The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Soundbite by Sara Harberson

As you might expect, when I started digging into what makes a great college application essay, I started by skimming or reading dozens of books. Soundbite was the best one. Written by "America's Favorite College Counselor" Sara Harberson, this takes a practical and marketing-driven approach to helping kids craft a great essay. Here's an example of a tip Harberson shares:

"Hammering or repeating one theme in every section of the application doesn't work; layering does. It's not about overwhelming the application with one theme; it's about layering and showing how the Soundbite serves as inspiration or fuel for how the student lives their life."

Portraying yourself in a single soundbite is notoriously difficult. As hard as you feel it might be for you, imagine trying to do it as a teenager before you've accomplished most of the things that you'd likely be writing about today. That's what Soundbite focuses on, and the techniques the author shares can help anyone in any situation to better stand out and offer a powerful cue for how they want to be seen.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Bookshop.org

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I share a new “non-obvious” book selection. Titles featured here may be new or classic books, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great reads that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.