be your own and the way that you express that idea through language must be your own. But having someone check your work for grammar and flow is perfectly acceptable and commonly done.

Do take your time on the essay. Although it is not long compared to some papers you have written by now, your essay must possess a depth of self-understanding that your high school research papers probably do not.

Do plan ahead. Diving right into writing the essay may be okay for some, but most students need time to brainstorm, to consider a few topics before committing to one, and to have a sense of the structure before actually beginning the writing process. Be sure to give yourself enough time to write a meaningful essay. One month's time is not unreasonable.

Do plan on editing and revising. Do it yourself, but feel free to ask a friend who loves writing or English to read your essay and provide feedback. As a matter of fact, it's best to ask a few different people. Everyone has an opinion, but if you hear the same critique from a number of individuals, then you should probably take their advice into consideration.

Do have fun with it! The essay should be a personal journey of getting to know yourself better. This process should not only be revealing to a college admissions representative, but to you as well. We write to discover, and the college essay should be a lens through which you can see yourself a bit more clearly.

Don't fill your essay with every single personal accomplishment. You want to highlight yourself without sounding like a braggart.

Don't brag about your GPA or your standardized test scores. Your application already has space for that. Actually, you should not write about anything that already appears in detail somewhere else in your application. There is no need for redundancy.

Don't rely on your parents or your best friend to be the only people who provide feedback on your essay. They know you so well that they can "read between the lines," that is, they can infer what is not written from reading the words on the page. They already know your life story, or much of it at least. A college admissions representative does not have that luxury. Be sure to spell out in clear language what you are trying to say.

Many books have been written about what makes a great college essay, or even more generally, a great essay of any variety. To be succinct, however, there are a few general rules that will help you write an essay that will draw positive attention from the admissions counselors who read your essay.

1. The essay has to feel authentic. This is not a place to brag about your GPA or standardized test scores. It should be a window into who you are as a person, a human being with unique experiences and a perspective on the world that you call your own.

2. The essay has to be about the writer, i.e., you. But it not only has to be about you: it has to be about you in a way that no one else is like you. Your job is to write about yourself as an individual that stands out amongst the other students applying to the same college. Horror stories have been told about the number of essays that are written about summer camp or the winning football game. Be wary of these and other topics! Many other students write about them, as well, and unless you believe that you have a really, really different perspective, avoid throwing yourself into the pile of humdrum essays on the same topic. Think instead about how you can bend a little to the unusual, the catchy, the thing that makes the college admissions officer sit up and read a little more closely. This is not just about your skill as a writer, but about your experiences, about your *life*. Who are you, at the core of your being? Share that through the words you put on the page.

3.The essay must be clearly written and grammatically correct. Even an essay that tells a great story and serves a meaningful introduction to the student's personality can be marred by run-on sentences, comma splices, and lack of capitalization (the last of which, though stylistically acceptable in text messages and friendly emails, is a major no-no in the college essay). Read, re-read, revise, and revise again. And revise again until you are certain that the words flow and that you have eliminated any embarrassing grammatical gaffes. Remember, you are applying to college, and though a grammatically impeccable essay might not be the one thing that gets you in, poor editing and unchecked mistakes can leave a lasting negative impression on a reviewer.

This is a common concern of both students interested in pursuing a major in the arts, as well as their parents. If you are an artist, whether a musician, a visual artist, a poet, or other, it is important to keep an open perspective about career opportunities. Even if you do get full-time work as a performer/artist, you don't know whether this will be the ultimate goal for you in the future. As a personal example, my wife studied opera during her undergraduate degree, but as time progressed, she became more interested in the education side of the arts, rather than performance. The arts is a broad field, encompassing not only performance, but education, business/production, technology, construction, and many other "behind the scenes" career opportunities. Many of these positions are fascinating, highly artistic, and thrilling for the people who are in them. In addition to staying within the realm of arts, you could look to shift your trajectory altogether and pursue a professional degree. As one instructor of medical students has told me, her favorite medical students were those who had majored in the arts, because they were very holistic and were able to utilize both reason and creativity.

As a major in the arts, it is important not to consider just careers, but also the skill set that you possess. Are you enterprising? Investigative? Outgoing? Technologically adept? Once you identify your core skills and strengths, you can better align yourself with potential careers that would be rewarding for you. Even if you are not in the limelight, you can very easily satisfy your need to be artistic, regardless of what career hat you wear. More than ever before, the world needs creative people to find the solutions to some of the most pressing challenges that we all face. An arts major not only prepares performers, but critical and creative thinkers who have the potential to advance humanity.

Implicit in this question is that you did not defer for a year to gap year *after* you were already accepted to college. Some students may imagine the college admissions staff rephrasing the question as this:

"Why didn't you apply to college during your senior year of high school?"

And it is a fair question.

