College Essay Program

The college essay program always involves 5 sessions:

Session 1: Introductory Interview/Brainstorm, Prompt/Topic Selection, Outline

In the first session, I conduct an interview with the student about their interests and experiences in order to help us identify a topic for the essay. Once we have selected the topic and determined the best prompt to which we should respond, we generate a basic essay outline.

Session 2: Rough Draft

In the second session, using the outline and the notes taken during the first session’s interview, we begin drafting the essay, aiming to be about halfway finished by the end of the session.

Session 3: Rough Draft

In the third session, our expectation is to finish the rough draft, which will be about 50% too long for the word count.

Session 4: Final Draft

In the fourth session, we begin turning the rough draft into the final draft by clarifying the language and eliminating redundant or unnecessary words/sections.

Session 5: Final Draft

In the fifth and final session, we finish the Final Draft by trimming the essay to within the required word length, giving it a final read through, coming up with a fitting title, and, depending on the student’s application timeline, inserting it properly into the Common Application.

Beyond the general Common Application essay, which is the most time-consuming, complex undertaking in the application process, I help students with any required school-specific essays. The difficulty and duration of these essays varies depending on the school, but overall these are much easier and quicker to complete than the general Common Application essay, as they do not require a full outline or rough draft.

Beyond the general and school-specific essays, I also frequently help students fill in the rest of the Common Application, ensuring that it is all effectively and completely written, formatted, and submitted.