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

I Wrote a Book in 30 Days

June 2, 2022

Thank You for Sharing

June 1, 2022

On Swagger

June 1, 2022

Faculty and Career Readiness

Faculty and Career Readiness

June 1, 2022

Tressie McMillen Cottom  Scholars Talk Writing

Tressie McMillen Cottom Scholars Talk Writing

May 31, 2022

Hamilton and Me

Hamilton and Me

July 4, 2020

Finding a Spot that Feels Just Right

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

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

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

Reboiled

March 21, 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

Must Read

April 24, 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

Re-Org

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

Falling

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