Rachel Toor is the author of five books of nonfiction and a young adult novel. She has been an editor of scholarly books, a college admissions officer, a high school cross country coach, a college counselor, an SAT, MCAT, GMAT, LSAT, and GRE prep class teacher, a freelance writer, and the devoted companion of an assortment of pets. Her newest book is Write Your Way In: Crafting an Unforgettable College Admissions Essay. She is currently a professor of creative writing at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, where she lives with her husband Toby and her photogenic dog Helen.
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I Wrote a Book in 30 Days
June 2, 2022
Thank You for Sharing
June 1, 2022
Faculty and Career Readiness
June 1, 2022
Tressie McMillen Cottom Scholars Talk Writing
May 31, 2022
Hamilton and Me
July 4, 2020
Finding a Spot that Feels Just Right
February 12, 2020
We’ve Lost the Art of Conversation
December 22, 2019
The Need for Moral Leadership at Our Universities
November 4, 2019
The Joint Is Closing
November 2, 2019
Another Rosh Hashanah
October 13, 2019
We All Live Next Door
September 22, 2019
Is A College Degree Valuable?
August 19, 2019
Travel Broadens
July 16, 2019
How A Literary Agent Views Academic Books
July 16, 2019
How Can I Say This So We Can Stay in This Car Together?
July 16, 2019
“I grow beer and bread”
July 1, 2019
Never Again Means Never Forget
May 20, 2019
The Arc of the Season
April 14, 2019
Yes, You Do Have to Watch Your Words
April 5, 2019
The Sports Creel
March 18, 2019
Interview on college admissions scandal
March 16, 2019
Dentition
February 11, 2019
How to “Win” at Grad School
February 8, 2019
Being Enfranchised
January 20, 2019
How Academics Measure the Value of Their Books
January 5, 2019
Truth and Reconciliation
December 18, 2018
The Food Chain
November 21, 2018
At the Vet’s
November 11, 2018
Who Do I Want to Be in the World?
October 14, 2018
5 Complaints Academics Have About Their Editors
October 9, 2018
When Evil is Comforting
September 17, 2018
Keeping Clean
August 19, 2018
Boaty McBoatface, Isolation, and Exclusion
July 31, 2018
How I Became a Runner
July 5, 2018
6 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
June 7, 2018
On Sabbatical
May 20, 2018
Lost in Griefland
April 15, 2018
Carrying Capacity
April 7, 2018
The Members of My Tribe
February 19, 2018
Weeding through the Options
January 15, 2018
What I Know about My Students
December 4, 2017
Every Business Story Is a Love Story
December 4, 2017
The November Holiday
November 19, 2017
PhDs Are Still Writing Poorly – Parts 1, 2, and 3
November 10, 2017
The Age Card
November 10, 2017
Editing Menus
October 31, 2017
Why We Should Drop Football
October 31, 2017
Elegy for a Friendship
October 2, 2017
A Girl Who Floats Rivers
August 27, 2017
#Spokanedoesntsuck
August 14, 2017
How to Conquer the Admissions Essay (New York Times excerpt from Write Your Way In)
August 2, 2017
Write Your Way In
July 21, 2017
Failing at the Rules for Chit Chat
July 16, 2017
The Joys and Downsides of Hate-Reading
June 18, 2017
Helen is Top of the Class
June 18, 2017
A Sugar Addict Faces Her Demons
May 28, 2017
Men Like Trump Are Everywhere
May 8, 2017
Lilac Bloomsday Run
May 7, 2017
Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tongue
April 21, 2017
Being Wrong
March 26, 2017
Teaching Vets, and Learning Even More
March 1, 2017
The Year of Being Ben-ish
January 17, 2017
7 Ways My Dog is a Better Runner than Me
January 9, 2017
Eggs with Hats
December 19, 2016
The Women Who Call Me Sweetie
November 22, 2016
Resisting the Urge to Profess
October 24, 2016
Where Everyone Knows My Name
October 24, 2016
A Place of Invention
October 2, 2016
Sent to Bad Driver’s School
September 11, 2016
Frank Shorter’s Feet
September 2, 2016
Le Doigt sur la Braguette
September 2, 2016
Furry, Squat Enigma on a Log
September 2, 2016
The Habits of Highly Productive Writers
April 29, 2016
Hearing the Voice of a 51-Year-Old Man in the Essay of a 17-Year-Old Girl
April 28, 2016
Apostrophe
April 28, 2016
Speed Goggles
April 28, 2016
Some Things I Know About Getting Published
April 28, 2016
The Pig and I (en francais)
April 28, 2016
Bad Writing and Bad Thinking
April 28, 2016
The Thinking Athlete’s Sport
April 28, 2016
The Old Town
April 28, 2016
Shirtless Days
April 28, 2016
Thank You, Teacher
April 28, 2016
The Colossal Crack
April 28, 2016
Misunderstood
March 6, 2016
On the Road to Find Out
March 6, 2016
The Pig and I
March 6, 2016
Personal Record
March 6, 2016
Admissions Confidential
March 6, 2016
Athleta Chi Blog
March 5, 2016
The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 5, 2016
Running Times Magazine
March 5, 2016
Richer Than God
March 5, 2016
Learning to Pitch: Remembering a Summer With Bob Welch
July 10, 2014
When the Weather Outside is Frightful
January 14, 2014
The Zoo
September 9, 2013
The Clip, Clip, Clip of Feet
September 6, 2013
Riding an Elephant
October 19, 2012
