Advantage College Planning Answers: Elon's "Think Fast"

Our seniors are right in the thick of their college applications. Many of my students are up to their ears in essays, writing around 13 on average!

Because they have so much writing to do, we thought it was only fair if the Advantage College Planning consulting team took on some of these prompts as well. Over the next few months, we’ll be answering different college’s short answer questions (sorry, but we’re too busy reading your essays to write our own!) starting with Elon’s “Think Fast” questions.

  1. What brings you joy? (30 words)

  2. We’re in your hometown. Where should we eat and what should we order? (30 words)

  3. Name three songs from your perfect playlist. (30 words)

I had a lot of fun answering these questions, and I hope my teammates did too! Here are our answers:

JAMIE’S ANSWERS

  1. A certain shade of blue that's the exact color of the middle of the ocean. Visiting bookstores and buying whatever I can carry. Uncrowded parks and art museums. Kitten paws.

  2. [Nashville, TN] Head to Mas Tacos for Saturday brunch. If you get there early enough, you’ll miss the line. Order the chilaquiles rojos with a horchata. And don’t forget - cash only!

  3. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
    Shake It Out by Florence + the Machine
    Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart

GINA’S ANSWERS

  1. The sound of my girls’ belly laughs, iced coffee in the summertime, listening to live music in a full, but not packed, casual bar, and reuniting with my college friends. 

  2. [Endicott, NY] Start at Kristofor’s for pizza & hot wings, then Lupo’s for a chicken spiedie. Last, the Cider Mill for a cinnamon-sugar doughnut, candy apple, & jug of fresh-pressed apple cider.

  3. I Am Here by P!nk
    Fields of Gray by Bruce Hornsby
    Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright by Susan Tedeschi

LINDSEY’S ANSWERS

  1. A cup of coffee in my favorite mug (a small, white, ceramic cup with a Ralph's Coffee label) and the Sunday edition of the News & Observer.

  2. [Syracuse, NY] Visitors must eat a meal at the legendary Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and order at least a quarter rack of ribs (sorry vegetarian friends) with a side of fries and baked beans.

  3. Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson
    Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
    Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce

BROOKE’S ANSWERS

  1. Coffee and cake.

  2. [St. Alban’s, VT] Jeff’s Maine Seafood is the place! We’d start with bacon-wrapped scallops drizzled with Vermont maple syrup, move along to lobster mac and cheese, and end with molten maple cake. 

  3. I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty
    I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston
    Like a Prayer by Madonna

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