How to Write a Strong University Application: Free Workshop for Grades 11-12

This session is about the writing itself, not about which forms exist or when they are due. We will start with a real prompt of the kind used on Canadian supplementary applications and show two answers to it, one that reads as generic and one that reads as credible, then break down exactly what separates them. The difference is almost never vocabulary or structure. It is whether the answer contains something specific enough that a reader could check it. We will explain the evidence test that strong answers pass: what the student actually did, over what period, at what scale, and who could confirm it, and why answers built on adjectives instead of specifics get discounted no matter how well written they are. We will then take a single ordinary experience, the kind most students dismiss as not impressive enough, and write it three ways for three different forms: the UBC Personal Profile, the Waterloo Admission Information Form, and the Queen's Personal Statement of Experience, showing how each form asks for a different cut of the same material. We will cover working inside tight word limits, where most students waste a third of the space on setup before reaching the point. We will close on the two failure modes we see most, the answer that describes a feeling rather than an action, and the answer that borrows someone else's story, and what Grade 11 families should be recording this year so that next fall's writing has something concrete to draw on.

Parents and students in Grades 11-12 are both welcome. The session is live on Zoom, and we email the link and a short summary after you register.