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My Unforgettable Experience on a Vacation to Florida

• Categories: Florida Tourism Vacation

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Words: 1267 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 1267 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Works Cited

• Chen, S., & Petrick, J. F. (2013). Tourists' emotions, satisfaction, and subjective well-being. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6), 731-744.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226.
• Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1982). Toward a social psychological theory of tourism motivation: A rejoinder. Annals of Tourism Research, 9(2), 256-262.
• Krippendorf, J. (1987). The holiday-habitus: A sociological perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 14(3), 399-422.
• Larsen, R. J., & Fredrickson, B. L. (1999). Measurement issues in emotion research. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 40-60). Russell Sage Foundation.
• Li, X., & Petrick, J. F. (2008). Tourism marketing research: Past, present, and future. Journal of Travel Research, 47(1), 4-28.
• Pizam, A., Neumann, Y., & Reichel, A. (1978). Dimensions of tourist satisfaction with a destination area. Annals of Tourism Research, 5(3), 314-322.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
• Scott, D., & Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1983). The tourist role, self-confidence, and satisfaction. Journal of Travel Research, 21(2), 21-34.
• Uysal, M., & Hagan, L. (1993). Tourists' satisfaction levels and shopping experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 32(3), 29-35.

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• 50 US States

74 Interesting Facts About Florida

Last updated on May 2nd, 2023

Florida is the 3 rd most populous , the 22 nd most extensive, and the 8 th most densely populated of the 50 states of the United States . It is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States . Florida attained statehood on March 3, 1845, becoming the 27 th state to join the union. Its two  bordering states  are Georgia and Alabama . See the full list of the 50 states and their borders here. Florida (nicknames: Everglade State, Orange State ) has 67 counties.  The state’s capital is Tallahassee . The abbreviation for Florida is FL . Let us explore more about its history, geography, culture, people, economy and more.

Interesting facts about Florida

1. Florida is a peninsula, meaning it is almost completely surrounded by water. A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded on three sides by water. The one other side is connected to land. The east, west and south of Florida are surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, and the North Atlantic Ocean.

2. The Florida Keys, a group of about 1,700 tiny islands, is a famous tourist attraction of the state.

Florida on the map

3. Orlando is home to an entertainment center with a building constructed upside down. The Wonderworks building plays tricks on the visitors’ minds by making them think they are ‘seeing things.’ The center is billed as an amusement park for the mind because it captivates the imagination.

4. Minnesota usually steals the thunder when it comes to being a city filled with gorgeous water bodies, but it does have a strong contender: Orlando. Not only is the city home to over 100 lakes that make its scenic beauty irresistible, but one of its more famous lakes also has a deep secret. In reality, Lake Eola is just a giant sinkhole with its depth reaching 80 feet at the deepest point.

5. Did you know that St. Augustine has number of “love trees” where two different species of trees grow on, in and through one another? There is a palm tree that grows through this oak tree. The moist climate of Florida comes to the aid of the palm tree which soaks moisture within the bark of the oak tree and continues to grow. One can spot this inseparable couple in Agustina’s Love Tree Café and Boutique in St. Augustine, Florida.

6. The Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. It is also the third largest coral barrier reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef.

Map of Florida with its counties

7. Florida enjoys two time zones. Gulf County, is the only county that utilizes both the Eastern and Central Time Zones. Nine counties are 100% in the Central Time Zone while all other counties are in the Eastern Time Zone. 

8. If you’re ever in Tampa Bay, you should take a walk alongside downtown Tampa with your walking shoes on. The Bayshore Boulevard is the world’s longest continuous sidewalk being a stretch of 4.5 miles. You’ll see a lot of cyclists, joggers, and tourists. On your side is the beautiful bay where you can see dolphins and manatees if you’re lucky!

9. Located along Adam Street in downtown Jacksonville, the John E. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility is a prison with a difference. The facility houses both a waterfront jail and police station with the courthouse located just 10 blocks away. Thousands of inmates enjoy panoramic views of downtown Jacksonville and the river.

10. Did you ever think a place could be named after a place that they never even visited? Well, here’s one for you! The city of Jacksonville was named after General Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the state. However, the guy had never visited the city in his entire life! Isn’t that interesting?

11. People are used to seeing retailers specializing in unusual or weird merchandise to cater to a specific niche. However, one retail outlet in Miami takes specialty shopping to the next level by exclusively stocking fajas. This type of merchandise is a form of undergarment used to squeeze the fat to look slimmer.

12. While Venice has been getting all the hype for artificial waterways and canal, there’s a much bigger fish right here in the US. Cape Coral is a stunning gem on the Gulf Coast, home to the exciting river Caloosahatchee! However, the river isn’t the only thing that makes it spectacular. Cape Coral lies on Florida’s stunning Gulf Coast, and the fun-to-say Caloosahatchee River flows here. But that’s not all. Cape Coral has over 400 miles of waterways within the city, making it one of the world’s biggest interconnected waterway hubs!

13. A woman in Florida, Alexzandria Wolliston, gave birth to two sets of twin in less than 12 months time. She delivered the first set of twin boys in March, 2019 and the second set in December, 2019. After the birth of her twins, she was told by her family that twins ran in both sides of her family. Interestingly, her maternal and paternal grandmothers had each delivered twins who died at birth.   

14. On September 02, 2013, at the age of 64, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage or fins. She completed the dream run in 52 hr 54 min 18.6 seconds. She had attempted the 103-mile swim four times before she finally did it successfully. [17]

15. The Walt Disney World Resort is in Florida. It is the planet’s most visited and biggest recreational resort. It was established in 1971 and is about the same size as San Francisco, California .

16. The Wreck Bar in Fort Lauderdale is a popular venue for locals and visitors thanks to the underwater performances by real-life mermaids. Patrons are treated to stunning displays as they enjoy delicious meals and beverages.

17. Fort Lauderdale has become an icon for being one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in America. Not only does it have the highest percentage of same-sex couples than the rest of the country, but it also used to be host to one of the largest gatherings in the trans community. Unfortunately, the annual Southern Comfort Conference was ended last year. With such a diverse and open population, it comes as no surprise that Fort Lauderdale’s marketing spend focusing on the LGBTQ+ community is more than that anywhere in the entire country!

18. NASA’s first communication satellite —Echo 1–was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 12, 1960. It was a metalized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. [18,19]

19. Goliath, considered being the largest tortoise that ever lived, resided at the Life Fellowship Bird Sanctuary in Seffner, Florida, USA from 1960-2002. He weighed 417 kg, was 135.8 cm (4 ft 5 in) long, 102 cm (3 ft 4 in) wide and 68.5 cm (2 ft 3 in) high. [20]

20. Florida and California each produce fresh market tomatoes on 30,000-40,000 acres every year, which is equal to two-thirds of U.S. tomato acreage. Florida is the second-largest tomato producing state. [14]

21. Many locals may view Hialeah as the proverbial punching bag of Miami but the city has countless features that make it special and unique. Hialeah is home to an astounding number of rinconcitos eateries. From the El Rinconcito Peruano to the El Rinconcito Latino, residents are truly spoiled for choice and the list goes on.

22. The onion-domed Phillips Mausoleum in Tallahassee grabs attention for its quaky mishmash of architectural styles. It generates a spooky feel as it looms large atop Oakland Cemetery’s south hill.

23. The U.S. state of Florida is also home to the world’s most dangerous tree – the Manchineel tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins. Mere contact with the sap from this tree can cause blisters on the skin. The tree is also known as “the beach apple” and “little apple of death. [21]

24. The second most powerful rocket (capability refers to the maximum payload weight the rocket can deliver to Low-Earth Orbit.) currently in service is the Falcon Heavy built by SpaceX. It lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. With its three booster cores and 27 engines, the rocket creates 22,819 kilo Newtons (5.13 million pounds-force) of thrust at lift-off at sea level. Its maiden flight took place on 6 February 2018. [22]

25. Micheal C. Lynch created history when he played for the Southwest Florida Gladiators semi-professional American football team on 31 March 2018. It was not an ordinary football match for the player who scored for his team on that day as well. What makes the achievement Guinness record worthy is that at that time, Micheal was 68 years of age. Born in 1949, and playing his match in March 2018, Micheal C. Lynch holds the record of being the oldest American football athlete.

26. The rather magnificent display saw more than 121 food trucks parade for two days. The rally took place at the fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida. Generation Food Truck (USA) held the rally and also made the world record for having the largest parade of food trucks anywhere in the world.

27. People took their love for the “heroes in the half shell” to a new level when on 09 August 2014, a gathering of 1,394 people came together at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort (USA) in Orlando, Florida. Guinness was more than happy to include these enthusiasts in the list of record holders as to this day; it is the largest gathering of people in the world, dressed as ninja turtles!

28. Florida also holds the record of having the shortest donkey in the world. Born in October 2007, KneeHi is the shortest donkey measuring at 64.2 cm. The animal belongs to James, Frankie, and Ryan Lee (USA), and the donkey was ranked at the Best Friends Farm in Gainesville, Florida. On 26 July 2011, after measuring the brown jack using specific measurement techniques, Guinness named the donkey to be the shortest jack in the world.

29. The staff at Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Tampa, Florida, set a world record on June 01, 2013, with more than 700 people to witness the achievement. They prepared the most massive pitcher of Sangria in a 9-foot pitcher. Not only the attempt won them the record-breaking punch but they graciously offered the punch to all the guests with the all-you-can-drink display .

30. In 2007 during the Easter weekend in Florida, there was another reason to rejoice as the region again made a Guinness world record. At the Cypress Gardens, Adventure Park in Winter Haven in Florida, 9,753 children came with their parents and was part of the most massive Easter egg hunt of 501,000 eggs.

31. The incredible feat of strength saw Adam Sandel from Orlando, Florida, setting a world record on December 08, 2018. His accomplishment stands at 68 pull-ups in sixty seconds!  Interestingly, Adam has held the same world record three times earlier.

32. The NASA Apollo program launched the space rocket “The Saturn V” on November 09, 1967. Having a height of 363 ft and weighing 3,268 US tons, it made to the Guinness world records as the most massive rocket in the world.

33. Before the arrival of the Europeans in Florida, native American tribes have been living in the region for several thousand years. [16]

34.  Between 1763 and 1783, Florida was ruled by the British. Formally, Florida became a part of the U.S. in 1821.

35. Well, well, well, do we really need to get you interested in Miami? Here’s a fun tidbit to blow your mind, the sand we enjoy sunbathing on along the beach is not native at all! The gorgeous, pristine sand that lines the coast is imported from Caribbean beaches! Additionally, Florida state spends millions of dollars every year to restore the beaches with some top-notch sand.

36. Florida has the second longest coastline of all the contiguous states. Only Alaska has a longer coastline. It is also the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. [3]

37. The state also has the lowest high point (Britton Hill, at 345 feet above mean sea level) of any state. [1]

38. Florida was named Florida after the first contact to the land was made by a Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon on April 2, 1513. The explorer named the region, La Florida (“land of flowers”). [1]

39. Central Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States because the region experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. [1]

40. The state also leads other states in the U.S. in tornadoes per year. [1]

The State Flag Of Florida ( read 5 facts about the Flag )

41. June 1 to November 30 is the hurricane season in Florida and it is the most hurricane-prone state in the U.S. Hurricanes in the past have cost the state billions in damages. For example, hurricane Andrew devastated the state in 1992 and lead to a loss of $25 billion in damages. Hurricane Katrina (damages estimated at $160 billion) and Wilma (damages estimated at $24.3 billion) are other hurricanes that have struck Florida in the past few years. [1]

42. Florida has the highest percentage of people over 65. [1]

43. There is no personal income tax in Florida. [1]

44. Florida is famous for the highest auto insurance fraud in the nation amounting to 1 billion in 2011. [1]

45. Florida has the largest collection of   Art Deco  and  Streamline Moderne  buildings in both the United States and the entire world. [1]

46. Cuba is just 100 miles away from the southernmost tips of Florida’s peninsula. [2]

47.  Florida is ranked among the states with the fastest-growing immigration population. The reason is the rapid growth in the tourism sector in the state due to the climate and the scenery of the Sunshine State. [3]

48. What’s better than a city which is showered in rain and pleasant weather every day? St. Petersburg, affectionately called the “Sunshine City,” is where the sun is always out. We’re not just saying that it holds the Guinness World Record for the longest sunshine stretch in America. Back in 1967 began St Petersburg’s 768 days of the sunny sky!

49. Florida is also known for the establishment of the first commercial space launching industry in the United States. Neil Armstrong , the first man to walk on the moon was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on July 16, 1969. [5]

50. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously settled city in the United States. It is situated on a peninsula between two saltwater rivers. It was founded in 1565. [3]

51. One quarter of older Americans live in California, Florida, and Texas. [29]

State Quarter

52. Florida is the flattest state in the U.S. followed by  Illinois , North Dakota , Louisiana , Minnesota , Delaware , and Kansas . [25]

53. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida. It is also the third largest freshwater lake (after Lake Michigan and Alaska’s Iliamna Lake) located completely within the United States. [3]

54. Everglades National Park in Florida is the only place in the world which is home to both the American crocodile and the American alligator. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . [4]

55. Florida is the largest producer of citrus fruits in the United States. And the majority of the harvest of citrus fruits goes into juice making. [6]

56. Florida is the world’s leading producer of grapefruit. Florida ranks second only to Brazil in global juice production. [6]

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 writing tips for the university of florida essay prompts.

College Essays

Are you applying to the University of Florida? You'll need to answer some essay prompts as part of your application.   Read this guide to learn what the University of Florida essay prompts are, what admissions officers are looking for in your response, what you should include and avoid in your answers, and what strong UF college essay examples look like.

What Are the University of Florida Essays?

The University of Florida accepts both the Common Application and the Coalition Application, and applicants must answer one of the Common Application prompts. 

As part of your application, you'll also need to answer an additional UF-specific essay prompt, and you'll have the option of answering three additional essay prompts. Your answer to each prompt can be up to 250 words. Here's the prompt:

• Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity

We'll go over how to best answer this supplement question in the next section.

The UF Essay Prompt, Analyzed

In this section, we explain what the prompt is asking for, why UF is interested in this information, what information you should include (and what information to avoid), and what a strong example answer could look like.

Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity.

What the prompt is asking for: A description of the one extracurricular you feel is most important to you.

Why UF is interested: Students who are dedicated to something show they are passionate, interested in learning, and have a strong work ethic. These are all characteristics colleges want their students to have, so having something you're committed to is a major boost to your application. Seeing what you choose also gives UF a better sense of who you are and what you value.

Potential topics to discuss: What the extracurricular, is how long you've involved with it, how much time per week/month/etc. you dedicate to it, what activities your involvement includes, why you consider it meaningful. 

Topics to avoid: Listing multiple activities or simply describing the extracurricular without explaining why it's important to you.

Example: "The extracurricular most important to me is my involvement in my high school's Model UN team . I've been involved for four years, since I was a freshman. We meet once a week during the school year to prepare for the four conferences we participate in each year. As a Model UN member, I research different political events and international relations topics, then debate the issues with other team members to build my skills in those areas. Model UN is so important to me because, not only did it solidify my choice to major in International Relations, it strengthened me personally. As a result of my participation, I've improved my debate skills, become a more confident public speaker, and have much more experience finding a compromise even between very different groups."

Tips for the UF Essay Prompt

Follow these three tips when completing the University of Florida supplement essays to make sure your answers are as strong as possible.

#1: Keep Your Answers Concise

You only have 250 words per prompt. That isn't that much! This means your responses need to be brief and to the point if you're trying to fit a lot of information in. You likely have a lot of reasons why a particular extracurricular is the most important to you.

#2: Show Your Strengths

Even though the prompt is short, it’s still an opportunity for you to impress the admissions committee. You can dive into how you've been involved in your extracurricular, as well as any leadership roles you may have had. Try to include themes you've mentioned in other parts of your application , such as your longer essay. For example, if you mentioned that your dream is to be a doctor, try to highlight experiences that reflect that, such as volunteering at a hospital.

#3: Be Honest and Passionate

Sometimes students think they need to tell a story that the admissions committee wants to hear...so they make things up. Do not lie in your college essay—admissions counselors are  great  at sniffing out fibs! 

Instead, lean into the passions and experiences that make you unique . For instance, maybe you made a quilt and entered it in the fair. That's awesome! Just make sure you're explaining why it's meaningful for you! Maybe your grandmother taught you how to quilt and you worked on it together, which taught you the importance passing knowledge down from one generation to the next. 

