First: I do not write students’ admissions essays for them.
As I said up front: I help students identify and develop the authentic stories that best represent them, and I help them write those stories in the most compelling way possible.
What does that mean? As a journalist, I learned that good writing doesn’t start when you sit down at the keyboard. It starts in the interview, when you ask question after question to not only gather the facts but understand how the person thinks and what they feel. Only then can you write a story that connects with readers.
So I use a two-stage process.
The first stage is an interview or series of interviews to find their stories. In my experience, teenagers usually don’t see what’s really remarkable about them. They’re caught up in awards and scores and trophies. They overlook the quiet achievements that speak to their character. Through the interview, we find both those stories and the memorable details that bring them to life.
The second stage is writing. We talk about what emerged from the interviews and how that fits with the various application essay prompts. Then, we talk about how to write. Again, in my experience, high school tends to stomp the originality out of teenagers’ writing. I help them find their own authentic voice and encourage them to stay true to that voice as they write and revise their essay drafts.
Some college essay consultants will champion specific structures and formulas, and those can provide polished, effective essays. However, they can feel too polished, too formulaic, at a time when what colleges desperately want to see is the real person.
I will take the time to get to know your students and help them find and tell the personal stories that show colleges how amazing they truly are.
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