On episode 130, Alexis Avila talks writing tutor Nived Ravikumar, AKA the Statement Guru. Nived took a pretty unusual path to essay educator extraordinaire.

Our Guest:

Born and raised in Southern California, he became obsessed with movies at a young age. In high school, he became so preoccupied with writing screenplays that he went on to major in Film Studies from UCal Santa Barbara and obtain a Masters from Chapman University (M.F.A in Film Production). Today Nived uses his creative writing talents to help thousands of students all over the world learn to tell unique, engaging college admissions narratives. Nived’s admissions statement philosophy? Tell a great story! Involve readers! Get them to care! On today’s episode Nived will give you his best tips for writing amazing, unique college admissions essays.

Nived’s 4 tips for writing college essays:

  1. Don’t cram everything in it.
  2. Create a dynamic title to act as your anchor throughout.
  3. Do a force retype, instead of superficial edits.
  4. Focus on the “hero’s journey” so don’t be afraid to show your flaws and how you were able to persevere and learn from mistakes.

Nived’s no no’s for writing essays

Don’t be redundant and don’t play it so safe!

Nived’s advice for teens?

It’s great to have an idea of your long term goals but don’t be afraid to change your mind while in college and explore other possibilities. Be adaptive!

For another related conversation, check out podcast Episode #72 with Elly Swartz: How to start, write, and revise the college admissions essay

For more information, visit: Prepped and Polished.com.

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What was your biggest takeaway from this parenting podcast? Do you have any questions for Nived Ravikumar and Alexis Avila?

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