While it is perfectly acceptable for students to come in with some ideas on what they could be writing about, we actually prefer that they have not started in advance. This encourages students to consider new ideas rather than fixate on what they have previously written. With freedom of thought, the writing progresses, and the essay’s direction evolves too.

Our process involves pre-writing exercises and brainstorming sessions to uncover unique essay topics that may not have been previously considered. This method often leads to more impactful essays and helps generate material for the supplemental essays many colleges require. Students who are open to exploring new directions in their personal statements typically find that their applications become more authentic and memorable.

No, the right prompt is something that we’ll figure out organically as the writing develops. This allows the prompt to best represent the essay’s topic.

Depending on where you are applying and how important the essays are going to be, you should set aside a lot of writing time. Writing one main essay can take anywhere from 4-8 hours, over a period of several days. This allows for reflecting and brainstorming before putting words in a draft. However, not all essays take that long, and as part of initial brainstorming, you may create additional content supplemental essays required by individual schools. You will want to plan enough time for each required writing to unfold.

Some kids feel free to share their essays as they are writing, while others feel their topics are too private or personal to share with anyone except their essay coaches. If your student is enrolled in our essay process, we will let you know if there is any concern regarding the quality of the essay. Allowing each student’s own expression of ideas to come through in the essay is best, though students and coaches can reach out to you for support as needed.

Essays are about bringing out an aspect of yourself that adds personality and brings purpose to your college application. A good essay coach will coax you to look deeper into your experiences and the value systems that make you special. We all have life experiences that are uniquely ours, no matter how commonplace we feel our lives might be. A good writing coach may make you laugh at the past or cry with you over your heartaches on the way to a powerful essay.

A machine could help refine the language of a draft. but will never be able to bring out the emotions that define your learning and growth.

For our essay boot camps, we find that the virtual format is more effective than in-person. It allows us to strategize at a group level, while focusing on each student. Students working with us upload their essays onto Google Drive to share with instructors, which makes editing, commenting, and reviewing easier. In addition, virtual sessions allow us to float seamlessly back and forth between group discussions and one-to-one feedback using breakout rooms.

In person essay sessions can get very noisy and chaotic.

While our essay coaches are highly skilled in reviewing and editing completed essays, our approach goes beyond just polishing what’s already written. We view the entire college application as a cohesive narrative, with each component interconnecting to tell a compelling story. That’s why we encourage students to come to us with initial ideas rather than finished essays.

Our process involves pre-writing exercises and brainstorming sessions to uncover unique essay topics that may not have been previously considered. This method often leads to more impactful essays and helps generate material for the supplemental essays many colleges require. Students who are open to exploring new directions in their personal statements typically find that their applications become more authentic and memorable.