Thinking about graduate school or professional school, but not sure how to write a strong personal statement, admissions letter, scholarship, fellowship or other award statement?
If so, the Writing Forward Initiative is for you!
The New College Writing Centre (NCWC) and New College Registrar’s Office (NCRO) are teaming up to offer Writing Forward, a series of virtual workshops designed to help you take your next step, whether it’s graduate school, professional school or applying for awards, scholarships and/or fellowships.
Why Writing Forward?
Over the years, we’ve learned that
- These kinds of statements take longer to write than students expect
- The writing process is way more manageable with feedback early and often
- It helps so much to connect with others who are on the same journey
The Writing Forward Initiative offers a chance to learn and grow in the company of your peers, with writing instructors available to provide feedback at any stage of the writing process. We’re confident that this will be a valuable resource as you navigate your next chapter.
Lunch & Learn Virtual Workshops and Schedules:
Writing Personal Statements and Admissions Letters, Part 1: The General – Learn about the typical parts of a strong statement (intro, body, academics, experience). How to organize by topic, skill and position.
Monday, August 24, 2026 @ 12 – 1 PM
Presented by: Dr. Susan Hopkirk and Dr. Marci Prescott-Brown
Writing Personal Statements and Admissions Letters, Part 2: The Specific – Learn about the details of a statement such as demonstrating a good fit for different schools/programs and how to use websites to customize a statement.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 @ 12 – 1 PM
Presented by: Dr. Susan Hopkirk and Dr. Marci Prescott-Brown
From the Trenches: Student Writers and the Journey from Admissions Letters/Personal Statements to Graduate or Professional School – Do you want to hear from graduate students who worked on admissions letters and/or personal statements, what it was like to create these documents, what they learned, and how they grew through the process before getting accepted to the program of their choice? Join us for an online chat with student writers to talk about their journey!
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 @ 12 – 1:15 PM
Presented by: Dr. Susan Hopkirk and Dr. Marci Prescott-Brown and guest panelists (former students!)
Strategic Planning: Awards, Applications and Personal Statements – Learn about the various New College and U of T awards available for students to apply and strategies to plan and create personal statements for these contexts.
Stay Tuned for Fall/Winter Schedule
Government Research Funding – Learn about the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and the various Tri-Council Awards such as Canada Graduate Scholarships: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Stay Tuned for Fall/Winter 2026-27 Schedule
The Writing Forward Initiative and the Get Writing! Drop-ins Online Sessions are open to undergraduate New College students and students taking courses in New College programs (any NEW, AFR, CAR, CSE, BPM, WGS, HMB, JNH, JLN, JNS, JNR, JQR, JHN or JHA course).
Discover your next writing-related steps and connect with others on a similar path. Choose to Write Forward—move towards your promising future today!
Register Today!
Registrants will receive confirmation and reminder emails with Zoom links. If you have any questions or did not receive a Zoom link prior to the virtual workshop, please contact: newcollege.writingcentre@utoronto.ca.
Thank you for your interest, registration for Writing Forward is now closed for Summer 2026. Stay tuned for next year’s lineup!
Have questions about the upcoming event – reach out to: newcollege.writingcentre@utoronto.ca
If you missed this event, don’t worry, check out New College’s Event page for all our upcoming events.