The "college essay" is just the beginning. As college lists have grown, the number of essays my students write has too.
50% of applicants will write 6-10
1100% will write 2-5
25% will write 11-20
20% will write 2-5
5% will write one or more than 21
EFFECTIVE ESSAYS MATTER
Why I Love Helping Students with College Essays
THE TOPIC
I show anxious students why they can relax about “finding a topic.” In fact, it's not about the topic at all.
BRAINSTORMING
My questions and your answers will zero in on what admission counselors want to know about you.
MY EXPERIENCE
I began teaching students to write in the 1980’s and still enjoy it--more than ever.
IT'S PERSONAL
Your most effective essays present practical information creatively and uniquely. While I love teaching students how to write persuasive essays about serious topics, college essays are more interesting and fun!
DON'T CRY
Please don’t be upset if the essay you already wrote doesn’t work. As a professional educational consultant, it's my job to understand the college essay's requirements, not yours. I'll help you through it.
MOTIVATION
You may think you have "nothing to write about." Everyone has a story to tell--actually lots of stories. I am motivated to help you find as many as you need.
COMPLETE YOUR ESSAYS OVER THE SUMMER
It's the easiest way to DE-STRESS THE COLLEGE PROCESS
Over the past fourteen years, I’ve studied essay technique from Ethan Sawyer, "The College Essay Guy," Story2, and the WOW Writing Workshop. My essay editors are professionally trained as well. Essays can be the most stressful component of the college process for colleagues and students alike, but after working with hundreds of students on their Common Application and supplemental essays, I’m still hooked.
A WORD ABOUT COMPUTER-GENERATING WRITING APPS:
ChatGPT and similar apps cannot produce detailed experiences that can only be lived–and written about–in an essay composed by a student. Whatever changes colleges will require, I am glad to do more work to help students write uncommon, human-generated essays.
Pamela often asked me to dig deeper, provide more detail, or reword a lengthy sentence. My mom and I love some of them so much that we reread them just for fun - something that cannot be said about most of what I write for English class."
KRISTEN, admitted to the Class of 2026
The EFFECTIVE ESSAYS MATTER PACKAGE gives us four hours to brainstorm ideas, compose thoughts, and write and edit essays.