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Application essays are a crucial part of the admissions process, and effective essays essentially come down to good storytelling. Your goal as the protagonist of your own story is to become a hero that admissions officers want to root for, says Michael Noltemeyer, founder of North Star Editing and guest on this week's show. During our wide-ranging conversation, Micheal sheds light on just how to do that while sharing examples of successful essays from his 10+ years as a professional editor.

Specifically, in this episode you will learn:

• The Japanese concept of Ikigai for finding your life's purpose, and how that's what you're shooting for on your application essays as well;
• How writing an application essay is like a "choose your own adventure" story in reverse, and how that understanding should influence the aim of your essays;
• What not to do in your essays (hint: you're probably not as clever as you think you are);
• The key to finding the story inside yourself that only you can tell;
• How to structure your essays;
• The difference between a "Statement of Purpose" and "Personal Statement" and what to include in each;
• A simple test to determine whether the story you want to tell will resonate with the reader;
• How one student turned a Pokémon obsession into a great essay topic, and how you can write an equally meaningful essay around your passions;
• Parting advice based on the wisdom of Mark Twain;
• And more!

A polished essays takes time, so be sure to heed Michael's advice and get started early.

FROM THE MAILBAG

In this week's "From the Mailbag" segment, I answer the question, "Where can I get more reading comprehension practice?" Listen all the way to the end for my answer to that.

RESOURCES

Here are the websites and other resources referenced in this episode:

• Michael's blog post: "You're Doing it Wrong: The 3 Biggest Mistakes You're Probably Making in Your Application Essays"
• Contact Michael at North Star Editing: https://www.northstarediting.com
• Save 10% off any of Michael's editing packages by using this coupon code at checkout: DOMINATE
• ReadTheory.org for extra reading comprehension practice
• Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions
• Contact Brett at Dominate Test Prep: https://www.dominatetestprep.com/pages/contact-us

MOTIVATION

Here's the quote we began the episode with:

"Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe?" -- Scott Turow