A thousand people. That’s how many students and teachers were attending the State Scholastic Press Association District Seven Convention. That’s also how many people I had to make a speech in front of. Because of my newspaper advisor’s encouragement, I had decided to run for the prestigious title of District Seven Representative. As the district representative, I would have to help organize events for future district and state conventions as well as write newsletters. Writing and planning...

I wrote about my experience touring the school and the city near it and elaborated on why I thought I was a good fit for it. I also talked about the field that I wanted to enter and why the school made sense.

I did use a private admission counselor. My school college counselor was helpful but could really only provide information about...