Writing your college essays can be difficult; it might seem like there's an endless string of pitfalls to avoid with the added pressure of putting your best foot forward to admissions officers through writing. Luckily, with expert guidance, you can be well on your way to crafting great personal statements and supplements this application season.
Join us as Anna Smist, Assistant Director of Admissions at Yale University, leads an essay writing workshop where she'll give tips and expertise derived both from her experience as an admissions officer at Yale reading essays, and as a recent graduate of Yale who remembers well what it was like to be in the students’ shoes and not being sure where to start. We'll also have a chat where you can ask your questions and get them answered live!
Undergrad College: Yale University '21
Major: Ethics, Politics & Economics; Classics (Intensive)
Work Experience: As a recent graduate of Yale University, I am excited to begin my first year with CollegeVine! In many ways, CV was a natural fit for me -- at Yale, I worked for over two years in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, beginning as a Senior Interviewer in the summer of 2019, during which I interviewed over 200 first-year applicants for the 2019-2020 college admissions cycle. After the summer ended, I became Lead Recruitment Coordinator, a full-time position responsible for executing and overseeing Yale’s numerous post-admissions decision yield initiatives, as well as serving as a spokesman for the university both in person and online. Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of interacting with hundreds of students and their families at all stages of the college application process.
My Admissions Story: Having always been interested in studying a variety of subjects within the Humanities and Social Sciences, I applied to a smattering of liberal arts colleges and universities (mostly on the East Coast) with strong departments in these areas, large and diverse student bodies, and varied extracurricular opportunities. When my college admissions decisions rolled in, I immediately accepted an offer from my dream school, Yale University, which I had always felt best embodied the opportunities and goals that I desired from my college experience -- and since that day, I’ve never looked back.