Summary: UF College Essay Examples

There is one main University of Florida essay, and it'll be the Coalition or Common Application (depending on which application you use) prompt of your choice. But there are also additional UF essay prompts to answer. These shorter prompts are a way for the UF admissions committee to learn more about you and have the most accurate look at your application.

Here is where you can discuss extracurricular activities, anything that prevented you from participating in extracurriculars, certain programs you took part in, and anything else you think is important for the people reviewing your application to know. As you answer these UF essay prompts, remember to keep your responses short, don't feel pressured to answer every prompt, and highlight your strengths.

What's Next?

Considering the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship? Our guide to Bright Futures Scholarship programs answers all the questions you're wondering about.

Want to bring up your GPA? Read about four ways to bring up your high school grades fast .

Interested in community service ideas? Check out our guide to 129 great community service projects .

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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University of Florida (UF) Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the University of Florida supplemental essays? CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the University of Florida supplemental essays will show you exactly how to write engaging UF supplemental essays and maximize your chances of admission. If you need help responding to the UF essay topics, create your free  account  or  schedule a free advising assessment  by calling (844) 343-6272.

University of Florida Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• UF has an acceptance rate of 31.0%— U.S. News  ranks the University of Florida as a  highly selective  school.
• There is  one  school-specific UF supplemental essay required for all applicants. If you are planning to apply to the UF Honors Program, you will complete an additional  two  UF essays. This means applicants to the UF Honors Program will complete a total of three UF supplemental essays.

Does the University of Florida have supplemental essays?

Yes. Whether you apply through the  Common App  or  Coalition App , you will respond to at least one UF essay prompt. Your UF admissions essay lets the admissions team learn more about you as they review your application.

Any freshman applying through the Common App or Coalition App also can apply to FHP, the University of Florida’s First-Year Honors Program. In addition to the required UF admissions essay, students applying to FHP must complete two additional UF supplemental essays.

While some schools handle honors admissions separately, UF includes all application materials for FHP in the standard UF application. This includes every UF admissions essay. Students completing the UF supplemental essays for the Honors Program, therefore, will submit all three UF essays through the Common or Coalition App. This means that you must complete the UF essays for the Honors Program before you submit your final application.

Need some help writing your Common App essay? Get great tips from our Common App essay  guide .

How many supplemental essays does the University of Florida have?

There are  three  total University of Florida supplemental essays included on the 2021-2022 application.

The University of Florida has  one  UF essay prompt every student is required to complete. Additionally, if you choose to apply to their Honors Program, you must write another  two  UF supplemental essays. The first required UF essay prompt asks about your extracurricular engagements. In contrast, the UF essay topics for the Honors Program ask about your interest in the program and your academic priorities.

Before writing your essays, you’ll want to have an idea of your intended major. If you haven’t already, use our College Search Feature to explore the wide range of majors offered at UF!

How do I write the University of Florida supplemental essays?

Here are some helpful tips to help you get started on the University of Florida supplemental essays!

To begin, the University of Florida supplemental essays give you an opportunity to showcase what motivates you, which academic topics interest you, and how you engage with the world around you. Therefore, think of the UF supplemental essays as your chance to introduce yourself to the admissions team on your own terms.

As you brainstorm the UF essay topics, remember your audience. Admissions officers read thousands of UF supplemental essays. Ultimately, if you are vague, superficial, or misleading, your UF essays won’t help the UF admissions team understand who you are. To maximize your UF supplemental essays’ impact, you’ll want to be as specific, genuine, and authentic as possible.

If you’re having trouble finding topics for your UF essays, don’t worry! We will discuss each UF essay prompt individually below. But first, here are some more technical tips to keep in mind when writing your University of Florida supplemental essays.

Overall, the most important thing your University of Florida supplemental essays should do is answer the UF essay prompt. Even if you write a perfect UF admissions essay, it has failed to serve its main purpose if it doesn’t answer every aspect of the prompt.

Each of the University of Florida supplemental essays has a maximum word limit. In each essay, make sure to stick to the word limit and use your space wisely. For example, if you find yourself quoting someone famous or writing about a friends’ experiences, ask yourself how it relates back to you. In fact, the more “you” that you include in your UF admissions essay, the better!

The admissions team reads countless UF essays every year. This makes it particularly important that your UF admissions essay is as clear and polished as possible. Essentially, the more straightforward and refined your writing is, the more easily your ideas and personality will shine through! For this reason, you’ll want to be sure to give yourself enough time to draft, revise, and proofread your University of Florida supplemental essays.

Below, we have provided the 2021-2022 UF admissions essay prompts. Along with the prompts, you’ll find a breakdown of how to approach each UF admissions essay. As a bonus, we included both the general UF essay prompt and the Honors Program prompts. Additionally, we’ll also discuss tips for narrowing down your UF essay topics. If you follow these tips, you’ll write University of Florida supplemental essays that will help you stand out in admissions.

University of Florida Supplemental Essays – Question 1 (Required)

Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity (250 words or less).

To start, this UF essay prompt asks you to choose your single “most meaningful commitment.” Even if multiple experiences pop into your head, you must narrow your UF essay topic down to just one commitment. The best University of Florida supplemental essays will use one commitment to reveal fundamental aspects of an applicant’s identity.

If you need help choosing your UF essay topics, try making a list using UF’s suggested categories. These include: Extracurricular, Work, Volunteering, Academic Activity, Family Responsibility, Other. While writing, remember that this list can include a sport you’ve played, a job you’ve held, or even a responsibility toward a sibling. Once you’ve completed your list, circle three to five topics that engage you most. Do a five-minute free-write for each. If there’s a topic you can’t stop writing about, there’s a good chance that might be your most meaningful commitment!

Once you’ve selected your essay topic, you can consider the rest of the UF essay prompt. This first UF essay prompt is quite open-ended, which gives you plenty of opportunities to showcase your identity. While “Please provide more details” isn’t very specific, remember that your UF admissions essay is an opportunity for the admissions team to get to know you. As you write, make sure to always connect your topic back to who you are.

Struggling to answer this UF essay prompt? Here are some questions to guide your response:

What did I do?  Be specific. If your topic is a sport, like basketball, discuss details of playing basketball that your reader might not know. For instance, you might describe waking up at 6 am for practice, practicing drills and collaborating with teammates, or performing under the pressure of a crowd.

Why did I do it?  What was the motivation behind your commitment? Let’s continue with the basketball example. Is basketball something you and your little brother grew up playing together? Does playing a sport help with your anxiety? Were you inspired by a certain professional athlete? Including the reason why you pursue the activity will strengthen your response to this UF essay prompt.

What did I take away from this commitment? Learning happens in all places. While this UF admissions essay asks you to describe an activity outside the classroom, asking “what did I learn?” will help take your response to this UF essay prompt from a summary into a story. Maybe you discovered a new passion, a new skill, or a new way of problem-solving. Maybe your commitment to basketball translated into commitment in your classes? Or maybe the teamwork you cultivated in practice changed the way you helped your family at home?

As you expand upon your UF essay topics, think about how your commitment shaped who you are. This will give you a compelling ending to your UF admissions essay.

UF Supplemental Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Does my UF admissions essay reference one (not two, or three) commitment outside of my classes?
• Does my essay show why this is important to me?
• Do I show how I engaged in this activity?
• Does my essay reflect what I gained from this experience?

University of Florida Honors Program Supplemental Essays – Question 1 (Required)

Why is applying for the UF Honors Program important to you? Which aspects of the program’s three pillars of opportunity, community, and challenge pique your interests? How would you engage with the program to exemplify these pillars yourself? How does the program factor into your long-term goals? Please be specific (400 words or less).

The first step in tackling this UF essay prompt is to read about the UF Honors Program’s  3 Pillars of Value . As you think about your UF essay topics, ask yourself what about these pillars draws you to the program. Why are these ideals crucial to your college experience?

If you’re struggling to find specific details to discuss in your UF essays, think about your current situation. What are you missing in your high school academic career that you want to experience in college? If your classes aren’t challenging enough, you might want to talk about “challenge” and why the Honors Program would give you the academic rigor you need to reach your greatest potential. Or, if you feel you haven’t met many like-minded individuals in your high school, you might want to talk about “community” and why the Honors Program would provide opportunities to support and be supported by peers. If you aspire to do research or attend a graduate school, you might want to talk about “opportunity” and how the Honors Program will connect you with advisors to put you on track for those experiences.

Think about the future

While this brainstorm can help you begin choosing your UF essay topics, the Honors Program  Application Tips  reminds prospective students that this UF essay prompt is meant to be forward-facing. This means the admissions team wants to hear about what you imagine for your future rather than what you’ve completed in your past. This is where the second half of the UF essay prompt comes into play.

Imagine the Honors Program as a stepping-stone: what will you do in the Honors Program, and how will that help you reach your goals? Be sure to answer these questions with specific details about the Honors Program. For example, if your dream is to join the medical field, you might reference the Honors Program’s Pre-Health Coordinator and the Professional Development courses you will take to prepare you for medical school.

No matter what draws you to the Honors Program, remember to be specific, answer all four questions in the UF essay prompt, and proofread, proofread, proofread!

• Does my UF admissions essay reference specific details about the Honors Program?
• Do I include both why I am interested in the Honors Program and what I plan to do if I get in?
• Does my essay communicate why the Honors Program is important in reaching my academic goals?

University of Florida Honors Program Supplemental Essays – Question 2 (Required)

Identify two topics you have previously studied that do not traditionally overlap. How do you envision you might bring these topics together during your time in Honors to engage a pressing societal, medical or technological concern? The concern you wish to engage could be of local, national, or global scope, but you should be clear about the issue you want to address. For the purposes of this essay, the topics you identify need not have been formally studied in high school, but you should have studied them since beginning in high school (300 words or less).

This UF essay prompt asks you to think along interdisciplinary lines to express your unique academic goals. This gives you a crucial opportunity to illustrate why you belong in an intellectually rigorous space like UF’s Honors Program.

Choosing a Topic

The first challenge of this UF essay prompt is to choose two topics that do not traditionally overlap. If you are having trouble choosing your UF essay topics, use your transcript and make a bulleted list of your classes divided into basic high school subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, and the Arts. Think about which classes on this list you most enjoyed, and start combining subjects with seemingly little relation. The more unorthodox your combination, the more unique your UF admissions essay will be. For example, if you first choose Statistics and Chemistry, you may want to keep brainstorming as those have quite a bit of overlap. However, if you choose Chemistry and Music, you’ll have a less traditional pair that will make for a fascinating UF admissions essay. Strong UF essays can come from unexpected places!

Choosing a Concern

Next, turn away from your academic interests and choose the societal, medical, or technological concern you’d like to address. Unlike some other UF essays, this UF essay prompt focuses on how you think rather than who you are. As you choose your concern, therefore, focus on how you will engage the topic rather than why it is important to you. Remember, you’ve chosen this topic because it needs to be addressed, and your reader knows that. If you have a specific, personal connection that impacts the way you view the problem (and will ultimately tackle it), keep your justification brief and always connect back to how you will engage with the topic at hand. The best UF essays will offer concrete, specific details on how an applicant plans to tackle their chosen concern.

As you complete your University of Florida supplemental essays, be sure to reference their Application Tips to ensure you have a strong application.

• Does my essay include two topics that I will combine to solve a problem (not one, not three)?
• Do I show how my two chosen topics inform and relate to one another?
• Does my essay reflect how I plan to engage with this topic (not just why I am interested)?

How hard is it to get into the University of Florida honors program?

The University of Florida Honors Program is a highly challenging and therefore highly competitive program. Last year, the acceptance rate was 13%—well below the University’s acceptance rate. Students who are accepted have excellent scholarly credentials, are leaders in their communities, and plan to push themselves alongside their fellow Honors Gators.

It is important your University of Florida supplemental essays showcase why you belong in the Honors Program. Students accepted to the UF Honors program also have high test scores and GPAs as well as strong UF supplemental essays. You can read more about the 2020 Admitted Student Profile, the Honors review process, and the timeline for the 2021-2022 application cycle  here .

What are the requirements to get into the University of Florida?

Your University of Florida supplemental essays are only one element of your UF application. The University of Florida’s Admissions page provides a list of minimum  requirements for freshman applicants . That means you need to meet or exceed the following benchmarks to have a competitive application outside of your UF supplemental essays:

• Graduation:  You must be on track to graduate from a regionally accredited or state-approved secondary school or the equivalent (G.E.D., etc.).
• Academic Credits:  You need 16 academic units distributed across English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Foreign Language.
• Grade Point Average:  Your cumulative GPA must be at least a C.
• Conduct:  You must have a record of good conduct. Any major issues may disqualify your application from being considered, regardless of your academic credentials.
• SAT or ACT:  You must submit test scores from the SAT and/or the ACT. If you have taken a test multiple times, UF will take the highest scores for each subsection and superscore to create the highest possible total score.

University of Florida Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

As you think about the University of Florida supplemental essays, remember that no single element of your application will determine your admissions results. The UF admissions team uses a  holistic review process , meaning they take everything into consideration: your grades, test scores, extracurriculars, background, and UF supplemental essays. Admissions will consider your UF supplemental essays alongside your other academic credentials to better understand who you are as a student and how you will enrich the University of Florida community. While your transcript and test scores reflect the kind of student you already are, your UF essays will help them see what kind of student you can become.

While writing the University of Florida supplemental essays can be time-consuming, remember your UF essays—including both your Personal Statement and your UF supplemental essays—are the one part of your application where you have complete control. Be sure to take your time and make your University of Florida supplemental essays as strong as they can be! Give yourself time to think about the UF essay topics before you get started. Consider what you’ve already included in the rest of your application and use the UF essays to share something new about who you are.

If the thought of distilling yourself into a few short essays seems daunting, spend some time daydreaming about what going to the University of Florida could mean to your future. Think about the possibilities and opportunities you are excited to take on. Let that excitement shine through in your UF supplemental essays. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide on UF was written by Stefanie Tedards. For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources, click  here . Want help crafting your University of Florida supplemental essays? Create your free account or schedule a no-cost advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

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Florida Essay

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Requirements for Freshman Applicants

New Regulation regarding High School/Associate of Arts

Students receiving their high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree (A.A.) from a Florida College System (FCS) or State University (SUS) institution at the same time should complete the freshman application. If we are unable to offer you admission at the freshman level, you will be provided with the opportunity to have your application reconsidered as an upper-division transfer. Students admitted via transfer admission may have their offer of admission rescinded if they do not complete the required prerequisites and A.A. degree prior to enrollment. Note: Students who opt-in to be considered as an upper-division transfer student will not be required to submit official SAT or ACT scores.

Graduation from a regionally accredited or state-approved secondary school or the equivalent (G.E.D., etc.)

Academic Credits

Sixteen academic units, distributed as follows:

• 4 Years of English (with substantial writing)
• 4 Years of Mathematics (at or above the Algebra 1 level)
• 3 Years of Natural Sciences (two units must include a laboratory)
• 3 Years of Social Sciences
• 2 Years of a foreign language (must be sequential)

Grade Point Average

A cumulative C grade point average in the academic core, as computed by the university, at all institutions attended (high school and college).

Dual Enrollment

Students taking dual-enrollment courses must present a minimum 2.0 GPA at every institution attended.

A record of good conduct. Major or continuing difficulty with school or other officials may render an applicant ineligible regardless of academic qualifications.

SAT, ACT or Classic Learning Test ( CLT )

All applicants must submit test scores from the SAT, ACT and/or CLT . UF will superscore (take the highest scores for each subsection) to create the highest possible total score. UF does not require or encourage applications to complete the essay portion of the ACT.

SAT, ACT and/or CLT scores can be sent directly from the testing agency or self-reported through your application status page. Scores must be received by UF by December 1 . If your test scores are not received by the deadline, your application will be moved into the space-available applicant pool.

Students Earning an AA Degree/60 College Credits

Students who will receive their high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree or 60 college credits at the same time should apply using the Common App. On your application, select a specific major and UF college. If we are unable to offer you admission at the freshman level, you will be asked if you would like to have your application reconsidered as an upper-division transfer. At the upper-division level review, you must meet college and major prerequisite course and minimum GPA requirements.

Home-Schooled or Non-Accredited Students

Homeschooled students or students at non-accredited schools are considered for admission using the same holistic review process applied to other freshman applicants. In addition to grades and SAT and/or ACT scores, students attending a homeschool or a non-accredited school are encouraged to take core classes and submit grades from an accredited secondary or post-secondary institution. While not required, students may also submit results from AP/IB tests for consideration.

These are the minimum requirements for applying to UF. Note that admission to UF is competitive, and most admitted students will exceed these requirements.

