Medium

Josh Stephens

Featured Book

The Urban Mystique

The Urban Mystique

The Urban Mystique covers the ineffable complexities that make all cities, in California or anywhere else, fascinating.

2020

Stories

Josh Stephens

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Jun 16

The Charade of Business School Recommendation Letters

To Whom It May Concern:

The Charade of Business School Recommendation Letters

Josh Stephens

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May 4

A Travel Advisory for College Applicants

Marco Polo, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Bill and Ted would all agree: few things are more educational than travel. With summer coming up, a…

A Travel Advisory for College Applicants

Josh Stephens

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Mar 15

How to Conclude a College Essay

One of my favorite concluding paragraphs waddled ashore in a 2014 piece by longtime New York Times columnist Gail Collins, who is a master…

How to Conclude a College Essay

Josh Stephens

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Jan 29

College Admissions: A ‘Game’ Everyone Can Win

If college is a “game,” this is how you win.

Josh Stephens

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Nov 14, 2025

The Scourge of the Montage

Over 150 years have passed since Walt Whitman told us that he contains multitudes. Presumably, so do the rest of us. College applications…

The Scourge of the Montage

Josh Stephens

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Oct 17, 2025

Why Every College Essays Begins, ‘The first time I . . .’ — And Why They Shouldn’t

If you’re interviewing doctors, do you want to know about a surgeon’s first operation, or about the surgeries they performed last year? If…

Josh Stephens

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Sep 16, 2025

On Books and Boys

Dear High School Boys,

On Books and Boys

Josh Stephens

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Sep 9, 2025

The Nightmare of “Dream Schools”

When I review college application essays, I hunt for cliches: overused and inapt words and phrases that are sure to grate on discerning…

The Nightmare of “Dream Schools”

Josh Stephens

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Jul 29, 2025

Using New Common App Sections: Additional Info and “Challenges & Circumstances”

The Common Application’s combination of essays, objective questions, and the option to submit supplemental materials typically provides…

Josh Stephens

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Jul 18, 2025

The Hidden Perils of Applying to ‘Reach’ Colleges

Students who are serious about applying to ultra-selective schools need to affirmatively articulate — first to themselves, then to the…

Two signs at an intersection read ‘Harvard Av’ and ‘Princeton Av’

Josh Stephens

Josh Stephens

Book Author

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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