Colleges and universities want to know what your experience has been since you left formal education (i.e., high school), be it one year ago or ten years ago. For those students taking time off before entering college, it is imperative that you are able to speak fluently and meaningfully about your post-high school life experiences.

The most important thing to hear is "meaningful." I disagree with another counselor who had written that you should not work during a gap year. But if your financial situation has dictated that you were not able to afford college--or more importantly the college that you wanted to attend--then work can be a meaningful and necessary experience. For those students fortunate enough to be able to participate in a structured gap year program (which sometimes carry a significant cost), it is important to create a meaningful narrative of the experiences you had on your journey. If you volunteered during your gap year, ask yourself how you can create the narrative of the time, energy, and heart you committed to the service of others.

Do not expect that the academic "credit" you may earn during your gap year experience will overshadow four years of crummy grades (which we hope you don't have) in the eyes of the admissions department. It will not. Instead, focus on how you became more connected to the people of your community (whether here or abroad), and how you grew from the experience of having a year away from formal education. If you needed a break from formal education, it is perfectly okay to say so--but be sure to frame it in a light that endows value upon your gap year experience, and how it has prepared you for the coming four years of higher education.

Gap years should not only be viewed as a means of enhancing one's college application, but also -- and more importantly -- to have a period of time dedicated to meaningful out-of-classroom experiences that encourage personal growth. Not engaging in some sort of meaningful activity -- be it work, volunteerism, cultural exchange, travel, or some other form of learning through doing can ultimately be detrimental to your college application. If you don't want to go to college immediately, but you also don't want to do anything else in the interim, I would not even consider that a gap year. I would call it time off. Conversely, a gap year should be considered "time on," and you should be able to speak or write about it as such during the college application process.

The answer to this question depends on whether you have a goal in mind for after you complete gap year. If your goal is to go to college, do you know what college you would like to attend? Do you know what major course of study you would like to pursue? If so, it would be beneficial for you to structure your gap year experience around what you are interested in pursuing during college or possibly after. If you have an interest in medicine or international relations, could you possibly arrange to work at a medical clinic in another country? Or, if your interest is in the arts, could you pursue an internship or other work/learning experience at a local arts organization? Through "connecting the dots" between high school, gap year, college, and beyond, you not only are keeping your sights on your future goals, but gaining valuable personal experiences that will ultimately be of great benefit along the way.

Many gap year students, also interested in college, are nonetheless undecided regarding what they would like to pursue as a major or a career. Students in this camp (and there are many just like you!) will still have a meaningful experience during gap year, and may even learn more about themselves than they ever could have imagined learning in high school. Gap year can in effect become a pivotal time in one's life, where horizons expand, boundaries are crossed, and your inner self, which may have felt clouded in high school, begins to emerge. If you are uncertain about what you want to do in college other than being sure that you want to go, then go with your heart for gap year--but regardless of what you do, be sure to make it *meaningful.* Do not volunteer if you do not want to volunteer; do not travel to a foreign country because you think it will look good on your college application. Go with your heart (but be mindful of you and your parents' wallet!) for gap year, but be certain that it will be meaningful to you, and that you will be able to speak knowledgeably and convincingly about your experiences.

Absolutely not, nor is it the DSS staff's responsibility to do so. Granted, there are more frequent disabilities that the DSS staff sees, such as AD/HD, autism spectrum disorders, reading disorders such as dyslexia, and emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression. They will certainly have more knowledge of these disabilities. However, there are hundreds if not thousands of disabilities that can have an effect on a student's academic functioning, and the DSS staff does not have to be an expert on them to work with the student in a constructive manner.

Once a student with a disability has been accepted to college (and possibly before), it is imperative that he or she be a strong self-advocate about what is needed to achieve academic success. Meeting with the DSS staff members to discuss your disability (to educate them) is essential, as well as spending time working out what interventions or accommodations will be necessary during your college experience.

Remember that students in college are responsible for speaking up for their needs, regardless of what they are. Open communication with the Disability Support Services staff is a great way to lay the groundwork for a enjoyable, positive educational experience.

There are many. Peterson's puts out an excellent book titled "Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or AD/HD". This guidebook discusses such important topics as what students with learning differences can expect in college, some legal issues surrounding learning disability programs, documentation, and differences between high-school and college requirements for qualifying for learning disabilities. Additionally, it describes the difference between "Structured" or "Proactive" programs and "Self-Directed" or "Decentralized" programs. It also provides profiles for two-year and four-year colleges that have either of these types of programs.

Another fantastic resource, although more about having a learning disability in college generally than about DSS offices in particular, is LD Online. I am including a link here http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/college to direct you right to the resource.

Most importantly, however, it is essential to be in communication with the educational professionals both at your high school and at the colleges where you are interested in applying. The DSS offices themselves always have the most current information about college policies and federal, state, or local guidelines that inform them. If you have a trusted resource at school, such as a case manager, guidance counselor, or special education teacher, ask them about certain colleges and what the DSS office there may have to offer you.