Writing Assessments

Beginning with the 2022–23 school year, Florida’s statewide, standardized assessments in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics will be aligned with the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.). Writing was administered in spring 2023 as a standalone field test administered to a representative sample of Florida students. Beginning with the 2023–24 school year, Writing will be administered during each spring administration. Writing scores will be reported separately from Reading; they will not contribute to an overall ELA score.

Writing will be computer-based in all assessed grades, and prompts will be in response to texts.

About the Assessment

• 2023-24 B.E.S.T. Writing Fact Sheet (PDF)
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• Florida Statewide Assessments Computer-Adaptive Testing Video
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Writing Resources

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The News Literacy Project

PitchIt! FLORIDA Student Essay Contest

Published on December 1, 2023 Events

Friday, April 19, 2024 11:59 PM EST

Contest Deadline: April 19, 2024, 11:59 p.m. EST

Florida educators! Enter your students in our essay contest for a chance for both you and a student to win a gift card worth up to $100.

Contest Deadline: April 19, 2024, 11:59 p.m. EST.

• Nov. 1, 2023 – Feb. 16, 2024: Educator RSVP is open! Suggested time frame to teach using Checkology ® virtual classroom and other NLP resources. (All free!)
• Feb. 19 – March 15, 2024: Regular essay submission period. Suggested time frame to teach using Checkology® virtual classroom and other free NLP resources.
• March 18 – April 12, 2024: Extended entry submission period. Suggested time frame to workshop essays for submission.
• April 19: Absolute essay submission deadline.

Student voice is a catalyst for positive change in schools and communities. For this reason, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), in partnership with the News Literacy Project, is hosting a writing contest to empower Florida students to be civically informed and engaged.

The PitchIt! Florida student essay contest is an opportunity for students to write about some of the most important topics of our time and explore how they can help combat misinformation or work to protect freedom of the press.

TEACHING AND LEARNING GOALS

Teachers have an authentic and engaging writing assignment that amplifies student voices and explores issues aligned to district curricula, standards and required topics, such as the First Amendment.

Students analyze different types of misinformation and show the ability to think critically about what is and is not verifiable information.

Students apply their news and media literacy skills to solve the misinformation problem.

Students develop their 21st century civics and media literacy skills (see our Google Drive documents, academic contexts and connections).

“Our learning goals for this contest include helping students analyze different types of misinformation and showcasing their ability to think critically about what is and is not verifiable information. When we fail to teach news literacy, we actively disempower students from being engaged members of their communities. That’s why we hope students and teachers from across the district will enter and participate.”— Monica Valdes , social studies and film teacher, M-DCPS

The below are given for each grade band in 6-8 and 9-12.

• GRAND PRIZE – PITCH: $100 gift card scholarship for student winner, gift card for teacher and a school banner celebrating both.
• FIRST PLACE – ESSAY $75 gift card (teacher and student)
• SECOND PLACE – ESSAY $50 gift card (teacher and student)
• THIRD PLACE – ESSAY $25 gift card (teacher and student)

Note: First-, second- and third place essay winners will prepare a presentation to “pitch” in the virtual PitchIt! Grand Prize event on Zoom (date TBA) and receive feedback from working journalists. The Grand Prize winners will be chosen at this time.

This contest is open to middle and high school students in Florida who participate with support from a teacher. Schools are encouraged to conduct their own internal essay competition to coordinate, and teachers submit their top three essays per grade band (6-8 and 9-12).

Educators are provided with free resources, as well as planning and organizational support for instructional purposes in the PitchIt! Student Essay Contest folder on NLP’s Google Drive. Join the NewsLitNation Facebook Group for additional tips on how to best blend key news literacy concepts into your existing curriculum.

For this project, students will write a 500- to 1,000-word essay in response to one of the news literacy writing prompts, using a news article as inspiration. Submitted essays will be judged by NLP ambassadors.

The selected first- through third-place essay contest prize winners (three from middle school and three from high school) then compete at the virtual PitchIt! Grand Prize event, where they receive real-time feedback from journalists on their “pitch,” a presentation about their essay topic. The grand prize winners will be chosen at this time.

LEARNING TASK AND CHOOSING THE ESSAY TOPIC

News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other content to identify different types of information and to use the standards of fact-based journalism to determine what to trust, share and act on. Being news literate also means recognizing the critical role of the First Amendment and a free press in a democracy and interacting with news and information in ways that promote engaged participation in civic life.

Students will be able to develop critical thinking and news literacy skills to find reliable information to make decisions, take action and responsibly share news through social media.

Students compose an essay in response to one of the news literacy writing prompts below, discussing how it relates to a local, national or international news article of their choice. They should form a thesis based on their chosen prompt and aim to convince their audience that the thesis is accurate and valid.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Students will be evaluated using the PitchIt! rubric found among the PitchIt! Student Essay Contest documents in Google Drive. Teachers should provide students with a written copy of the rubric and relevant supporting materials.

• Step 1. Teacher introduces the writing assignment to students, the rubric*  and the process by which the top essays will advance. News literacy topics are explored with students as they relate to the curriculum. Teachers are encouraged to use the free educator resources on NewsLitNation ® and the Checkology ® virtual classroom on topics like the First Amendment.More resources are at the M-DCPS library, which includes access to The New York Times, articles on ProQuest or any other available sources.
• Step 2. Students work with their teacher to select a news article/topic, picking one of the prompts below to follow in writing the essay. Encourage students to use the student planning document* as an outline and review the essay formatting requirements before handing in a final draft.
• Step 3. Teachers choose up to five student essays per grade, per school, and submit with cover letter via email to Monica Valdes, Florida’s NewsLitNation ambassador: [email protected] . While not required, we encourage schools to conduct their own internal essay contest to establish the top essays for submission.
• Step 4. NLP’s educator panel selects six essays (three from middle school and three from high school) to advance to the Grand Prize phase of the contest (the “pitch”!).
• Step 5. Panel notifies the teacher by May 6, 2024. The selected students then begin creating a visual presentation of their essay (PowerPoint or Google Slides) no more than three minutes in length, to compete in the final phase of the contest.
• Step 6. First-, second- and third-place essay winners make their three-minute presentation (“pitch”) to a panel of journalists during the PitchIt! Florida Grand Prize event on Zoom and receive personalized feedback. Panelists choose the Grand Prize winners for middle school and high school competitors, who will be awarded during the event.

*Click here for the Google Drive folder with PitchIt! educator resources. 

Students should pick one of the following prompts: 

• Prompt #1: Explain how the First Amendment protects freedom of the press. Use a recent local, national or international news story to illustrate the importance of freedom of the press and how other freedoms are required to protect it.
• Prompt #2: What steps should someone take to fact-check statements by a public figure? What are the potential consequences of sharing it online? Consider a recent event in the news to analyze the ways in which the press can hold public figures accountable for what they say and share publicly.
• Prompt #3: People have civic responsibilities, things they should do but are not required by law. Explain which news literacy skills are essential to responsible civic participation by example of a recent event in the news.
• Prompt #4: Social media platforms are under increased public pressure to fact-check online content generated and shared by users. Which news literacy standards should social media platforms adopt to evaluate fact from fiction? Support your answer with real-world examples in the news media.
• Prompt #5: What is the role of the media in our society, and how can we become responsible consumers and producers of news and information in the digital age? Support your answer with real-world examples in the news.
• Prompt #6: How does confirmation bias, stereotyping and other cognitive biases impact how we interpret events, news and information? What are potential consequences of not verifying the accuracy of such information? Analyze a current news event with these multiple issues in mind for your essay.
• Submission must be original, unpublished work of one student.
• Essay is between 500-1,000 words, clearly addressing one of the prompts.
• Essay is typed in 12-point, Times New Roman, double-spaced with 1” margins and numbered pages.
• Submissions must have a title.
• Students must include at least three credible sources to support their thesis.
• Proper citation of sources is required.
• Only five essays from each grade may be submitted per school.
• Essays must be proofread and should follow the rules for standard English (grammar, punctuation, mechanics) in writing. See Purdue Owl Grammar .
• A cover page MUST be included with the following information: student name, student ID, grade level, student’s complete address, best phone number for student, school’s name, principal’s name, teacher’s name, best phone number and email address for teacher and title of essay.
• Finalists must be able to virtually participate in the PitchIt! Grand Prize event, with camera on, and submit a media release form (date TBA).

SUBMISSION:

Schools/teachers should submit their top five winning essays per grade with required cover letter via email to: Monica Valdes, Florida news literacy ambassador, [email protected] . Entries must be received by April 19, 2024.

Is there a submission fee? No fees! Better yet, there is no catch. All our educator resources are free, including Checkology !

What does “teacher support” mean? Successful writers are made through direct instruction. Teachers are encouraged to support students in both content selection and the writing process. The teacher’s name and contact information must be indicated in the cover letter as the primary point of contact regarding the entry.

How are the essays judged? During the first phase of the contest, essays are reviewed by news literacy ambassadors for readability, accuracy and originality, using the PitchIt! Rubric . Successful essays are about a local, national or international story that would have benefited from news literacy skills being applied to stop the spread of misinformation. For example, consider the impact a story had, and whether false claims about it could be debunked using reputable and verifiable sources of information.

Do you have essay tips for the students? Essays must have a recognizable beginning (opening or introduction), multiple body paragraphs and a conclusion. See Purdue Owl Argumentative Essays . Hook the reader with a strong opener. Readers will use the first few sentences to decide whether they will read the whole essay. Keep your paragraphs short. Popular essays tend to average three sentences per paragraph. Submit thoroughly thought-out, tightly focused essays. Originality is also important. In the conclusion, include a call to action . Encourage readers to take some positive steps. For instance, if you’ve given them a list of tips, prompt them to put some of the tips into practice.

How is the “pitch” judged? The first-, second- and third-place essay winners advance to the Grand Prize event phase of the contest. To prepare, they must create a visual presentation based on their essay theme. During the event they will each have three minutes to “pitch” their essay idea to a panel of journalists and will receive real-time feedback. Student presentations will be judged for creativity, delivery, impact and accuracy during the event.

Who can participate? The PitchIt! contest is open to all middle and high school students in the State of Florida. If you live in Pennsylvania, Colorado or New York, please visit the main PitchIt! page for details.

What document formats are accepted? The following formats are accepted: Microsoft Word, PDF, Google Doc.

How are the finalists announced? Email notifications will be sent to teachers by early May.

I have more questions! Questions about NLP resources can be directed to Terry Berna, educator success manager, [email protected] , or you can submit a request via the NLP Education Help Center or the NewsLitNation Facebook Group . Questions about rules can be directed to Miriam Romais, director of NewsLitNation, at [email protected] , and questions about entries can be directed to our Florida ambassador Monica Valdes at [email protected] .

More Updates

Npr april fools’ day story cites advice from nlp rumorguard lead writer dan evon.

This April Fools’ Day, NPR offered tips for people to avoid falling for online pranks, and included news literacy tips from Dan Evon, NLP’s senior manager of education design.

Published on Apr 11, 2024 NLP in the News

School’s entire freshmen class learning news literacy with NLP’s resources

Pennslyvania educator Pam Szabo develops a media and news literacy curriculum for all freshman using News Literacy Project resources.

Published on Apr 9, 2024 Updates

Vote for us! Checkology is nominated for a Webby Award

Checkology® is in the running for top honors in The Webby Awards, the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences’ signature awards program.

Published on Apr 3, 2024 Updates

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Welcome to WhatsTheIssue

Whatstheissue is a bar preparation program that includes lessons and instructional videos on torts, contracts, criminal law & procedure, property, constitutional law, evidence, and federal civil procedure., testimonials.

Prior to purchasing Professor Grossman’s FL videos, I took and failed the FL Bar 5 times using a Big Box prep course.  I felt completely defeated and suffered from severe test taking anxiety.  Exactly two weeks before the exam in February, I purchased the Complete Florida Bar Course. First, I listened to the video titled “Essay Writing Approach”.  After listening to that video and writing  an outline of what I learned, I realized I had been writing the essays all wrong.  I was using IRAC however, not giving enough law and not applying the law to the facts in the manner described in the video. Professor Grossman gives a no nonsense, easy to comprehend approach.  Going into the exam I had the essay blueprint in my head and was able to effortlessly transfer that into writing. I then continued with “How Florida Multiple Choice is Scored” from Professor Sandon. In this video, the components of the test are broken down so that you understand how points for a multiple choice question translated into points on an essay. He emphasizes subjects which appear on the Bar continuously and how to study smarter not harder. Finally, I listened to all the lectures on the Florida topics.  Each video highlights tested material and is presented in a condensed manner so you don’t feel overwhelmed.  The first time I listened, I made an outline, however, I am an auditory learner so I listened to the videos religiously for the two weeks prior to the exam, on the way to work, the way home, while cooking, before going to sleep, literally all the time.  The two weeks of repetitive listening definitely paid off I can not thank Professors Grossman and Sandon enough.  I was at work when I found out I had passed and cried tears of joy.  I can say without a doubt the Florida videos are the reason I passed the exam. I am forever grateful and recommend your course to anyone taking the Bar. Thank you so much!!

To those of you about to sit for the Florida Bar Examination, I cannot stress how important it is to truly prepare yourselves for the journey ahead. Through the use of Jonathan Grossman’s video lectures, I was able to learn the black letter law that would be required of me on the bar examination. With the alarming passage rates in Florida, I feared being stuck in the pool of repeaters. Thanks to Jon, I was able to score a 151 on the MBE. I was also able and fortunate enough to attend his essay writing workshops where he taught me how to write exactly how the bar expects you to write. Thanks to these workshops and his help on my essays, I was able to score a 165 on the Florida portion of the exam. His method is straight, clear, and to the point. Do not miss out!

I highly recommend Jonathan Grossman to help you prep for the bar exam. I used to rep for a well-known bar prep company, so I was highly skeptical of deviating from the typical bar exam approach and using anything to study from other than the materials provided to me by the bar prep company. While studying the first time, I completed the majority of my course, faithfully listened to lectures, and did practice questions. I thought I did everything “right,” but when results came out, I discovered I failed the bar exam. I was devastated. I thought if I just studied a little bit more, I’d pass the exam, so I studied just a little bit more, and I failed that bar exam too. Then, ANOTHER ONE. I went to a “good” law school. How could this happen? I was so lost. I didn’t know what to do. Then, I discovered Jonathan Grossman, and doing so made all of the difference in the world for me. Jonathan Grossman is truly gifted at helping unlock the material. He “cuts the fat,” and he explains concepts in clear, concise, and direct language. He uses memorable and easy-to-understand examples to teach the law. To use his words, he “dumbs” everything down. But, truth be told, Jon doesn’t dumb anything down. He’s just really good at explaining legal concepts in straightforward language. He also teaches you what you actually need to know for the bar exam (which is a lot!), but he doesn’t waste your time teaching trivial, extraneous material unlikely to ever appear on the exam. I know what you’re thinking — that learning all of that “extra” stuff must be better, but I can tell you, it’s not. There is no way you can memorize all of the material the bar prep companies cram into their outlines. It’s not possible or realistic, and you’ll waste your time trying to memorize truly unimportant concepts when you could and should be focusing on the really big ticket items that are core legal concepts and thus likely (read: going to without fail) appear on the bar exam. Jon knows which concepts these are, and he is a master at teaching them to you. Additionally, Jon knows how to approach the questions on the bar exam. During bar prep, when you’re trying to learn and memorize legal concepts, you might be tempted to let test taking strategy and approach sit on the back burner. Don’t do that. Knowing how to approach the questions is half of the bar exam battle. Jon teaches you the techniques you need to know in order to approach the questions correctly, and if you implement his strategies - in tandem with - learning the material he presents to you, you are almost guaranteed to pass the bar exam. Jon is also unbelievably positive and encouraging. He is personally invested in your success. Taking the exam is stressful, and you need someone in your corner who is going to lift you up and believe in you. In turn, you will begin to believe in yourself and in your ability to pass the exam. I know ....because I experienced this first-hand. Studying for the bar exam is terrible, but Jonathan Grossman actually makes it enjoyable, fun, and manageable. I cannot recommend him highly enough. He changed my life.

After graduation I enrolled in one of the large Bar Prep programs.  Although I felt ready, I was not confident and I failed the FL Bar exam. The following February I decided to skip the Bar Prep and do it on my own.  I failed the FL Bar exam AGAIN. A few months ago, I decided to give it one more try.  I had heard about Jonathan from someone who gave him a glowing review, and decided to use his services. He not only gave me direction, but he also had a calming influence, which was much-needed after my 2 previous exam failures. In fact, I was so confident during the MBE exam that I was yelling (in my head, of course) at the answer booklet, boldly crossing off answers that had nothing to do with the question subject, and reminding myself to ’shut up and pick it.’ Thank you so much for your guidance, reassurance, and most of all, your system of breaking down the steps to prepare for and pass the bar exam. I highly recommend Jonathan’s services for first-time takers as well as repeat takers like myself.

