It’s Never Too Early: Getting A Head Start on Your College Essays

It’s finally summer, and presumably the last thing you want to do before you start your senior year of high school in the fall is extra work. But while you should definitely make sure that you get in some well-deserved rest and relaxation, you should also remember that this summer is a perfect time to get a head start on your college essays. Starting early means you’ll be under less pressure in the fall, once school starts and application deadlines get closer. And writing tends to be much easier (you might even find it enjoyable!) when you’re less stressed. So, to that end, here are a few things you can do to make the most of your free time during the summer.

1. Practice personal writing!

College essays are all about you—your life experiences, what you care about, what you believe in, etc. But in school, you’re probably not asked to write about yourself very often, if at all. That means it might take some practice doing the kind of personal, reflective work that you’re going to be asked to do on most of your college essays. One great way to practice: keep a journal—even if it’s just in the Notes app on your iPhone. Write down your thoughts, feelings, ideas, observations, and impressions of things happening around you (or really anything else that you feel like writing down). Did you recently watch a YouTube video or an episode of a TV show that you particularly enjoyed? Is there something happening in your local community that you’re concerned or excited about? Write it down!

Another way to practice writing is to use a list of writing prompts; there are lots that you can find online. One of the ones I like best is this list of 445 (!) prompts for narrative and personal writing from The New York Times; another good one can be found here. Start by simply checking one of the lists out, reading some of the questions, and finding some that pique your interest. If you’d like, you can write an essay in response, but you don’t have to; you can simply write down some bullet points, map out what an actual essay would look like, and think about what you’d include in it. All of this can help get you into that mindset of writing about yourself. And if it inspires an actual essay, even better!

2. Be ready for inspiration!

Yet another good tip is to be open to inspiration whenever it strikes (which might be when you’re doing something completely different and unrelated to college admissions). Be ready to make notes of your writing ideas and thoughts when you have them, so that you can return to them later and potentially turn them into full-fledged essays. Again, carry a notebook around with you, or just use the Notes app on your phone; find whatever works for you so that you can go back to the idea later.

3. Read!

Finally, do some extra summer reading—more specifically, read as much personal, narrative writing as you can find. Obviously, it goes without saying that your writing needs to be your own, so clearly you shouldn’t look to copy anyone else’s work! But reading pieces from experienced writers—people who do this kind of narrative, reflective writing on a regular basis—can really help you get into the right frame of mind to do that kind of writing on your own. Look at the Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Medium, the New Yorker, etc. (to name just a few); there are lots of places where you can find great essays. Good luck, and happy writing!

 

In search of some extra essay-writing support or inspiration? Get in touch with me!

How can you make the most of your downtime? Here's what to do (and not to do)

It happens to most of us: Whether you’re self-employed or whether you work for someone else, there are going to be times when you’re simply not as busy as you could be. So, how can you make the most of this downtime? Read on for some of my go-to strategies, in the form of a “dos and don’ts” list.

Don’t panic. Take a breath. For me, this downtime often seems to happen at the very beginning of the year, and it frequently follows a marathon few months of work. This past year, for example, November and December were incredibly hectic, full of year-end reports, grants, editing end-of-semester papers for the grad students I work with, and pandemic holiday preparations. Finishing up all of these projects felt like an achievement, and I knew that it was important to take a little bit of time to relax and catch up on the sleep that I’d been neglecting. I also knew that this downtime wouldn’t last forever; based on past experience and on conversations with clients, I knew that some big projects would be headed my way in the next few weeks. So (while I know this is easier said than done), I didn’t let myself get consumed with thoughts of “What if no one ever hires me again?” Instead, I tried to make the most of the free time that I had while I had it.   

Do put yourself out there professionally. It’s never a bad idea to be hunting for new clients and opportunities, but it can be difficult to find the time to do so. When you’re able to, take some time to brainstorm new things you’d potentially be interested in doing. Update your LinkedIn profile. Look for some networking events, and add them to your calendar. Online networking events have, of course, proliferated during the pandemic, and they can be a great way to meet new professional contacts, or even just to practice pitching yourself and talking about why you’re good at what you do. You can also try joining Facebook or Meetup groups, or see what’s going on in your school alumni networks; there’s a lot out there. Alternatively, you can take the time to catch up with friends or former colleagues for a Zoom happy hour before everyone gets “too busy” yet again.

Do invest in yourself! This can be anything from enrolling in an online class to simply attending a webinar on a topic that you’re particularly interested in—whether it’s related to your work or not. Personally, I’ve found some great online events from my grad school alma mater, Columbia University; I’ve attended some webinars on everything to funding priorities for major foundations to education-related policy priorities for the new presidential administration, and they’ve been both interesting and relevant to my work. I’m also planning to enroll in an ESL certification program. Think about something you’d love to learn more about, and see what’s out there! You never know where it might lead you.

Do tackle some of your “later” projects. These can be either boring things you’ve been putting off (i.e., cleaning and organizing your desk), or more fun things that you’ve been meaning to try, but regardless, if you’re like me, you probably have a few items on your to-do list that you’ve been promising to tackle given the extra time. On the more entertaining side, I did a little bit of creative writing. I’ve also tried experimenting with some new recipes that I pinned to my Pinterest board months ago, with mostly stellar results. I also sorted through some of my old photos from the past decade, and reorganized them into albums. This was also a really wonderful way, during a pandemic when we’re largely stuck at home, to remember and revisit some of the trips I’ve been lucky to take over the years.

