To write out loud is to write and speak in a way that makes people pay attention.

Write Out Loud teaches the Story To College program--with its proven storytelling-based approach, the Moments Method. This program has helped more than 8,000 students from high schools in the United States and around the world create effective, authentic application essays to win admission and financial aid at their top college choices. Write Out Loud enables anyone to masterfully integrate past experiences and future ambitions into successful application essays and interviews. The guided exercises help college essay writers get past the stress and confusion of writing about themselves.

Write Out Loud reveals how to find unique topics for compelling essays, shows how to make the transition from a spoken story to a written essay, and provides examples of successful essays. The book also walks students through the Common Application, the online college application form used by more than 500 colleges and universities in the US and abroad.

Inside, students will find:

• The 12 tools of the Moments Method

• Specific guidance for completing the Common Application

• Charts and checklists to organize essays and supplements

• Insight from admissions officers on what characterizes a successful college application essay

With Write Out Loud, students build confidence to show their best selves in writing and to gain admission into the college or university they desire.

As a faculty advisor to the admissions committee at Douglass College, Rutgers University, Carol Barash reviewed and made decisions about thousands of admissions applications. A graduate of Yale and Princeton, she is the founder and CEO of Story To College, a company that collaborates with high schools, universities, and community-based organizations, empowering students to tell their stories and advocate for themselves in college, work and life in the twenty-first century..