I met John during my last semester of law school. I had recently received a non-passing score on the MPRE and already had high anxiety that I was doomed to fail the bar. I had done poorly on multiple-choice exams my entire life (including the [SAT) but always did well in coursework and on essay exams. I couldn't figure out why multiple-choice exams always got the best of me. That all changed when I met John. I followed John's direction and trusted his process. I memorized the black letter law EXACTLY as he instructed and I knew the law cold. I followed his approach for each type of question to "attack" the MBE. Most importantly, I believed in and used his mantras on every single question uttering, "shut up and pick it", "they are not trying to trick you, they know you will trick yourself'and "the longer the fact pattern, the easier the answer" over and over again. Understanding John's approach to utilizing these mantras is the key to his program. I passed the MPRE, the Florida Bar, and the New Jersey Bar with John's guidance in 2012. Four years later, I took the Uniform Bar Exam. I went back to John to learn new areas of law and steadfastly used his approach once again. After studying for the bar four years out of law school while working full-time, I scored significantly higher on the MBE and obtained a passing UBE score in every UBE jurisdiction. As someone who always underperformed on multiple-choice exams, John's methods truly changed my life. I don't know where I would be had I not been lucky enough to be introduced to John and his program. After admission to the bar in 4 states (soon to be 5) and passing the MPRE twice utilizing John's strategies, I can say without a doubt that he has cracked the code to passing the Bar!

I have no idea if you will ever read this We you are likely flooded w/ messages, but thank you for making these videos. BII you and my tutor. you are both why I passed the Virginia bar exam. I took it several years mat Of law school, and your videos are so good, and they make me laugh. There is no bar prep company out there or Other resource that provides such concise. direct. and understandable break down Of the subjects. YOU are the only resource that's been able to get all this information in my head and to approach the questions. Last summer, when I took the exam. I kept saying, "What are they asking you, Julie? What is the one single issue here?" You change lives, Jon. You really do. I'm taking my second bar exam in July. and I am retaking the MBE for a portable UBE score. so I'm rewatching the videos, which I'm pretty sure you've redone here or there, so I'm on the defensive use Of collateral estoppel, and as soon as I I wonder why," you literally said, "Don't ask why! I'm Jon, I like the Jets. I like whatever....l don't know why. Don't email me questions," and I just LOLed. You literally know EXACTLY which part Of the materials people will ask "why." You ' ve done this in numerous Other places in the content, and you are always spot on, and I am always laughing b/c you KNOW. I'm a former teacher, so I really appreciate your approach. and I wish law school was taught this way. I think it would be better to have the basics down like this and then delve into the case law wc it's so disorienting otherwise. You are a true renegade. in my opinion, in the legal word b/c you make the material accessible and learnable. You don't hide the ball. and you don't figure the students will just make sense of it. You know they won't. and you clear up any confusion. And, you actually make the test beatable w/ all of your test taking strategies. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.

After failing the bar exam, I approached Jonathan Grossman for his help. Mr. Grossman makes each student his top priority and me makes every student feel deserving and worthy of passing the bar. He breaks down the various complicated and wordy-explained laws into a very simplistic yet understandable manner without cutting out key information. Mr. Grossman does not just jump topic to topic and move on quickly. When I was struwling with certain topics or questions, you better believe that we did not move forward until I had that topic or a good understanding of that question in the bag. W€d even go back to a topic just to make Sure I had a solid understanding of the concepts. Mr. Grossman made himself available to answer any and all questions and explain the process of how the bar exam works. Communication was efficient and easy at all times. If you need to reach Mr. Grossman. it is never a problem. I had contact with him via email, text messages, and phone calls at all hours (l truly mean it when I say Mr. Grossman makes his students top priority). Prior to leaving Miami for the Florida Bar Exam, Mr. Grossman assures me that he would be arriving in Tampa before exam day and let me know that he was happy to meet with me if I needed to go over anything last minute or had any questions for him. Hearing those words was very relaxing and not many people would make themselves so available especially so close to exam day. On BOTH exam days, Mr. Grossman was at the convention center. I approached him very stressed and nervous and he talked me through my stress and nerves. He is always just so positive and reassuring. One example of how Mr. Grossman helped me when I felt stressed and nervous is a pep talk he gave me. Mr. Grossman told me it is imperative I take the day off and I told him in tears that it was not possible SO close to the exam. Mr. Grossman told me about three different stories where other individuals in the past had been feeling the same as myself and that they needed to take the day off and even possibly the next day after that and that it was not only to effect my studying in a much better way but it will give me the extra boost and power down the road. The following day, Mr. Grossman called me and asked what I did for fun to relax and I told him I saw a movie and had a bagel nova. He said, "you will see, that extra relaxation eased your mind and calmed you down and he said it will work in your favor come time for the bar exam." (Mr. Grossman was right again—he KNOWS what he is talked about. His experience here is endless). Mr Grossman is patient and he wants his students to succeed. It is unbelievably clear how passionate Mr. Grossman is, he is determined, he means business, and HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. I could not be happier with my bar exam results and give so many thanks to Jonathan Grossman. I recommend Mr. Jonathan Grossman 1000% for a successful chance at the bar exam. In addition to working individually with Professor Grossman. I purchased his multistate videos. Hands down the best purchase I COUld have possibly made. Each video is catered towards a specific MBE subject. It is very clear that Mr. Grossman planned each video out, thought of proper examples to match concepts, and just gave each idea his all. Every single concept Mr. Grossman discusses has a relatable example whether it's sports. geography. etc. While watching all of Mr. Grossman's multistate videos, I took extensive and detailed notes and further. after watching all of the videos, I then was able to go back to my notes and review the concepts that Mr. Grossman does such a good job at breaking down into understandable simplistic concepts, while at the same time reviewing his relatable examples related to each topic. Mr. Grossman's "What's the Issue" website and "Shut Up and Pick It" slogan are accurate. Thank you so much, I am the most thankful for the opportunity to have worked with you!

John deconstructs the MBEs for his students in a simple manner. He helps you understand how the questions and answer choices are written, emphasizing where the bar examiners confuse you. Also noteworthy is John's ability to teach the material in a fun and lighthearted way. You can actually look forward to studying for the MBEs because his videos are filled with great examples that are not only effective but funny. He takes the fear and anxiety students face and organically converts that into confidence through his clear explanations and motivational words of encouragement. After I watched his videos and began implementing his methods and advice, it wasn't long before I started to consistently score 75% on my practice sets (and sometimes even 80%). I was in sincere disbelief how he took something that was seemingly impossible to figure out on my own and explained it in such a straightforward way. Suddenly, the MBEs were the least worrisome part of the exam for me. Watch his videos and you'll see John's genuine enthusiasm for giving you the tools to do well. Systematically use his approach and trust that in a matter of time you will be able to intelligently take apart the dense and convoluted fact patterns, refrain from reading nonexistent facts into them and finally answer them correctly!

There are no words to describe what John brings to the table as a teacher. I failed the first time and enlisted John’s services. John’s insight into the bar and his approach of assisting students get to the crux of the issue with precision, should be modeled in every bar prep course in the country. His compassion and willingness to make each subject in the MBE easily understandable is a gift that is second to none. His approach to the Florida Essays are so down to earth and easily learnable, you’d almost wish you had this insight as a 1L. I am an attorney because of your guidance, and commitment, and because of that I say thank you. Any student prepping for the bar needs to have your insight and knowledge. Big bar prep companies that make all these guarantees, can’t compete with what you bring to table. Please let me know if there are any students preparing for the upcoming bar that you need me to speak to going forward. They all need to know “what’s the issue”!

Before finally passing in the fall of 2008, I had taken the MBE three times. I had "the BarBri experience" upon graduating law school and I also had used MicroMash and PMBR, at different times, both in a group setting and on my own. I felt prepared every time, my practice rests indicated that I would pass with flying colors, but, somehow I just kept failing. On my third try, I failed by one point. At a complete loss, and knowing that I would again be working full-time while studying and that this was likely the last chance my employer could give me, I knew I needed a different approach. I contacted my law school dean, who recommended Jonathan Grossman. My experience with Jon was entirely unlike anything I had done in the past. I can only describe the process as having internalized the fundamentals of the MBE subject to the point that the elements of each topic were second nature, and I did not have to think about what was built into the distinct points of law; I just knew it and was able to attack the questions without having to spend time going through everything in my head every time. In essence, Jon taught me to simplify the bar. In retrospect, I probably spent less than half the total hours studying as at anytime in the past. Jon taught me to stop over analyzing every question and trying to handle it as guessing myself, but it was not a blind, hopeful trust; rather (and for the first time ever), it was confident reliance on a solid understanding of the law, consciously directed to appropriately address each individual question. His approach was flexible, patient, encouraging, and innovative. If I was unable to grasp a point, he found a way to get through to me... or found a way to convince me to let it go - a fine accomplishment considering my tendency to hopelessly latch on to minute, inconsequential details. The thousands of practice questions I had done over the course of two years indicated that I knew the law. Clearly, the law was not my problem. The test was the problem. Simply put, Jon taught me to beat the test. I am infinitely grateful to Jon for guiding me to a point that allowed me to pass the MBE and, finally, after two years of the same exhausting and fruitless cycle, move on with my life. As a self-pronounced "veteran of the bar," having attempted the MBE a total of four times, I can say with absolute conviction that I finally passed only because I had Jon's help.

Because of you I am a lawyer. I owe you a life time of gratitude. Words can not describe how much you mean to people like me. We never gave up, and we acomplished our goal. Please never stop tutoring students for the bar. We need people like you who truly believe in us and believe that we deserve to practice law. People like me who have taken the exam 3 or 4 times, truly appreciate what it means to be a lawyer. I know that we look at our bar cards and remember all the hard work and determination it took to earn that bar card. Please call me if you need me to speak on your behalf with any potential students or any law schools that may want your assistance in helping their students pass the bar. Any student who is debating on whether to hire your to help them study, please have them call me and I will not only vouch for you, but I will also be helping them make the right decision in order for them to be best prepared for the exam. "You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacle you had to overcome to reach your goals"

Booker T. Washington

The quote above is one of the reasons why I passed the exam. I typed it out on a piece of paper and everyday before I started to study for the exam I read it out loud to myself. Pleaseeeeeee, make your students type it out and tell them that whenever they feel tired, or discouraged, they should read it to themselves. Reading this quote is worth at least 5 points on the MBE, I promise this to any student. Thank you again for everything. Today is the greatest day of my life, and I owe all of it to you.

To take and pass the MBE the second time around, I needed help! With your help, coaching and personalized study plan, I was able to raise my MBE score from 120 to 158!! Needless to say, I passed with flying colors. Thank You So Much!

Professor Grossman's approach to the Bar exam is by far the most effective I have ever seen. His no-nonsense strategy eliminates the myriad of extraneous details that overwhelm most students, condenses the massive universe of information into something manageable, and fortifies one's knowledge and understanding of the key rules that one needs to pass the Bar with confidence. Whereas most teachers tend to have an aimless 'kitchen sink approach' that attempts to cram as many random rules as possible into students' heads, Professor Grossman identifies clearly for students the core concepts that actually appear on the test. Grossman's targeted techniques keep students from wandering off onto law school-like debates, and trains them with the clear purpose of passing the Bar exam. Professor Grossman's strategic, efficient and highly effective methods ar e only made more impactful by his terrific sense of humor and his warm personality. I honestly cannot recommend Professor Grossman highly enough.

I passed the Connecticut 2008 July Bar. This would not have been possible without Jonathan Grossman. After being a repeated failure, I was discouraged but Jonathan's enthusian and brain helped me pass! At the beginning of my studying I sent Jonathan the past 4 Connecticut Bar Exams for us to review together. We spoke 2-3 times a week for 10 weeks over the phone for tutoring. I would prepare answers to essay questions as well as any questions I had about the black letter law. He was extremely helpful in the MBE, which was my downfall. He told me to buy a book called "Strategies and Tactics," and I read, answered and understood each and every question with his help. That book and his explantations were the key to my success. I would recommend Jonathan Grossman to every student. He is brilliant, reliable and dedicated.

Hi Jon! The best thing about having Jonathan as a mentor and bar prep coach is the fact that he makes sure you know that you can actually get through this exam successfully!! On those days that I felt overwhelmed and questioned my abilities----Jonathan would look at me with a firm, but friendly smile and say something like---"You are going in and taking control of the bar, they don't have control of you." When he tells you that you are ready and that you've got this----he means it. No bull, no sugar-coating---you can take his word to the bank! I scored a 154 on both parts of the February 2009 Florida Bar without feel overwhelmed by the whole experience. I attribute my success in great part to Jonathan's calm, assured and at appropriate times, stress relieving, comedic tutelage. Holly, JD 2009, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law.

Jon helped me create an individualized study plan and keep me on track. We went over the problems I got incorrect. He would break them down clearly and help me learn 'the why' behind why I missed the question instead of moving at a speed pace through the questions. It was a quality over quantity approach which proved highly successful. After I started to realize why I was missing the same style of questions over and over, I was able to pick up the pace. Then, I had done enough repetition of the questions they got easier and easier. He helped me pay attention to minor details (which the questions turn on) and learn the intricacies which trip up most test takers. From studying with Jon, I went from a 134 to a 149 on the MBE! The MBE is where it's at! When you get up to that score you will pretty much pass any state portion. And, Jon is hilarious...it makes the experience as fun as it can be.

Coming from an out of state law school and taking the Maryland Bar Exam was a challenge that the majority of my classmates did not have to face. Unlike the other test takers who went to in state schools, I missed out on the years of picking up the rules and details that could mean the difference between passing and failing the state portion of the exam. I did everything that BarBri and the other big prep companies told me to do. I listened and took notes in every one of their lectures, did their practice problems and studied their "outlines" until I couldn't keep my eyes open. After all that time and effort, it turned out to be for nothing as I failed the exam. I went to Jon for help and he was there for me in a way that the big companies never could be. He used his experience and knowledge to help me figure out what would work for me and create a plan to get over this hurdle. Jon helped me in both strategy and inspiration for the months of hard work ahead and always made himself available when I needed. More than anyone else, I have to thank him because the second time I took the Maryland Bar Exam, I passed. Thanks Jon. In terms of jobs, it's really rough out there in the market but I've got some things in the pipeline right now. In actuality, now that I passed this ridiculous test, the last thing I'm worried about is going out and living my life in the real world!

These phrases rung through my head not only as I practiced for the Florida Bar Exam and the Texas Bar Exam, but even during the examinations. These tiny gems of genius were provided by Jon Grossman who I can only sum up his methods of bar exam preparation as purely awesome. Even if you are the most horrible multiple choice test taker, after taking Jon's class you will find that you can figure out the exam and pass. Jon has the guidance and key tools that will make you be a successful bar examination taker and pass the bar exam. Throughout Jon's class I came to learn that I was capable of passing the exam if I slowed down, paid attention to the questions, and practiced. With Jon's assistance I am proud to say that I have passed two of the hardest examinations in the country. Because there was no reciprocity between Florida and Texas, I had to take the MBE twice. Needless to say, Jon was there and showed me how to approach each type of question step by step so that I could answer quickly and effectively. I stand by his teachings and I know that anyone who uses him as a tutor and mentor will pass if they follow his method.

Nadia Ramkissoon, Esquire

Mr. Jonathan Grossman..... Everyone struggling to pass the Bar should be fortunate enough to find you. A "thank-you" doesn't seem sufficient for the mountain you helped me conquer. Your patience, kindness, professionalism, and genuine concern to understand each student is unmatched. The first time I heard you present was during the the MBE 5-day course and at the end of the day I said to myself - "how did he make that seem so easy - this guy makes sense to me".... Regrettably, it was two bars later before I was fortunate enough to find you again. If I hadn't started tutoring with you, I probably would still be trying to pass or, I would have given up by now. Your true knowledge for how to attack bar questions is unmatched. It's not just how well you know the Bar and how you know exactly what to look for and expect every time, it is your gift for getting through to students such as myself, who struggle to get over that last hump. A lot of people can tell me that 'it's all about the call of the question', but it's your method, your personality and your understanding of each individuals needs that make you an invaluable tool for anyone taking the Bar. I walked out of each session feeling more confident and equipped with the tools to enhance my preparation in less than 60 minutes with you a week. Your approach WORKS and your ability to convey it to others is something really special. I recommend you to anyone I meet who has failed the bar. I strongly recommend anyone preparing for the bar - for the 1st, 3rd, or 10th time, take advantage of such a special talent that is you. So while your choice in football Gods leaves something to be desired, I want you to know you one million "thank-you's" could not convey how grateful and appreciative I am for meeting you. So, with all my sincerity, thank you. Good luck Sunday. Go Packers.

