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Josh Stephens
Josh Stephens

151 Followers

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Mar 16

Beavis and Butt-Head Reconsidered

(Content warning: Mildly crude language and heaps of irony.) In observance of the recent reboot of “Beavis and Butt-Head,” I would like to revisit the supremely obvious, but also hilarious, disclaimer that preceded every episode. It warned that the titular idiots’ antics “would cause a person to get hurt, expelled…

College Application

6 min read

Beavis and Butt-Head Reconsidered
Beavis and Butt-Head Reconsidered
College Application

6 min read


Sep 24, 2022

The Futility of “Standing Out” on College Applications

During college application season, I think of my one of my favorite Andy Warhol quotes: “If everybody’s not a beauty, then nobody is.” I don’t know of a college that evaluates applicants’ beauty as such. …

College Essay Writing

5 min read

The Futility of “Standing Out” on College Applications
The Futility of “Standing Out” on College Applications
College Essay Writing

5 min read


Mar 23, 2022

College Essay Rhetorical Quirks (2021 Edition)

I could not, and probably would not, advise students on college applications if the English language did not fascinate me. Thanks to the volume of material I read and to my exposure to a particular demographic group — high school seniors — I get a privileged view of linguistic trends…

College Essays

6 min read

College Essay Rhetorical Quirks (2021 Edition)
College Essay Rhetorical Quirks (2021 Edition)
College Essays

6 min read


Mar 16, 2022

Lousy College Essay Prompts (2021 Edition)

I admire students’ efforts to tell engaging stories and explore sophisticated ideas on their college applications. Good writing, which relies on thoughtful revising, is hard work. I only wish some colleges put the same effort into writing their essay prompts. Strong essays — that are clear, engaging, insightful, honest, and…

College Essays

10 min read

Lousy College Essay Prompts, 2021 Edition
Lousy College Essay Prompts, 2021 Edition
College Essays

10 min read


Oct 7, 2021

Why College Applications Shouldn’t be “Fun”

By Josh Stephens A while back, the late, venerated David Foster Wallace warned his fellow Gen Xers about the indignity of taking a vacation cruise, which he declared “a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again.” Emphasis on supposedly. Wallace’s original essay, which inspired a book, is memorable because he’s…

College

6 min read

Why College Applications Shouldn’t be “Fun”
Why College Applications Shouldn’t be “Fun”
College

6 min read


Jan 24, 2021

Plummeting Admission Rates Call for Rethinking College Admission Process

Introduction Higher education, much like American democracy, is designed to move slowly. Colleges react cautiously to trends and trust that their venerability will carry them from year to year and generation to generation. This approach usually works. …

College

11 min read

Plummeting Admission Rates Call for Rethinking College Admission Process
Plummeting Admission Rates Call for Rethinking College Admission Process
College

11 min read


Dec 20, 2020

2020 Early College Application Numbers Defy Expectations

Early Decision and Early Action decisions just came in for the 2020 application season. The numbers are like, in the immortal words of Johnny Utah, woah. The short version is: conventional wisdom, among college counselors and many other folks associated with college admissions, speculated that application would drop; instead, they’re…

College Application

12 min read

2020 Early Application Numbers Defy Expectations
2020 Early Application Numbers Defy Expectations
College Application

12 min read


Dec 5, 2020

Searching for the ‘Urban Mystique’

The following is an excerpt from Josh Stephens’s new book The Urban Mystique: Notes on California, Los Angeles, and Beyond, published by Solimar books. The notion of a childhood origin story remains relevant to anyone who lives in cities because, in many ways, everyone who lives in a city is…

Urban Planning

6 min read

Searching for the ‘Urban Mystique’
Searching for the ‘Urban Mystique’
Urban Planning

6 min read


Aug 28, 2020

Getting Past ‘Personal Growth’ in College Essays

To hear some people tell it, applying to college is like appearing before a parole board. You’ve served your time for the offenses you have committed. You did something terrible, and the board needs to know you’re a better person. …

High School

6 min read

Getting Past ‘Personal Growth’ in College Essays
Getting Past ‘Personal Growth’ in College Essays
High School

6 min read


Apr 24, 2020

Writing Is Not Writing Unless It’s Revising

Every theater production goes through weeks of rehearsal. Football teams practice formations and plays dozens of times before running them in games. Chefs create tasting menus, militaries run drills, surgeons do internships, and pilots fly simulations. No one is expected to get it right — whatever “it” may be —…

College Essays

7 min read

Writing Is Not Writing Unless It’s Revising
Writing Is Not Writing Unless It’s Revising
College Essays

7 min read

Josh Stephens

Josh Stephens

151 Followers

Josh Stephens is a veteran teacher and college counselor based in Los Angeles. Josh can be reached at josh@joshrstephens.net.

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