Hilary Cairns, Author at College Raptor | Page 88 of 88

Hilary Cairns is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and has a BA in English/Creative Writing. She's an established freelance writer who also has a hand in marketing, social media, and editing for various businesses across the United States.

college admissions

How to Deal With College Rejection Letters: 6 Steps

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on May 22, 2024

College rejection letters can hurt. If you get one, stay calm and keep your head up. You have options. If you’ve received a college rejection letter, you should consider writing appeal letter while also celebrating the acceptance letters you do receive. Here’s how you can approach this disappointment. Why Do Colleges Reject Students? The reason …

college applications

7 Tips for Writing an Impactful College Essay

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on November 30, 2023

College admissions departments have to read through a lot of applications every year. Harvard University alone received over 61,00 applications in the 2022 admissions cycle. That’s a lot of essays to read! That’s why standing out with your college essay and making an impact on the reader is so very important. You have so little …

What should you do if you've been waitlisted?

college applications

What to Do If You’re Waitlisted by a College

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on December 22, 2022

As your college acceptance letters roll in, you’re probably wondering, “Am I accepted or rejected?” But there’s always that middle ground that could happen, too – waitlisted. So what should you do if you’re waitlisted for a class? And what shouldn’t you do? We’ll answer those two questions below. What Are College Waitlists? When a …

Three students sitting at a table, with a laptop and notebooks on the table.

college search

How to Choose a College: A Complete Guide

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on May 29, 2024

It can be intimidating to try to choose one college from nearly 6,000 options. Even after you’ve received acceptance letters, making this decision can be a tough one! Thankfully, there are ways to narrow down your choices and choose the college that best fits you. How to Choose a College in 9 Steps Start Your …

college applications

When to Apply to College: Early Decision vs. Early Action vs. Regular Decision

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on June 10, 2024

Once you have decided which schools you will apply to, you’ll then need to decide which application deadline option is best for you: early decision vs early action or regular decision. They are vastly different and it’s important to understand the uniqueness of each college admissions process– or you might just apply under the wrong …

This diagram shows the process of applying to a college early action and the possible outcomes.

questions & answers

Is Early Action Right for Me?

By Hilary CairnsLast updated on September 6, 2023

Early action is an admissions process available at some schools that allows students to apply before the general application deadline of January 1st. While it definitely has some benefits for students who choose to apply early, it’s not right for everyone. So is early action worth it for you? We help you answer that question …

Hilary Cairns

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