To Mr. Grossman ~ I wanted to pass the bar exam with one try - in my mind I referred to my potential success as the one hitter quitter. I needed a strategy with a guarantee. I searched and compared and "interviewed" perspective tutors and tutorial programs and then I found you. Mr. Grossman, you are a quiet storm with a core of perfection. The most imperative aspect of my time with you was that you found MY issue quickly and focused on "junking" the portion of my thinking that you saw as problematic in order to allow me to adequately prepare to sit for and pass the California bar exam. You know this material and you know it well is what you would tell me, my answer would be "I know Mr. Grossman - so what's my issue?" I was doing too much thinking too much looking around to make sure that I covered all aspects of all issues and essentially overexerting my efforts, misdirecting my focus and essentially stressing myself out. I knew this and I had heard this before but until I discovered Mr. Grossman and his program I never knew exactly how to channel that excessive behavior into a more effective study tool. You helped me realized that being smart is only a portion of being successful on the bar exam, more importantly is conveying that wealth of knowledge in a calm confident manner. And for that I thank you.

Preparing for the Bar is a daunting task for anyone... For a repeat-taker, working full-time, it felt nearly impossible. I knew I couldn't rely on the bloated bar courses traditionally used, so I turned to Jonathan. His program does two things that are integral to success on the bar (and different from traditional courses): (1) it focuses on absorbing fundamental concepts and (2) it requires constant repetition of those concepts until they are instinctive. Jonathan's style of teaching is direct; he doesn't waste time and his assignments are geared toward effectiveness. Over the course of six months of studying, passing the Bar went from impossible to achievable. If you follow his advice and put in the focused work his program requires, you'll pass with confidence. Thanks, Jonathan!

Jon, You are an incredible BAR Coach and motivator. Words will never suffice to express the amount of gratitude and respect that I have for you! It is truly amazing the way in which you simplify the BAR and develop a working strategy that’s individualized and streamlined for success. As a wife, mother of 3 children under the age of six and a business owner, studying for the FL Bar was especially challenging and for that reason I opted out of the commercial courses the first time around. I knew I had limited time and could learn the law on my own. Nevertheless, I failed the FL Bar and felt as though my world was crumbling before me. You found the right words to motivate me and get me focused for the second time around. You reviewed my scores and knew exactly where I went wrong. Then you reassured me and personalized a study schedule taking into consideration my family’s needs as well as my availability to my business. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or discouraged you knew exactly what to say to make it better again. You truly have created the perfect storm for succeeding the Bar with just the right amount of law coupled with foolproof skills and techniques to tackling each portion of the Bar! I am eternally grateful to you and recommend you to anyone taking the Bar! Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I had the good fortune of both discovering and working with Professor Jonathan Grossman in preparation for the Florida bar exam. After initially enrolling in a general prep course, I did not feel that my individual concerns and weakness were being identified, let alone corrected. Instead, I thought I was being served a “one-size-fits-all” type of study program. This is where I started to work with Professor Grossman. He really has a gift of being able to instantly recognize and address a student’s weaknesses like a science. Once Professor Grossman identifies your mistakes, he immediately develops a plan of what the student has to do to fix the error. Mr. Grossman’s help was the key to my success. In my opinion, working with John leads to passing the bar.

As you know, I moved to Florida in July 2013 for family reasons, and was committed to continue practicing law. The last time I had taken a bar exam was 1976, so it was a challenge. I took the July 2013 exam and passed the MBE, but to my surprise failed the Florida part of the exam. I had taken a bar review course on-line, but it had not really prepared me for taking the Florida essays. Fortunately, I came across your web site and got in contact. After working with you, including a dozen or so practice essays, you taught me the right way to present an essay for the Florida Bar Examiners. I cannot thank you enough for getting me through the process that allowed me to pass the Florida section of Bar in February 2014. For anyone who has not taken a bar exam at all or particularly for anyone who is coming to Florida after a long career elsewhere, I think working with Jonathan is a must. You will develop a discipline that is crucial in presenting your knowledge in an appropriate manner to the Florida Bar Examiners. I can't thank you enough.

Hi there, I know I already texted my 'thanks' to you, but I just have a few more words to say. I totally entered the Bar prep experience scared to death about the essay portion of the Florida part of the exam. In fact, I put off 'learning' how to write the essays and 'mastering' it as long as I could. I toyed with the essays during the semester with your prodding, and doing one issue at a time was doable. But, I literally was incredibly scared to death to tackle an entire essay question. I kept making excuses, didn't know the material, didn't have time, multistate was more important b/c it would carry over to Florida and help me pass Florida!!! BUT, I have to let you know. I made myself my 2-3 page cheat sheets with all my "hot topics" like you suggested. Just making those sheets helped me learn the info without even realizing it. As I added to my sheets, I then started to face my fear. By three weeks before the exam I was scoring "above expectation" on every essay I submitted, and I seriously enjoyed the writing experience. Long story, I know, but everything you said to us in our last semester was true, and I just want all my friends who are graduating this year (most of them have you in class this semester) to learn from you, just like I did. Keep hounding the same things you did for us, because everything you said made it possible for me to pass the Florida portion of the exam. I actually scored better for Florida (154) than multistate (148), and i thought I was better prepared for multistate, but I'm thrilled with my scores, and owe a huge 'thank-you' to you. I'm a non-traditional graduate, have a great job now, and am now getting the opportunity to enjoy the success of my hard work. But I would be a fool to think I did it on my own, and I thank you 100x over for what you did for me. P.S. I'm sending a CC to Kaci at Barry, because I want the school to know how important your instruction was in helping me prepare for and pass the Bar Exam. I hope you're Okay with me sending the CC to Barry./mb

I want to express my sincere gratitude for your excellent work in helping me pass the multi-state section of the bar exam. I had taken the two nationally known bar review courses on previous occasions and although I passed the Florida section I failed to make it on the multi-state portion. As you know, I am 72 years old and I have been practicing law in the State of New York for over 45 years. When I began my preparation with you, I knew that statistically, having failed the multi-state section of the bar on three previous occasions, my chances were low in making it this fourth time. However, this fourth time, I got real lucky. I retained a tutor who not only taught me the proper way to approach the exam, pointed out to me the law that I needed to know and most importantly encouraged me and made me believe that I was going to pass - all done with a fabulous and engaging sense of humor that made each session something to look forward to. Thank you again for your services to me. You can be sure that I will encourage anyone to consult with you who inquires to me about the best review course to prepare for the Florida bar. I will also tell them that you have the unique ability to make a difference in peoples careers.

Jon’s approach to MBE law is practical and effective, using interactive learning and repetition to promote memorization. Jon’s outlines allowed me to easily recall the material and repeat it concisely. He began the class with an MBE question – it was Greek to me. After reviewing only two of the seven MBE subjects, I took a practice MBE and earned almost a passing score. Most importantly, Jon taught me how to take a bar exam. By explaining how the questions were designed, he took away the mystery and showed me that I could pass. What more can I say about Jon? If you want to pass the bar, look no further.

Erin Sperger, Esq., Seattle, WA

Preparing for and taking the bar exam is the most exhausting thing I've ever done. The sheer amount of information you are expected to know is very intimidating. This is where Jon comes in. While Jon is a very good teacher of the information (he always keeps his lessons funny and entertaining), I believe his most helpful traits are that he makes you believe you will pass and his ability to calm you down when you feel like you can't do it. Jon sincerely cares about his students and wants them to succeed. There were many times when I thought that there was no way I could cram any more law into my head. A simple conversation with Jon got me back on track and refocused. Jon even went to Tampa with us on the days of the test. Just seeing him there knowing that he believes in you makes you really feel like you are going to pass this test. For the two months leading up to the test, Jon and I spoke often and we became close. I do not think of his as just a teacher, but as a friend. I believe that Jon was the single most important person for my success on the July 2009 Florida Bar Exam. When I decided to take the February 2010 North Carolina Bar Exam as well, I again turned to Jon when I began to doubt myself. Now, because of Jon, I am proud to say that I am a licensed attorney in both Florida and North Carolina. Thanks Jon. I couldn't have done it without you! To anyone reading this: If you want to pass your bar exam, USE JON! He is the most valuable resource I have come across!

K. Brandon Remington, Esq.

Hi, I am writing to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for my friend and mentor, Jonathan Grossman. I had taken the bar in Florida and was stymied by the MBE. I had hit a brick wall and had nowhere to go. I found out about Jon through one of the commercial Bar Prep companies. We spoke and I immediately felt better because he seemed to have a genuine grasp of my situation and problem I was having. Also, with my physical disability my bar testing conditions were different than the average person. I took the bar using three days as opposed to the normal two. I had to transition from Multi State to the State portion in the same day which was difficult for me, Jon knew how I should adapt to that. Jon is always positive and uses humor to get you through the bar preparation experience. Jon knows how to drill into the questions, he teaches you how to dissect them so that during the bar when you are tense and stressed you have executed Jon’s system so many times that you just take a deep breath and do it again. Jon teaches you in such a way that you know what to do and when to do it. Jon knows how the bar exam is designed and how people react to it. He knows how to help you avoid the common mistakes and take those massive and far too comprehensive bar books and break it down to what you actually need to pass the test and do what we went to law school for in the first place, practice law. Even when I didn’t immediately pass the bar working with Jon, he encouraged me with his words, “they didn’t get you and you didn’t get yourself”, meaning we had overcome my difficulties we just needed to take another swing at it. We did and knocked it out of the park. Thanks to Jon. Now I run my own firm and this would not have been possible without the help and support of Jon Grossman. I am lucky to call him my friend.

Hi Professor Grossman, Please see my testimonial below. If you need me to do anything else please let me know! "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin I think this describes Professor Grossman's philosophy perfectly. I can honestly say I successfully passed the FL bar exam the first time because of Professor Grossman. I am truly grateful to have been taught by such a dedicated and inspiring person. He made me believe I could tackle this dreaded exam by knowing the basics and using a common sense approach (who knew??) - despite the mountain of books/notes we have for bar prep. When I felt overwhelmed and thought to myself, "how am I going to remember all of this?" I went back to Professor Grossman's lessons and tips and I felt confident again. I will always remember Professor Grossman saying to trust your gut (and not just when answering multiple choice questions). He made me realize you really do trick yourself when you think too much - so "shut up and pick it!!" Many many thanks and appreciation for what you do.

Adaptibar and John Grossman are the reason I breezed through the MBE portion of the Bar Exam. Grossman’s approach is completely different than any other approach and twice as effective. His approach focuses on speed and precision as opposed to trying to teach you every detail of every law, which is an impossible task. Using Grossman’s approach I completed the MBE sections in only 1 hour and 20 minutes each, that’s less than half the allotted 3 hours per section. This program is not a compliment to other bar preparation programs, it is a MUST if you want to breeze through the MBE like I did.

Prior to contacting Whats the Issue, I had tried so hard to pass the bar exam, and unsuccessfully used about 4 other courses out there. However, when I finally came across Whats the Issue, I was able to meet weekly with Jonathan Grossman, and utilized his study strategies which helped me understand and conquer the bar exam. I worked full time, am a wife and a mother, so the quality not the quantity was key for me. By meeting weekly with him and listening over and over "dumb down the questions, and just take time and read each question," made me really look at the subjects that were being tested and eliminate the incorrect answers. He also broke down the subjects in a way I have never seen before I would recommend to everyone that they contact Whats the issue and Jonathan Grossman. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FINALLY HELPING ME REACH MY GOAL.

Dear Bar Exam Candidates: If the LSAT is basically a test of how bad you want to go to law school, then the Bar Exam, especially the MBE, is really a much tougher standardized test of how bad you want to be a lawyer. And, with plummeting bar passage rates in Florida, New Jersey, etc. (just Google them) I just couldn’t take the risk in not passing, which is why I sought the expert help of Jon Grossman—before I ever failed. This may seem somewhat counter-intuitive to smart, competitive, law students, but a first-time bar exam failure is forever (just Google that too), and a low MBE score is the main reason candidates fail. Now, you may hear from some former law students, faculty, and practicing attorneys that if you do most of a “Big Box” company’s bar review course that “you will be fine.” Well, that may have been true in Florida before they added Civil Procedure to the MBE, and 5 new subjects to the Florida essays (where knowing MBE topics “cold” will help you in writing essays—trust me), but I would not really count on that now. Jon Grossman’s Adaptibar Videos (I did them all) and our personal sessions showed me the way through the MBE with techniques to “keep things separate” in Torts and “it’s just a definition” in Real Property. With that, I am happy to say that I am now a first-time bar exam passer for both the Florida and New Jersey bar exams. Bottom Line: Turn the tables on you bar exam “competition,” which in reality is whoever else is taking the bar exam that season (as it’s curved), and work with Jon Grossman and do what he says before you ever fail---not after. Best of Luck!

Jonathan has a very straightforward, no frills approach to studying for the bar. If you follow his well developed study plan – you cannot fail. There’s no magic to passing the Bar – and Jonathan reminds you of this throughout the preparation process. Jonathon sticks to the fundamentals of law as it applies to the Bar exam. He guides you through the tedious preparation process using foolproof study techniques that build your confidence – as well has your knowledge – so that you will be 100% ready on Bar exam day — and he does so with a sense of wit and humor that actually makes the process seem fun.

AdaptiBar is the best preparation for the MBE portion of the Bar exam. They use real questions from past Bar exams and I found this to be very helpful in my preparation. The video lectures are another great feature of AdaptiBar. Jonathan Grossman explains the material in a way that is very easy to understand and memorize. He is straight to the point and gives many examples. After watching the videos I finally understood some of the concepts that I struggled with while I was in law school. The videos are also much shorter than the videos in some of the other commercial courses. They cover every important segment of the MBE topics but without going into unnecessary details. I didn't feel overwhelmed with the material like I did when I watched other videos. Jonathan also talks about techniques on how to approach the MBE questions. This helped me tremendously because I learned how to read the MBE questions, find the issue and pick the right answer. I HIGHLY recommend Jonathan's lectures and classes to everyone who is preparing for the Bar exam. It is so worth it!!! I am forever grateful for Jonathan's help. Thank you, Jonathan!

After having failed the Florida bar exam 4 times in a row, between 2013 to 2014, I knew I needed help. I had lost complete confidence in myself and didn't know how to get it all back. Through word of mouth, a number of reputable persons within the bar-prep industry recommended that I team up with Jonathan Grossman. Jonathan is an absolute MASTER at coaching/tutoring students to pass the bar. The combination of Jonathan's program and the AdaptiBAR videos, were the real reasons I finally passed the FL Bar exam on my 5th and final attempt. In essence, the AdaptiBAR videos SAVED MY LIFE. The AdaptiBar video lectures proved to be 2000% more effective and concise than the boring & overwhelming videos from those "large commercial courses". The videos will equip you with all the information you need to pass each subject ( in 3 hours or less). If you do everything that Jonathan asks of you, YOU WILL PASS THE BAR EXAM. Trust me, I failed 4 times and had plenty of reasons to be discouraged. Jonathan, THANK YOU for all of your coaching, guidance, and mentoring. I will forever be indebted to you.

After experiencing success during my academic career, including all three years of law school, I was introduced to a word I hadn't seen in all my academic ventures prior: "FAIL." When I graduated law school, I did what the majority of my classmates did and I signed up for BarBri in order to prepare myself for the Bar exam. I did my best to follow their instructions and guidelines, which generally consisted of watching around 4 hours of video lectures per day, and what seemed like hundreds of practice problems after. The BarBri schedule had me working from sunup to sundown, and gave me a false sense of security in thinking that I was actually being productive; I wasn't. Granted, this approach worked for many of my friends who took Barbri and passed the Bar on their first try. But for me, the approach seemed to value quantity over quality, sacrificing analysis and clarity for an arbitrary amount of problem sets. I felt as though I was learning tips and tricks for exam taking, and had little to no actual knowledge of the law in my head. Then, before I knew it, it was time to take the Bar. I felt so unbelievably prepared by this approach that, in retrospect, I should not have taken the exam. But I did, and I failed. Miserably. This is where Adaptibar and Jonathan Grossman saved the day. Mr. Grossman was highly recommended by a mutual friend, and I jumped at the chance for a fresh start. From day 1, under Jonathan's guidance, I began re-wiring my brain and unlearning all the "tips" and "tricks" I had been told would ensure my passing the exam. The hardest thing I had to learn was that, in order to succeed on this beast of a test, I had to do something that I hadn't properly done before during my Bar prep: I had to actually read the question. Adaptibar and Jonathan have a program that values quality over quantity, and rather than filling my head full of "tricks", have a simple, yet effective approach to each question. For each question, you are simply urged to read the question and then ask yourself, "What are they asking me here?". It sounds simple enough, but if you're like me and you did one of any number of test prep courses, you know that you are urged to jump to the call of the question/read answer choices/read the question backwards before ever figuring out what the examiners are asking. Simply put, Jonathan made studying for the bar manageable, and he taught me how to study smart. There are no magical tricks or patterns. The most important thing I learned was to have confidence in myself and what I know, and to "shut up and pick it." I give this program my highest recommendation.