It’s also important to check some of those duller projects off your list. Personally, as someone who’s probably a borderline digital hoarder, I deleted old e-mails from my inbox. I had something like 100,000 unread messages—nothing important, thanks to my filtering system, but these were still things that were taking up digital space, and that felt kind of overwhelming. With every old e-newsletter or request for campaign donations that I deleted, I felt a little lighter. Since this was mind-numbingly dull work, I’d reward myself with a quick YouTube video every so often. I also did some cleaning around my apartment, and organized my desk. What domestic chore have you been putting off? I know we all have at least one!

Don’t spend all your time watching TV. I know how tempting it can be, on a day when you’re not so busy, to open up Netflix or Hulu and indulge in your TV guilty pleasure. Take it from me: try not to do this! I think we all know how easy it is for “just one episode” of SVU to turn into an Olivia Benson marathon. If you can, try to keep the streaming to after-dark hours. Use it as a reward for a productive day!

What are some of your favorite ways to make the most of your downtime? Let me know in the comments!

P.S.: I recently discussed downtime on the wonderful Creative Directions for Living Podcast. Check the interview out here!

Seven steps to decide if a grant is worth applying for

Greetings, fellow grant seekers!

To state the obvious, there are a number of funding opportunities out there, and some of them are decidedly better than others. So how do you know what’s worth spending your limited time and resources applying for, and what isn’t? Here’s a list of some of the main criteria to look at and weigh against one another.

  1. Deadline. When is the application due? This is obviously an important one, because it has a direct impact on how you’ll spend and schedule your time. Look at the deadline, and then pull up the application. Skim it, and make your best guess as to how long it will take to complete—making sure to factor in other people and organizations you’ll need to work with in order to get it put together—and weigh that against the application’s due date. Remember that that time should also include time to review and revise before submitting! Ask yourself:

  2. How long will it take to put together the application? This includes gathering all of the supporting documents that most applications will ask you to include—for example, if you’re a nonprofit, do you have a copy of your IRS determination letter readily available? If the organization is asking for audited financial statements that you know you’ll have to get from your accountant, factor in time for them to get the documents to you. When it comes to how long it will take to write the actual application, make sure to always budget for more time—particularly when you’re first starting out, this will take longer than you think.

  3. Can you outsource it? Is there someone else on your team who could feasibly do this? Is there an external grant writer you could work with to efficiently complete the application? Particularly with shorter timeframes, if the application isn’t particularly complex, outsourcing can be a great strategy. Remember, though, that you’ll still need to factor in time to bring the writer up to speed on the project and possibly on your organization, along with time to review his or her work (not to mention time in between to answer the writer’s questions).

  4. Requirements. This ties closely in with the first factor. How much is the grant-making organization asking for from you? There’s tremendous variation among organizations on this; while some simply want you to answer a series of questions and maybe provide an itemized budget, others want to see more detailed financial information and project plans, or pitch decks, or biographical information. So make sure to carefully read all of the requirements—consider making a checklist, if that helps—and think about how long it will take you to gather everything, or even if you would be able to within the timeframe. Weigh it against the above and below factors—is it worth the time and effort?

  5. Award amount. How much is the organization potentially offering, and is it an amount that would really be helpful to you? Here, you need to think carefully about your organization’s financial goals. What kind of funding are you after? This varies so much from organization to organization; while some smaller organizations might find micro-grants useful, others simply don’t feel like it’s worth their time to apply for grants that are less than a certain amount of money (and that’s fine; it’s all about knowing your own goals and needs). While of course the case could be made that any amount of money can be useful to a nonprofit in a difficult fiscal climate, you again need to weigh this against the amount of time and effort required to complete the application.

    • Note that you also need to consider the grant-making organization’s restrictions, if any, on how much funding you can apply for (some have restrictions based on applicants’ budgets), as well as any restrictions on the use of the funds.

    • Sometimes organizations will offer services to grant recipients other than funding; for example, giving winners assistance with publicity, or offering mentorship. Make sure to also take these non-fiscal benefits into consideration.  

  6. Organization making the grant. See what you can find out about the organization making the grant, and weigh that information. Do they have a good reputation? Is this an organization that you’re dying to work with and make connections at, making any extra effort required to apply more than worth it if you’re selected? Take this into consideration. 

  7. Feasibility. What are your odds of getting the grant? This last one can be very hard to gauge, particularly if it’s a new grant program, and also just knowing that, when it’s a competitive grant, it’s always going to be a numbers game. But you can sometimes get a general idea by looking at details on past recipients (with federal grants, for example, this specific information must be publicly available); or, if there’s a pre-application call or meeting, by finding out which other organizations participated (and therefore are likely to apply). Have past recipients been similar to you? If you’re able to look at previous grant agreements, are the services you’re offering of a caliber similar to successful projects? Who are your likely competitors (and how might you distinguish yourself from them)? Again, weigh any available information to the best of your ability. 

When it comes down to it, there’s no mathematical formula that can tell you whether a grant is worth applying for. Sometimes it comes down to instinct, which is something that you’ll develop as time goes on and you apply for more grants. But these are the key factors that you should be looking at and weighing as you make these decisions about grants.

P.S. Looking for help with grants? Contact me for more information on ways we can work together!