College Essay FAQs

A great college essay can be many things, which makes sitting down to write it so incredibly daunting. I can tell you what it should not be: a recitation of one’s resume, a vehicle to brag about your virtues, a gimmick.

I heard a college tour guide once say that the best essay is the one that if it fell on the floor of your high school, without your name on it, someone would be able to pick it up and know who wrote it. I like to harken back to my days of writing advertising copy – if you can put another company’s logo on the ad, and it works, it’s not a good ad. Same holds for the college essay. If someone else could put their name on it, it’s not a good essay.

Great essays are unexpected. They are self-reflective and honest. They may be humble, humorous, poignant, or something else altogether. They should leave the admissions officer thinking you’d be an asset to that campus … not because you’re a great leader or a brilliant mind, but because you’d be really interesting to chat with until the wee hours of the night.

This really varies with each student. I will say, however, that writing is long. Students should expect to write multiple drafts and revise, revise, revise. Factoring in school, work, and/or extracurricular commitments, it could take two months from start to finish. Even longer if there are supplemental essays.

Absolutely not. Aside from the fact that it would be unethical for me to do so, it doesn’t help the student. Going to college is a huge step in becoming an independent adult. I want my students to feel confident in their skills and proud of their work. Their work.

Some students may have an idea of what they want to write about. And for some students (many students!) this is the most anxiety-provoking part of the whole process. I love when students come to me with absolutely no idea of what they want to say. My sweet spot is in helping them find that unique topic, the story that no one else can tell. I have a method for unearthing the unexpected, and my students walk away from the first meeting with clear direction and a sense of relief.

First, I meet with the students (in person or on Zoom) and ask a series of questions. I stress to my students that this is not an interview. I am not judging them and I don’t want them to try to impress me. Rather, it’s a conversation designed to find the little gems that could be the foundation of a great essay. As I take notes on everything they share, I see where their eyes light up and their words come out faster, and I notice patterns among some of their responses that may lead to something deeper.

I then ask them what they think emerged from the conversation. Was there anything that seemed poignant to them? Anything they felt might be an interesting reflection of who they are? Something they might be excited to write about? I point out what seemed compelling to me. Oftentimes, we notice the same things. I love when this happens!

I follow up that same day with an email, reiterating what we both thought would be a good essay topic, providing guiding questions that will help them in their freewrite, and setting a mutually agreed upon deadline.

Next is what I call the ‘vomit on paper’ stage. Gross, I know. This is independent work and I tell my students to kick their inner editor out of the room, ignore grammar and sentence structure, forget about word count … just get details down on paper. Over the course of our work together, we will shape a narrative arc and build a fantastic essay. But first, they have to gather the clay. It’s all about the details.

When students send me the first draft of their freewrite (we work in Google Docs) I sift through what is often a mess and find the poignant nuggets … the specifics that will make the essay sizzle, the truths that get at the ‘why’. I don’t provide many edits at this stage, because the work is typically in very rough form. Rather, I continue to ask questions, encouraging my students to gather more details and self reflect.

It’s either after this first draft or the second that I suggest a rough outline to follow. This is the narrative arc that guides students as they continue to work on their essay.

I set interim deadlines for each subsequent draft and make suggestions with each review – whether to encourage more specifics, weed out the unnecessary tangents, show where additional context is needed, find that grabby opener, or ensure that the essay leads up to an ‘aha’ moment.

As my students get closer and closer to a final draft, my edits become more technical in nature – looking at proper word usage, grammar, sentence structure, and, yes, word count.

When they think they are finally done with the essay, I’ll ask them to read it out loud. Or we’ll get on the phone and I’ll read it out loud with them. This is important, because you can hear the hiccups that you might not always see.

When they are done – truly done – with their main essay, we celebrate. And then we get started on the supplementals!

This is where that first conversation comes in handy. We often have a lot of material that didn’t go into the main essay, so coming up with ideas for the supplemental essays is easier. I ask my students to list all of the schools’ supplemental essay prompts on one page. Depending on where a student is applying, there could be upwards of a dozen smaller essays to write! But that doesn’t mean they need to, or should, write a dozen or more small essays. I look at this list with my students and notice the overlaps. Some schools may ask the same question, or a variation of that question, and so a single supplemental essay could be repurposed across multiple schools. Of course, other supplementals are specific to that institution (such as, ‘Why do you want to attend [insert name of college]?’) So I help my students do the research that allows them to answer that question convincingly and honestly. The supplemental essay prompts are often very pointed, and have shorter word counts, so I make sure my students get to the heart of what the school is asking in a clear and concise way.