Jon's what's the issue videos were a blessing as a repeat taker of the NY Bar Exam. Having already taken the full Barbri course the first time around, I was looking for a condensed video series that was able to teach me the fundamentals without having to spend all of my study time redoing the Barbri course. When I found Jon's videos I was really pleased. I started out with just buying one of the small videos for my weaker areas to try out and later wound up purchasing the entire set of videos. My MBE score dramatically increased and I wound up passing the NY Bar. Thanks!!!

The words ‘thank you’ doesn’t cut it. I would have never, ever felt as confident as I did walking into the February Maryland Bar Exam had I not followed your approach. The first time I took the bar exam, I used one of the traditional ‘nationally recognized’ courses to prepare for the MBE and Essay portion of the Maryland Bar Exam. Going into the July test, I knew nearly half of the amount of the rules of law I needed for the MBE portion….and it showed on results day, having scored nearly 40 points below a passing score, a 98 on the MBE, and a below average score on the essay portion. Before continuing, I need to give a kudos to my mom, Barbara. She found you with a quick google and urged me to watch one of your MBE videos on Adaptibar. I recognized the value after just one video and told my mom to purchase the whole video package. From the first day I watched your videos and followed your methodology, I never looked back. Thanks to you, I knew the rules of law cold, as you preached in your videos, when I stepped foot into the test center that for the first day of the February exam. I was confident in my knowledge of the law to aggressively attack the test, and when I saw the answer I knew was right I told myself, “Nothing further is needed…SHUT UP AND PICK IT!” I won’t forget Results day for the rest of my life. I went outside my office, checked my phone, saw my seat number with the PASS next to it and nearly got arrested because police officers were unsure of my loud screaming and yelling with joy and triumph in my law firm building’s parking lot. I passed the bar exam this time by nearly 40 points above a ‘passing score’ in Maryland, increased my MBE score by 30 points, and increased my overall essay score by 16 points. I do want to add your approach helped me dramatically for the MBE AND the Essay Portion. 7 out of the 10 essays tested on the Maryland Bar Exam were MBE subjects! I can’t explain in words how much your approach helped me to attack this test---a test that I never thought I would be prepared for after the first failure. ‘Thank you’ won’t cut it either but I’ll end with this. A friend of mine who just graduated is (naturally like all law school graduates) very nervous for the MBE portion of the Bar Exam specifically. My advice to him was, “Learn the Rules of Law tested on the MBE cold and for each question, you will see the correct answer quickly and when you do SHUT UP AND PICK IT!!!!”

John Leppler

After taking (and failing) the bar exam twice a year for three years I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I had just finished getting my 6th denial letter for the February 2015 exam and was really considering giving up and not taking the July exam because at that point it seemed to be a practice in futility. However, a friend of mine recommended Jonathan’s program, and though I was skeptical at first because I had tried every other program under the sun I decided I truly had nothing left to lose and decided to give him a call. First, Jonathan told me that I was not alone and that he had coached many people who were multiple exam takers which immediately put me at ease. Failing and retaking the exam is such an isolating experience that you really feel as if you are alone during the whole process. It was a relief for him to tell me that I knew the material, but I simply wasn’t applying it in the right manner. More importantly, he said that somewhere along the way I had stopped believing that I could pass. Jonathan told me directly that he believed in me, but now he needed me to believe in myself. To me, this was easier said than done, but slowly as the weeks went by I started to relax more. Instead of predicting failure, I scaled my expectations back and instead focused on just understanding what the question was asking me. Telling that voice of doubt in the back of my head to SHUT UP AND PICK IT. Though he said I knew the material, Jonathan still recommended that I view his video lecture series posted on his site. As a repeat Bar Taker, I had already seen enough lectures to last me a lifetime, but I was committed with going all in and purchased all of them. The subjects were presented in the most straight forward way possible and really stressed the importance of keeping the basics as simple as possible. Rather than having these long and laborious definitions, Jonathan forces you to strip away all the excess fat and keep the meat of what you are learning. He presented it to me this way, “Do you want to get one question on the exception to the exception correct? or do you want to get the 5 questions on basic contract formation correct?” And by adopting that philosophy, I saw a dramatic change in how I retained the information! Before Jonathan, I knew (or at least thought I knew) everything on every subject verbatim, but after Jonathan I knew what I NEEDED to know to pass. When you fail, there is an automatic assumption that you didn’t know enough. That you need to dig deeper into the material and find all the subtle nuances of Products Liability, or all the exceptions to Hearsay, and for some that method works. But for me, I needed Jonathans videos to really prioritize the things that I needed to know. Get the simple basic black letter law down, and let the rest flow from there. Now, July has come and gone, and I am finally a licensed member of the Florida Bar. I truly could not have gotten over this last hurdle without Jonathan coaching me and I implore all of you who are struggling with this exam to get in contact with him!

Andrew B. Courtney, Esq.

Simple, clear and motivating are just some of the words I would use to describe Jon and his videos. It was my third time studying for the MBE and I felt like I was digging myself into a deeper hole every time I failed. That is until I met Jon and started using his program and watching his videos. I was so tired and frustrated of the commercial bar prep programs, not to mention all the money I spent for those. However, I was reassured by friends that the videos were worth it and would make all the difference, and they did. I created small outlines of literally everything substantive Jon said in the videos and those became my lifeline. The videos are short and concise that it's almost scary, but like Jon says "that is all you need to know". He focuses on the big issues that are actually tested and removes all the clutter that makes studying for the bar so overwhelming. I wish that I knew about Jon and his program sooner, I owe my success on the bar to him.

I can't say THANK YOU enough. I finally passed the bar after "several" attempts. I tried other traditional bar courses and they did not work but your VIDEOS were definitely on point!!! I watched every video 3x and when I took the bar this time the the answers were "jumping" out at me. THANK YOU again for creating those EXCELLENT videos. I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone who needs to conquer the MBE. Your constant encouragement and test taking strategies was exactly what I needed to pass the Florida Bar!

Working with Jon on bar prep was nothing short of a wonderful learning experience that lead to my success in passing the FL bar exam. He has a streamlined, straightforward approach to bar prep that is proven and highly effective. Having been a repeat test taker, my confidence was shot and I was constantly stressed about my exam performance. Jon has a way of calming students and leading them in the right direction towards productive study habits and cutting out excess materials that other commercial bar prep courses waste your time with. His sense of humor and compassionate attitude combined with his expertise in the exam content and strategy leaves you in the best hands possible! I would recommend his services to anyone who needs extra help in passing the bar exam. Whatever your study style or methodology, Jon will find the right schedule and exercises for you to succeed and pass!

I was a student in Mr. Grossman's bar prep class and I was in my last trimester of pregnancy. Despite that, I attended every single class and practiced with the Adaptibar program. I graduated April 2019 and I wanted to take the July bar, SO BAD! But I knew I wasn't ready. Motherhood was A LOT to handle with an infant, so I decided to postpone taking the bar to February 2020. I completed 90% of Adaptibar and low and behold, I PASSED; ON MY VERY FIRST TRY!!! I got my scores back May 22nd and I can't tell you how excited I was to see my name on that pass list [my state publishes the NAMES of people who pass]. I walked into the exam MBE day and I felt ready [still nervous, of course] but I felt prepared. I watched every single one of his videos on Adaptibar, and did ALL of the video outlines [which were a Godsend]. I literally memorized the video outlines and knew every nuance about the videos [I even memorized the jokes that he told on the videos, lol yes, I was that much of a loser], but it WORKED! I stopped overanalyzing, and I just shut the heck up and picked the answer. I was stupidly doing both Adaptibar's and my bar prep company's multiple choice questions the first 3 weeks of my studying and then I read one of the blogs on Adaptibar that mentioned NOT to do multiple choice questions from other companies since Adaptibar's multiple choice questions were actual exam questions. That was the BEST advice ever! All in all, Mr. Grossman is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The way he teaches the material is straight to the point, no fluff, no case law garbage, nothing but what you need to know for the test. I understood more about the MBE topics than I did in my 3.5 years in law school [taking 15 weeks of classes for each topic]. If more professors taught like Mr. Grossman, students wouldn't be so confused, law school could be taught in about 1.5 years [including electives, etc.] and it wouldn't have to be so expensive. If I didn't have Adaptibar I'm pretttyyyy positive I would not have passed. Thank you for changing my and my family's life, Mr. Grossman!

Attorney Lashawn McQueen

I wholeheartedly recommend Prof. Jonathan Grossman’s video lecture series for the Florida Bar Exam.  I graduated law school and previously passed the Florida Bar 20 years ago.  My license lapse due to my no longer practicing law.  I decided to sit for the July/Oct 2020 Florida Bar Exam.  Like everyone else taking the Bar I purchased one of the “big box” bar prep classes and while it was great at teaching all the law I needed to know for the exam and preparing for the multiple choice section of the Florida exam, it was not as helpful with preparing me for the essays.  I had little to no confidence writing the essays, I was scoring poorly on the graded essays and my Bar prep class did not really give me practicable direction on HOW to write an essay that scores points.  I was resigned to the fact that I would likely not do well on the essays. Then I heard about Prof. Grossman’s lectures and I asked the person who recommended them about it as I had never heard of him or his lectures before.  Her quote sealed it for me.  She said “I only passed the Florida Bar because of Prof. Grossman’s video lectures.  I listened to them all the time”.  That sealed the deal for me.  I bought the full set and began to listen to them over and over again at home, in my office and on my commute.  Prof. Grossman has a gift of teaching you the big law concepts in an entertaining way but more importantly he teaches you HOW to use that information for a bar exam essay to do one thing – get points.  My confidence in my essay writing increased the more I listened and spoke out loud (yes Prof. Grossman recommends this and trust me it works!) the more I knew and retained and the more I was able to write on practice essays before even getting to the facts at hand.  All this resulted in my confidence increasing tremendously!  This was important as I went into the exam with the confidence to take on the essays and do well, which I did as I passed and was sworn in last December! Professor Grossman was also very responsive to me when I reached out to him to ask him about the new format of the exam when Florida went to an online format sue to COVID-19.  He also generously offered his time to grade my essays and provide me valuable feedback. A BIG thank you to Professor Grossman for his efforts with the video lecture series!  I could not have passed the Bar without them.

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How to Write the Florida State University Essays 2021-2022

Located just west of Tallahassee, Florida State University is a suburban public university that hosts over 41,000 students on its campus. FSU offers its students a wide selection of 351 programs, including 107 undergraduate majors across various disciplines.

Florida State is well known for its vibrant social scene and its top varsity athletic programs. The beloved “Seminoles” have won many Atlantic Coast conferences and national championships. The intensity of the football team’s rivalry with the University of Florida’s Gators spreads throughout the entire student body and reaches a climax at the annual Sunshine Showdown.

Approximately 37% of applicants gain admission. Calculate your chances of acceptance to FSU using our free chancing engine.

Florida State accepts its own FSU Application, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application. For the FSU and Coalition Applications, there are 5 essay topics you can choose from. You only need to choose one and write a 650-word essay. We’ve broken those 5 down below. For the Common Application, you can choose from the Common App prompts .  

FSU Application Essay Prompts

Essay prompt instructions.

Candidates are to compose one 650-word essay after deciding on one of the five prompts published on the school’s website.

The purpose of the essay is to help the admissions committee learn more about you as a person. Although the essay is described as only “highly recommended,” in reality admissions officers are expecting serious applicants to submit an essay (unless under extenuating circumstances). Your writing will paint a personal picture for the admission officers and demonstrate serious interest in the school.

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

The first prompt asks for you to discuss a memory or story of a situation that either showcased or affected you personally. FSU’s goal here is to assess your storytelling ability and better understand your values and character through a specific example.

It is crucial for you to connect your story and its effect on your character to who you are as a person. It would be an easy mistake to use all 550 words to discuss this important narrative and ignore the crux of the question: its “demonstration of your character.”

Impactful essays do not have to be based on extreme physical or mental experiences. In fact, it is the accumulation of small experiences that defines how we react during turbulent times. An act of any scale that was especially memorable to you can work; it’s about how you analyze the incident, not what the incident was.

For instance, you might choose to write about being friends with someone who faced mental health issues and how that changed your feelings toward such illnesses and led you to participate in a campaign for raising mental health awareness. You could take it a step further, explaining how the experience shaped your behavior not only around that particular friend, but also around everybody else you know.

Keep in mind that the scope of the question also includes experiences that helped shape your character, so you can even choose to write about something you’ve witnessed others do. Remember to use concise but vivid imagery to describe the situation in the first 150-250 words and then devote the rest of the words to analyzing its impact on character.

It may be wise to write longer drafts at first (in the 700-word range). This allows the editing process to filter for the essence of the writing, instead of trying to add more content, thereby ensuring the fluency of the writing.

Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

This question appears to be more challenging than the previous one, as you have to detail a selfless act of sacrifice while explaining your motivations and avoiding corny wording.

Note that this “greater good” contribution does not limit you to instances in which you interacted with groups of “great” numbers. No matter the scale of your impact, if there existed a beneficiary to your actions, then you can write about it. Remember that “greater good” excludes class assignments or other activities that were required of you.

The key to this essay is making sure your motivations for the contribution are portrayed as personal and unique to you.

Many students will choose to write about a volunteer experience they participated in. If you choose to discuss a community service activity, make sure you differentiate your experience by highlighting your motivations and your emotions during the experience (rather than describing simply the activity you participated in).  

For example, you might choose to write about a mission trip to another country that you took in your sophomore year of high school. However, rather than discussing the trip as a whole, it would be more effective to focus on a particular moment or problem that you encountered during the trip.

For instance, you could elaborate on the experience of visiting one of the children’s homes and the feeling of speaking to his parents directly. Describing a particular moment, as well as the specific emotions you felt and how your perspectives changed because of it, would help the essay stand out in a pile of volunteering essays.

In addition, focus on the process of the contribution and how you felt emotionally throughout the act.

Try to answer the following questions:

• What would have happened if you did not make that sacrifice/contribution? How would you have felt then?
• How did the contribution make you feel? How did it make others around you feel? How did it make the beneficiaries feel?
• What did you learn?

Emphasizing the internal development that occurred during your experience is key to making this essay shine.

Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?

This third prompt asks to hear about a philosophical difference you have had with a family member, teacher, peer, society at large, or even yourself. In a sense, this prompt is similar to the previous one about the “meaningful contribution.” In both cases, FSU wants to learn about a process occurring in your mind. The previous prompt emphasizes actions and their effects, while this focuses more on an ideological struggle.

For example, though you’ve believed in religion all your life, perhaps you learned of a different viewpoint while reading a research paper and began questioning the validity of adhering to the religion in which you grew up. The research paper may have been the stimulus that led you to develop your own feelings toward particular values or even the presence of the supernatural.

An average essay would discuss an incident in which you completely disregarded the challenging viewpoint or, on the other end of the spectrum, completely threw away your previous tenet and grasped onto the new idea. Such an essay does not show any meaningful growth or internal re-evaluation. Instead, a great essay would elucidate the internal struggle stemming from confronting a new viewpoint and the difficulties associated with challenging your own beliefs.

As with the first prompt, remember to focus the essay on your response to someone/something’s questioning of your tenant. Using too much of the essay for a description of the conundrum will render it ineffective in answering the latter two parts of the question.

What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

This prompt is the wild card. It allows more room for creativity and “fun” writing than any of the other questions. FSU’s goal here is not only to evaluate your ability to reflect on experiences, but also to understand what you value in life.

This essay can be particularly difficult to write well because it requires additional effort to compose an engaging, intriguing, fun, but also appropriate essay. There are universal challenges to being a teenager: arguments with parents; teenage angst; finding one’s place in school, family, and life, etc. It is completely fine to write about “common” obstacles, but you need to be able to differentiate your stories from others.

Humor and style of writing will play large roles in this essay, so we recommend this prompt if you sincerely enjoy creative writing, particularly short stories, novels, and comedies. Keep in mind, however, that the majority of admissions officers reading these essays are going to be in a generation older than you. It is not a bad idea to consider what kinds of teenage experiences would be relatable to them.

Additionally, the essay is asking for the “hardest part” as well as the “best part;” answering both of those separately in 550 words can make both answers short and ineffective. We recommend that you choose one single story that can relate to both of those questions. For example, you could use stories from your part-time job at Dairy Queen to connect the difficulties of adjusting to added responsibility in conjunction with the increased respect you received from your parents.

Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

This last question is a catch-all.

Do not let your guard down because you can write about anything here. Unless you already have a great essay prepared from answering another school’s prompts, without a prompt here your creative idea may lose focus. Oftentimes, candidates are so engrossed in telling the story that they lose sight of what is really important: selling yourself.

As with the previous essays, you should decide and write down concretely what exactly you want the admissions officers to think about you upon finishing this essay. Build the rest of the essay around how you want them to perceive you, and dedicate more than half of the writing to demonstrating that main point through various anecdotes, not general statements.

We here at CollegeVine wish you the best of luck on your FSU essay!

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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IF I WERE MAYOR ESSAY CONTEST

Click here to view 2024 winners, contest details:.

The Florida League of Mayors partners with the Florida League of Cities to offer the annual If I Were Elected Mayor essay contest for Florida 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

The Florida League of Cities has been the united voice for Florida’s municipalities for more than 100 years. FLC’s mission is to serve the needs of Florida’s municipalities and promote local self-government. The FLC supports local voices making local choices to protect and enhance Florida’s communities.

The contest was started in 2014.

A Florida student (in grades 6th, 7th or 8th) can win up to $1,000 for writing an essay! The essay needs to be about making a difference as Mayor and how Home Rule helps make your municipality a great place to live.

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First place receives a $1,000 gift card, second place receives a $500 gift card and third place receives a $250 gift card.

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The deadline for submitting an essay was January 31, 2024.

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The application will be available in the fall of 2024 for the 2025 contest. 

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Florida Court Allows 6-Week Abortion Ban, but Voters Will Get to Weigh In

The Florida Supreme Court found that the State Constitution’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion. But it also allowed a ballot question on whether to expand abortion access.

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By Patricia Mazzei

Reporting from Miami

• April 1, 2024

The Florida Supreme Court overturned decades of legal precedent on Monday in ruling that the State Constitution’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion, effectively allowing Florida to ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.

But in a separate decision released at the same time, the justices allowed Florida voters to decide this fall whether to expand abortion access. The court ruled 4 to 3 that a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion “before viability,” usually around 24 weeks, could go on the November ballot.

Read the Florida Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Abortion Ban

The Florida Supreme Court overturned decades of legal precedent in ruling that the State Constitution’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion, effectively allowing Florida to ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.

The rulings encapsulated, in a single state on a single day, how the country has grappled with the abortion issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that recognized federal abortion rights in 1973.

The conservative-leaning court found 6-1 that a 15-week abortion ban enacted in 2022 was constitutional. That ruling — in response to a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and several abortion providers — will allow a six-week ban enacted last year to take effect by May 1.

“Based on our analysis finding no clear right to abortion embodied within the Privacy Clause, Planned Parenthood cannot overcome the presumption of constitutionality and is unable to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the 15-week ban is unconstitutional,” Justice Jamie R. Grosshans wrote in the majority opinion.

In paving the way for the six-week ban, the court cemented the rapid transformation of Florida, once a destination for women seeking abortions in the American South, into a place with restrictive policies akin to those in surrounding states.

But allowing the ballot measure gave supporters of abortion rights a chance to continue their national campaign to preserve access to the procedure by giving voters the opportunity to directly weigh in on the issue. Ballot measures in favor of abortion rights have already succeeded in several states, including Ohio and Michigan.

Read the Florida Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Constitutional Amendment

The Florida Supreme Court allowed voters to decide this fall whether to expand abortion access, ruling 4 to 3 that a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion “before viability,” usually around 24 weeks, could go on the November ballot.

“This is a historic day in the fight for abortion access in Florida,” said Lauren Brenzel, director for the Yes on 4 campaign that put forth the ballot measure. “No longer will decisions about abortion be left between politicians disconnected from the realities of everyday Floridians’ lives.”

Abortion rights groups in about 10 states are trying to put measures on the ballot to secure access; Florida is the largest of those states.

Historically, many women from Southern states with tighter restrictions on abortion have traveled to Florida for the procedure. They will now have to seek abortions much further away, perhaps in Virginia or Washington, D.C. Few women realize that they are pregnant at six weeks, and backers of abortion rights say the stricter ban, once effective, will amount to a near-total prohibition.

In its ruling allowing the six-week ban to take effect, a majority of the justices argued that past abortion cases had been wrongly decided based on an overly broad interpretation of the State Constitution’s privacy clause — an argument similar to the one the U.S. Supreme Court made in overturning Roe .

The privacy clause in the Florida Constitution states: “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life.” The Florida Supreme Court first ruled that it applied to abortion in 1989; in 2012, voters rejected an amendment that would have exempted abortion from constitutional privacy protections.

But on Monday, a majority of the justices said that voters did not understand the privacy clause to extend to abortion when they added it to the State Constitution in 1980, citing among other things the public and legislative debate at the time.

Justice Jorge Labarga, the lone dissenter, noted that the ruling would have far-reaching consequences.

“The impact of today’s decision extends far beyond the 15-week ban at issue in this case,” he wrote. “By operation of state statute, the majority’s decision will result in even more stringent abortion restrictions in this state.”

The justices narrowly approved the ballot measure, saying it complies with Florida requirements that it be clear and limited to a single subject. Those who dissented argued in part that the language in the ballot question is too vague and could lead to years of further litigation.

Neither of Monday’s rulings was a surprise: The seven-member court has moved to the right politically, with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, appointing four of the justices. But while the court had a Monday deadline to rule on the abortion measure, it faced no similar timeline to rule on the abortion ban.

By issuing both rulings on the same day, the court gave abortion opponents a sought-after decision narrowing privacy protections. But by also allowing a ballot measure to expand abortion access, it gave those groups little time to celebrate.

Immediately after the court ruled, opponents and proponents of the ballot measure accused the other side of being extreme, previewing their likely campaign messages.

Republican lawmakers who supported the 15-week and six-week abortion bans argued that the ballot measure would allow abortions late in pregnancy. Abortions after 21 weeks are extremely rare and usually follow severe medical diagnoses.

“This is not about government’s interference with abortion but about allowing abortion until the moment of birth,” said State Senator Erin Grall of Vero Beach, who sponsored the six-week ban.

Ms. Brenzel countered that it was the lawmakers who were out of step with a majority of Floridians. Public opinion polls have suggested that most Floridians believe abortions should be legal in most cases.

And Danielle Tallafuss, a Central Florida resident who had an abortion at 22 weeks after learning that her fetus had a life-limiting heart condition before the state restricted the procedure, said women should be able to make the decision to terminate a pregnancy with their doctors.

“My heart has been in turmoil since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Florida’s passage of a 15-week abortion ban,” she said. “Today I am filled with hope that residents will be able to vote in November to give abortion access back to the women of this state.”

An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the breakdown of the Florida Supreme Court decision that allowed an abortion measure on the November ballot. The justices ruled 4 to 3; they were not unanimous.

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Patricia Mazzei is the lead reporter for The Times in Miami, covering Florida and Puerto Rico. More about Patricia Mazzei

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An NPR editor who wrote a critical essay on the company has resigned after being suspended

David Bauder

Associated Press

NEW YORK – A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal views resigned on Wednesday, attacking NPR's new CEO on the way out.

Uri Berliner, a senior editor on NPR's business desk, posted his resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter, a day after it was revealed that he had been suspended for five days for violating company rules about outside work done without permission.

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“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems” written about in his essay, Berliner said in his resignation letter.

Katherine Maher, a former tech executive appointed in January as NPR’s chief executive, has been criticized by conservative activists for social media messages that disparaged former President Donald Trump. The messages predated her hiring at NPR.

NPR’s public relations chief said the organization does not comment on individual personnel matters.

The suspension and subsequent resignation highlight the delicate balance that many U.S. news organizations and their editorial employees face. On one hand, as journalists striving to produce unbiased news, they're not supposed to comment on contentious public issues; on the other, many journalists consider it their duty to critique their own organizations' approaches to journalism when needed.

In his essay , written for the online Free Press site, Berliner said NPR is dominated by liberals and no longer has an open-minded spirit. He traced the change to coverage of Trump's presidency.

“There's an unspoken consensus about the stories we should pursue and how they should be framed,” he wrote. “It's frictionless — one story after another about instances of supposed racism, transphobia, signs of the climate apocalypse, Israel doing something bad and the dire threat of Republican policies. It's almost like an assembly line.”

He said he'd brought up his concerns internally and no changes had been made, making him “a visible wrong-thinker at a place I love.”

In the essay's wake, NPR top editorial executive, Edith Chapin, said leadership strongly disagreed with Berliner's assessment of the outlet's journalism and the way it went about its work.

It's not clear what Berliner was referring to when he talked about disparagement by Maher. In a lengthy memo to staff members last week, she wrote: “Asking a question about whether we're living up to our mission should always be fair game: after all, journalism is nothing if not hard questions. Questioning whether our people are serving their mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful and demeaning.”

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo revealed some of Maher's past tweets after the essay was published. In one tweet, dated January 2018, Maher wrote that “Donald Trump is a racist.” A post just before the 2020 election pictured her in a Biden campaign hat.

In response, an NPR spokeswoman said Maher, years before she joined the radio network, was exercising her right to express herself. She is not involved in editorial decisions at NPR, the network said.

The issue is an example of what can happen when business executives, instead of journalists, are appointed to roles overseeing news organizations: they find themselves scrutinized for signs of bias in ways they hadn’t been before. Recently, NBC Universal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde has been criticized for service on paid corporate boards.

Maher is the former head of the Wikimedia Foundation. NPR's own story about the 40-year-old executive's appointment in January noted that she “has never worked directly in journalism or at a news organization.”

In his resignation letter, Berliner said that he did not support any efforts to strip NPR of public funding. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism,” he wrote.

David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Opinion Arizona’s conservatives brought this political nightmare on themselves

The problem bedeviling Republicans on abortion right now isn’t leaving the contentious issue to the states. It’s leaving abortion rights in the hands of state supreme courts, which Republicans have carefully remolded in a more conservative direction — one that is now inflicting untold political damage on the party.

The country’s been reminded over the past few years about the critical role state courts play in overseeing fractious issues, from drawing voting districts to refereeing abortion rights. That’s made state high courts, especially in states where justices are elected, new political battlegrounds, with multimillion-dollar campaigns. In Wisconsin, the battle for control over the state Supreme Court last year cost an eye-popping $51 million and shifted control to liberals for the first time in 15 years.

I have sharply criticized judicial elections, but at least that method gives voters some say in what rights they are granted. What’s happened in recent days in Florida and Arizona is the predictable and intended result of a different and more insidious form of politicization of the judiciary: court-packing by Republican governors.

The effectiveness of that tactic was on vivid display this week in Arizona. For more than a half-century, the state had five Supreme Court justices. Then came Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. In 2016, the Republican-controlled state legislature — over the objections of the sitting justices — expanded the court to seven. As a result, Ducey was able to name five of the seven justices sitting today; the other two were named by his Republican predecessor, Jan Brewer.

Ducey rejected suggestions that he was engaging in court-packing, noting that an independent merit selection panel screens candidates and sends recommendations to him. But as a prescient 2020 Politico Magazine story recounted , Ducey made it a goal to shift the Supreme Court to the right. When the judicial nominating commission rejected the application of Bill Montgomery, a prosecutor allied with former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Ducey replaced the three commissioners who had voted against Montgomery — and proceeded to name Montgomery to the high court.

That effort paid off — or backfired — this week. The court reinstated Arizona’s 1864 abortion law , which prohibits the procedure except to save the life of the mother. After initially resisting calls to step aside, Montgomery recused himself on the basis of previous statements he had made on abortion, including calling Planned Parenthood, a party in the case, “responsible for the greatest generational genocide known to man.”

But four Ducey appointees were still left — and they voted as a bloc to revive the Civil War-era abortion law. The majority professed to be following a course of judicial restraint. “A policy matter of this gravity must ultimately be resolved by our citizens through the legislature or the initiative process,” wrote Justice John R. Lopez IV. “Today, we decline to make this weighty policy decision because such judgments are reserved for our citizens. Instead, we merely follow our limited constitutional role and duty to interpret the law as written.”

Of course, the “citizens” whose judgment the court respected didn’t include women — they couldn’t vote in 1864. Arizona wouldn’t become a state until 47 years later.

The Arizona court didn’t have to come out this way, even after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization . In 2022, as the Supreme Court was considering Dobbs, Arizona passed a new law — it didn’t take effect until after Dobbs was decided — that prohibited abortion, “except in a medical emergency,” after 15 weeks. There was no hint in that measure that this new law would suddenly become inoperative if Roe were overturned. No “trigger” mechanism, like those adopted in other states, provided that the 1864 law would spring back to life if Roe were overruled.

The majority’s contention to the contrary rests on an accompanying “construction provision” stating that the 2022 law didn’t repeal the earlier ban. As the dissenting justices noted, however, the legislature could have easily said it wanted to revive the absolute abortion ban if Roe were gone. “Undoubtedly, the legislature knew how to use trigger clauses because it has explicitly inserted them into other abortion-related session laws,” the dissent said.

This isn’t judicial restraint — it’s judicial activism. And now Arizona Republicans are reaping what Ducey and his allies sowed.

The same is happening in Florida, although the goings-on there have received less attention. Like in Arizona, all seven justices on the Florida Supreme Court were named by Republican governors, five by Gov. Ron DeSantis .

The governor has made reshaping the judiciary a central part of his tenure — “Judicial activism ends, right here and right now,” DeSantis pledged in his inaugural address — and his picks have shifted the court sharply to the right. “A newly constituted, conservative court,” with appointments “I hoped would judge in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas,” DeSantis wrote in his book.

Hence, the latest pair of abortion rulings this month from the Florida Supreme Court. In one case, the court rejected a challenge to the state’s 15-week abortion law — a decision that effectively allows a new, even stricter six-week ban to go into effect. In the second case, the court permitted a proposed constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights to appear on the November ballot.

This might sound like a split-the-difference approach. Don’t be fooled. In the ballot measure case, three dissenting justices, all appointed by DeSantis, raised the question , not posed by the advocates themselves, of whether and how the Florida Constitution protects the rights of fetuses — a claim of “fetal personhood” that came up in the Alabama in vitro fertilization case and that is the next frontier in the legal abortion wars.

“The exercise of a ‘right’ to an abortion literally results in a devastating infringement on the right of another person: the right to live,” wrote Justice Renatha Francis. “And our Florida Constitution recognizes that ‘life’ is a ‘basic right’ for ‘all natural persons.’ One must recognize the unborn’s competing right to life and the State’s moral duty to protect that life.” Justice Jamie Grosshans, joined by Justice Meredith Sasso, said it wasn’t yet clear how Florida’s constitutional protections “apply to the unborn and, if so, what the scope of those rights could be.”

That’s just three. But a fourth DeSantis appointee who ruled to allow the ballot measure to go forward, Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, raised the question of fetal rights at oral argument, and an ominous footnote in the majority opinion noted that the “constitutional status of a preborn child … presents complex and unsettled questions.”

In other words, don’t count on us upholding your ballot measure even if it does get the required 60 percent vote. So much for letting the people decide.

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Opinion | NPR suspends an editor for his essay blasting … NPR

The firestorm caused by Uri Berliner’s critical essay in The Free Press continues to rage

When a senior editor at NPR recently wrote a 3,500-word essay for another outlet, blasting where he works and saying that NPR had “lost America’s trust,” my first thought, quite frankly, was, “ … and he still works there?”

Well, it was learned on Tuesday that the editor in question, Uri Berliner, is currently serving a five-day suspension without pay. NPR media writer David Folkenflik reported the suspension began last week. Folkenflik wrote, “In presenting Berliner’s suspension Thursday afternoon, the organization told the editor he had failed to secure its approval for outside work for other news outlets, as is required of NPR journalists. It called the letter a ‘final warning,’ saying Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR’s policy again. Berliner is a dues-paying member of NPR’s newsroom union but says he is not appealing the punishment.”

Berliner, who has been at NPR for 25 years, wrote his scathing essay for the online news site The Free Press, a publication on Substack. Folkenflik described The Free Press as a “site that has become a haven for journalists who believe that mainstream media outlets have become too liberal.”

The suspension does not mean the firestorm created by Berliner’s essay has been suppressed. Folkenflik wrote, “Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner’s essay for the online news site The Free Press. It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network’s coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump.”

The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin wrote , “After Mr. Berliner’s essay was published, NPR’s new chief executive, Katherine Maher, came under renewed scrutiny as conservative activists resurfaced a series of years-old social media posts criticizing former President Donald J. Trump and embracing progressive causes. One of the activists, Christopher Rufo, has pressured media organizations into covering controversies involving influential figures, such as the plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay, the former Harvard president.”

Maher was not at NPR at the time of her posts and, furthermore, the CEO has no involvement in editorial decisions at the network.

But Berliner told Folkenflik in an interview on Monday, “We’re looking for a leader right now who’s going to be unifying and bring more people into the tent and have a broader perspective on, sort of, what America is all about. And this seems to be the opposite of that.”

In a statement earlier this week, Maher said, “In America everyone is entitled to free speech as a private citizen. What matters is NPR’s work and my commitment as its CEO: public service, editorial independence, and the mission to serve all of the American public. NPR is independent, beholden to no party, and without commercial interests.”

As far as Berliner’s essay, many, particularly inside NPR, are pushing back against his various assertions, including that NPR has a liberal bias.

Mullin wrote for the Times, “Several NPR employees have urged the network’s leaders to more forcefully renounce Mr. Berliner’s claims in his essay. Edith Chapin, NPR’s top editor, said in a statement last week that managers ‘strongly disagree with Uri’s assessment of the quality of our journalism,’ adding that the network was ‘proud to stand behind’ its work.”

Tony Cavin, NPR’s managing editor for standards and practices, pushed back against specific claims made by Berliner and told the Times, “To somehow think that we were driven by politics is both wrong and unfair.”

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans tweeted , “Many things wrong w/terrible Berliner column on NPR, including not observing basic fairness. Didn’t seek comment from NPR before publishing. Didn’t mention many things which could detract from his conclusions. Set up staffers of color as scapegoats.”

So what happens now? Will Berliner be in further trouble for criticizing the CEO in an interview with Folkenflik, his NPR colleague?

Berliner told Folkenflik, “Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think.”

I urge you to check out Folkenflik’s piece for all the details. And, by the way, kudos to Folkenflik for his strong reporting on his own newsroom.

CNN’s response

In Tuesday’s newsletter , I wrote how “King Charles” — the limited series featuring Gayle King and Charles Barkley — has ended after 14 shows. I wrote that the network had “pulled the plug” on the show.

CNN said that description was inaccurate and that I was wrong in framing it the way I did.

While I did say that CNN announced from the beginning that the show was a limited series, I also wrote that the show reached its ending “a little ahead of time.” The network, however, said it was clear all along that the show was scheduled to end in the spring, that it is spring right now, and the show was not canceled early.

A CNN spokesperson told me, “‘King Charles’ has come to the end of its limited run, as we announced when it launched last fall that it would run through spring. The show was a great addition to CNN’s lineup, with the youngest, most affluent, and most diverse P2+ audience in its cable news time period and brought new audiences to CNN. It’s inaccurate to report that the show was canceled as it went through its full run and duration of the limited series. We hope to work with both of these incredible talents in the future as they balance their very busy schedules.”

With the NBA playoffs about to begin, Barkley is about to head into extra duty at his main job as studio analyst for TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”

The show’s average viewership was under a half million and lagged behind competitors Fox News and MSNBC, but CNN said it was pleased that the King-Barkley broadcast brought new audiences to CNN. It pointed to this statistic from Nielsen via Npower that said 43% of the “King Charles” audience was nonwhite, compared to 7% for Fox News and 27% for MSNBC during that Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern hour.

Smartmatic and OAN settle suit

Smartmatic, the voting technology company, and One America News, the far-right TV network, have settled their lawsuit. Smartmatic was suing OAN, claiming the network lied that the company rigged the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump.

Neither side disclosed the terms of the settlement.

Smartmatic still has pending lawsuits against Fox News and Newsmax. And OAN is still facing a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. That’s the company that Fox News settled with out of court a year ago by agreeing to pay Dominion a whopping $787.5 million.

Missing at the Masters

According to Sports TV Ratings , Sunday’s final round of The Masters golf tournament on CBS averaged 9.58 million viewers, which was down 20% from last year’s final round, which averaged 12.05 million. This shouldn’t be a surprise. This year’s final round lacked drama, with winner Scottie Scheffler pretty much in control throughout the day.

Sports Media Watch’s Jon Lewis noted that in the past three decades, only COVID-era Masters in 2020 (5.64 million) and 2021 (9.54 million) had fewer viewers. Those were the least-viewed Masters since 1993.

But Lewis also points out, “As one would expect, the final round of the Masters still ranks as the most-watched golf telecast and one of the most-watched sporting events of the past year — placing ahead of four of five World Series games and every Daytona 500 since 2017. It also goes without saying that the Masters dominated all other weekend sporting events.”

Just for fun, however, I will mention that the 9.58 million was nowhere near the number of viewers (18.7 million) that watched the NCAA women’s college basketball final between South Carolina and Iowa (and star Caitlin Clark) one week earlier on a Sunday afternoon.

Other media notes, tidbits and interesting links …

• Speaking of Clark, Tom Kludt writes for Vanity Fair: “Behind the Scenes With Caitlin Clark on WNBA Draft Day: ‘I Definitely Know There’s Eyeballs on Me.’”
• Axios’ Sara Fischer with “Dozens of Alden newspapers run coordinated editorials slamming Google.”
• For the Los Angeles Times, Greg Braxton and Carolyn Cole with “What ‘Civil War’ gets right and wrong about photojournalism, according to a Pulitzer Prize winner.”
• For The Washington Post, Dave Barry, Angela Garbes, Melissa Fay Greene, John Grogan and Charles Yu with “How does the election feel around the country? 5 writers capture the vibe.” Barry, as always looking at things a bit differently, writes, “Greetings from the Sunshine State! The mood down here, as we anticipate the 2024 presidential election, is one of hopefulness. Specifically, we’re hoping that a large, previously undetected meteor will strike the planet before November.”
• For NPR and “Morning Edition,” Elizabeth Blair with “50 years ago, ‘Come and Get Your Love’ put Native culture on the bandstand.”

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How a longtime film critic’s death represents the great dissolve of local film criticism

Bryan VanCampen of The Ithaca Times was an institution in the central New York college town of 32,000. He might have been the last of his kind.

Opinion | An NPR editor is now a former NPR editor after his resignation

Uri Berliner, an NPR business editor who wrote a scathing essay about his organization in another publication, no longer works at NPR.

No, Stormy Daniels didn’t ‘exonerate’ Donald Trump

The adult film actor denied she had an affair with Trump in a 2018 statement. She has since recanted that statement.

Taylor Swift has not endorsed Joe Biden for president

As of mid-April 2024, Swift has not issued a public endorsement for the 2024 presidential election, despite social posts claiming otherwise

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Npr editor uri berliner resigns with blast at new ceo.

Updated April 17, 2024 at 2:56 PM ET

NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner resigned this morning, citing the response of the network's chief executive to his outside essay accusing NPR of losing the public's trust.

"I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years," Berliner wrote in an email to CEO Katherine Maher. "I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay."

NPR and Maher declined to comment on his resignation.

The Free Press, an online site embraced by journalists who believe that the mainstream media has become too liberal, published Berliner's piece last Tuesday. In it, he argued that NPR's coverage has increasingly reflected a rigid progressive ideology. And he argued that the network's quest for greater diversity in its workforce — a priority under prior chief executive John Lansing – has not been accompanied by a diversity of viewpoints presented in NPR shows, podcasts or online coverage.

Later that same day, NPR pushed back against Berliner's critique.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff . "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

Yet Berliner's commentary has been embraced by conservative and partisan Republican critics of the network, including former President Donald Trump and the activist Christopher Rufo.

Rufo is posting a parade of old social media posts from Maher, who took over NPR last month. In two examples, she called Trump a racist and also seemed to minimize the effects of rioting in 2020. Rufo is using those to rally public pressure for Maher's ouster, as he did for former Harvard University President Claudine Gay .

Others have used the moment to call for the elimination of federal funding for NPR – less than one percent of its roughly $300 million annual budget – and local public radio stations, which derive more of their funding from the government.

Berliner reiterated in his resignation letter that he does not support such calls.

In a brief interview, he condemned a statement Maher issued Friday in which she suggested that he had questioned "whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity." She called that "profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning."

Berliner subsequently exchanged emails with Maher, but she did not address those comments.

"It's been building up," Berliner said of his decision to resign, "and it became clear it was on today."

For publishing his essay in The Free Press and appearing on its podcast, NPR had suspended Berliner for five days without pay. Its formal rebuke noted he had done work outside NPR without its permission, as is required, and shared proprietary information.

(Disclosure: Like Berliner, I am part of NPR's Business Desk. He has edited many of my past stories. But he did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Earlier in the day, Berliner forwarded to NPR editors and other colleagues a note saying he had "never questioned" their integrity and had been trying to raise these issues within the newsroom for more than seven years.

What followed was an email he had sent to newsroom leaders after Trump's 2016 win. He wrote then: "Primarily for the sake of our journalism, we can't align ourselves with a tribe. So we don't exist in a cocoon that blinds us to the views and experience of tens of millions of our fellow citizens."

Berliner's critique has inspired anger and dismay within the network. Some colleagues said they could no longer trust him after he chose to publicize such concerns rather than pursue them as part of ongoing newsroom debates, as is customary. Many signed a letter to Maher and Edith Chapin, NPR's chief news executive. They asked for clarity on, among other things, how Berliner's essay and the resulting public controversy would affect news coverage.

Yet some colleagues privately said Berliner's critique carried some truth. Chapin also announced monthly reviews of the network's coverage for fairness and diversity - including diversity of viewpoint.

She said in a text message earlier this week that that initiative had been discussed long before Berliner's essay, but "Now seemed [the] time to deliver if we were going to do it."

She added, "Healthy discussion is something we need more of."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Arizona’s Zombie Abortion Ban Is Back. It’s Every State’s Future If Trump Wins.

On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that its total abortion ban, a seemingly dead law dating back to 1864, is once again enforceable, despite more recent legislation that seemed to supersede it. The zombie ban makes virtually all abortions a felony, imposing a prison sentence of two to five years for any provider. There is no exception for rape or incest. The law was enacted before women could vote, and was long presumed to be permanently unenforceable. But the Arizona Supreme Court’s conservative majority, by a 4–2 margin, has now revived it. Republican governors appointed all seven justices on the bench, and the GOP recently expanded the court to entrench this far-right majority—which had no trouble finding that a ban enacted in an era in which women were chattel remains good law in 2024. As a result of this ruling, in 14 days almost every abortion in Arizona will be a crime, and nearly every clinic will close its doors. For all intents and purposes, it’s 1864 again for pregnant people in Arizona.

The decision should serve as a warning for the rest of the country, in light of ongoing efforts to revive the Comstock Act: In the hands of a far-right court, a dead, openly misogynistic, wildly unpopular abortion ban can spring back to life with a vengeance.

This zombie law was passed in 1864, long before Arizona was a state, and was codified in 1901, at which point it included a narrow exception to save the patient’s life. Much more recently, Arizona has passed less restrictive abortion laws, including a 15-week ban that appeared to wipe out more severe bans that preceded it. In late 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the two conflicting abortion laws in the state had to be reconciled, or “harmonized.” It maintained that abortion would remain legal through 15 weeks when provided by licensed physicians in compliance with the state’s other laws.

But on Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court, tasked with finally “harmonizing” Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban with the total ban dating back to hoop skirts, ruled that in the aftermath of Roe ’s reversal in Dobbs, the total ban takes precedence: The more recent 15-week restriction, wrote the majority, “does not create a right to, or otherwise provide independent statutory authority for, an abortion that repeals or restricts” the 1864 law, “but rather is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion since disclaimed” by Dobbs. In other words, in “harmonizing” the two laws, the harsher one wins out—even though, as the dissenters noted, the Legislature seemed to override this absolute ban when passing the recent 15-week limit. And so, starting in two weeks, even rape victims at the earliest stage of pregnancy may not obtain a legal abortion in Arizona.

Since Dobbs, nearly two dozen states have banned or limited access to the procedure. Arizona now joins those states with almost no exceptions , according to the Guttmacher Institute. As was the case with the far-right Florida Supreme Court’s interpretation of that state’s constitution last week , the majority simply ignored any evidence that the original meaning and text of the recent law provided greater protections for reproductive freedom. Instead, the majority rejected the Legislature’s evident intent to supplant the Civil War–era law with a more lenient ban. As a consolation, it gestured toward the fact that Arizona voters will likely have an opportunity to enact a ballot initiative restoring reproductive rights. So Arizona now joins Florida as a state in which the high court takes away reproductive freedom with one hand while allowing it to go to a popular vote with the other. Abortion-rights groups say they have enough signatures to put the abortion amendment on the November ballot, creating a fundamental right to receive abortion care until viability. Unlike Florida, where amendments need 60 percent approval to pass, Arizona allows amendments to take effect with simple majority support. (Note, as well, that two justices in the majority on Tuesday have retention elections in November; if ousted, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs can replace them with progressives.)

In an election year in which winning the state of Arizona is an absolutely essential factor for the GOP, the abortion dog continues to catch the electoral car in ways that can only hurt Donald Trump and the GOP extremists who seek to harm women’s health and equality. So long as voters are aware of the game as it’s being played and what the stakes will be, Republicans faces the potential for heaving losses. So these efforts to do that which is extraordinarily unpopular must happen via subterfuge, wink-wink nudge-nudge public statements about states’ rights and not taking a national position on abortion, while the courts and would-be Trump administration functionaries do all the quiet dirty work. The self-evident tension between the massive public rebuke of Dobbs —in the form of state ballot initiatives and referenda , local special elections , and state Supreme Court races —and the unabating efforts by rogue legislatures and fringe Supreme Courts to roll back abortion rights, was in evidence with Donald Trump’s refusal to state a coherent position on abortion on Monday : Turning back the clock for women is a demonstrably losing issue at the ballot box. And when candidate Trump says he wants to return the issue of abortion to the states, what he is really saying is that Arizona is free to return the issue to the time before doctors understood the value of hand-washing . (Also, why would anyone take his word on anything, ever?)

What happened in Alabama in February , in Florida last week, and in Arizona on Tuesday makes it clear that returning the reproductive freedom landscape to the Victorian age requires subverting whatever happens in elections. That’s why this massive rollback will be achieved by antidemocratic measures, including promises to breathe new life into the Comstock Act, and revanchist theocratic decisions from courts attempting to do away with IVF and rape exceptions in the name of fetal and embryonic personhood .

Comstock, in particular, is an instructive comparison here. That 1873 law, read expansively, bans all abortions , including both medication and in-clinic procedures. Indeed, far-right lawyers are at the Supreme Court trying to weaponize it against abortion pills right now. Trump’s top lawyers, including Jonathan Mitchell, have said that they plan to use Comstock as a nationwide ban on abortion if Trump regains office. They tell us that they intend to stay quiet about this scheme until after the election, at which point they will prepare for an executive order accompanied by prosecutions and regulations that make abortion a federal felony in all 50 states. The plot is similar to what just happened in Arizona: Republicans enacted a seemingly moderate 15-week ban, only to stand by and watch as their colleagues on a GOP-packed court resuscitated a total ban passed during the Civil War. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes—who beat her anti-abortion opponent in 2022 by 280 votes—has said she won’t prosecute violations of the law. But GOP county attorneys have rejected Mayes’ efforts to shield doctors and may well seek to charge any providers that stay open, throwing access into immediate jeopardy.

The next time someone tells you they really worry about abortion rights, but that President Biden is just too old , please gently remind them that Joe Biden is not, in fact 160. That is the age of the law that will soon be sending abortion providers to prison in Arizona if they attempt to assist a victim of rape or incest. If edgy modernity is truly your thing, be afraid of Republican judges who are at war with modernity itself; they will gladly welcome the assistance of pro-choice voters whose apathy facilitates the rollback of women’s equal citizenship. And it’s now abundantly clear that we’re not rolling back the tape to the 1970s or to the 1920s. The project is to set your clocks back to the time when women didn’t even matter enough to have a vote.