Yes! (And I can help adults, too.) When it comes to resumes, you’re telling a story in a very limited space. So how do you use words wisely? And how do you communicate what a high school club is all about to someone who is not familiar with your community? Some schools will require students to upload a separate resume, but the Common App has a formatted section dedicated to showcasing one’s extracurriculars. I help students craft this language so it is succinct and positions them in the best possible light.

This is not an exhaustive list, but a good picture, nonetheless.

American

Amherst College

Bard

Berkeley

Binghamton

Boston College

Brandeis

Bucknell

Cal Poly

Carnegie Mellon

Case Western

Clark

Clemson

Colgate

College of Wooster

Colorado College

Columbia

Connecticut College

Cornell

Davidson

DePaul

Elon

Emerson

Emory

Fairfield

George Washington University

Georgetown

Howard University

Indiana U

Johns Hopkins

Kenyon

Lafayette

Lehigh

Macalester

Marist

McGill

Mount Holyoke

Northeastern

Northwestern

Notre Dame

NYU

Oberlin

Occidental

Penn State

Pitt

Pitzer

Purdue

Reed

Rice

Rochester Institute of Technology

RPI

Rutgers

Sarah Lawrence

Seton Hall

Skidmore

Smith

Syracuse

Temple

U British Columbia

U Colorado - Boulder

U Conn

U Delaware

U Florida

U Georgia

U Illinois - Urbana Champagne

U Maryland

U Mass - Amherst

U Miami

U Michigan

U Rhode Island

U Texas at Austin

U Vermont

U Virginia

U Washington

U Wisconsin

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

UNC - Chapel Hill

Vassar

VCU

Villanova

Wash U

Wesleyan

Every school has their own algorithm for weighing the importance of each component in the college application. Some schools may look heavily at extracurriculars, while others may focus on GPA. That being said, if a school is looking at two students who were in their high school band and have the same GPA and test scores, what might set them apart? The essay.

I do think there’s something unique about college essay support, compared to SAT prep or college list development. This kind of help goes beyond just getting into the school of one’s choice. My coaching provides value that will last throughout their four years … and into adult life. Everybody needs to know how to express their thoughts on paper (er, pixels.) There is tremendous value in knowing how to tell your own story, how to develop a narrative arc and play with language to make it compelling and convincing. Even the chemical engineering major will need to write a cover letter or a love letter someday. This is why I don’t directly edit my student’s drafts. I suggest changes and explain why I made those suggestions. I want my students to learn about the craft of writing as they shape and polish their own work.

Beyond the essay itself, there is something incredibly valuable to a 17 year old when a grown up sits with them and asks questions. When that grown up shows curiosity about their life, validates their experiences and thoughts, and sees something special in who they are.

There are essay coaching services that provide small-group workshops, and this may be helpful for some students. However, my approach is individualized. I use interviewing skills honed over decades of writing articles, profiles, and a book. Through a series of questions, I uncover the personal quirks and life experiences that form the basis of a hard-hitting and heartfelt essay. I probe the seemingly mundane and random asides. From my very first conversation with students, I build the necessary trust that allows them to share personal details, and then share first drafts, no matter how imperfect those drafts may be.

I’ve worked with students who have ADHD, anxiety, autism, dyslexia, or who spent time in inpatient facilities. I have worked with extremely shy teens and those who are extremely gregarious; self starters as well as those who need reminders and follow ups with every deadline. I meet students where they are and ask them what they need from me in order to be successful. I encourage openness and self-advocacy.

No. And I would be suspicious of anyone who makes that type of assurance.

While it is often parents who find me and initiate the process, I work directly with my students. They are responsible for communicating with me (via text, email, and for the rare teen, phone calls) – whether setting up that first appointment, or following up with their drafts. I do not tell parents what my students share with me in our first conversation, nor do I reveal the topic of their essay. Each student can choose what they want to share, when, and with whom. For many parents, this is a relief! They can remain hands off, feeling comfortable knowing that another adult is on top of the deadlines and encouraging progress. Sometimes, though, parents may want to be apprised of deadlines or milestones. Each student’s needs are different, and I will follow each family’s lead.

I charge $1,500 to coach students in writing their Common App essay. This includes topic exploration, guidance on their freewrite, the development of a narrative arc, and as many rounds of edits and feedback as are necessary to get a polished essay that students can be proud of.

For students who may not require the full breadth of my services, my rate is $150/hour. This is also what I charge for supplemental essay and resume/Common App activity list support.

While I do this for a living, my intent is to always make my services accessible. I volunteer as an essay coach with organizations that provide these services for free to under-resourced students. And I will work with families whose means are limited.

I have spent my entire career as a writer – whether crafting ads and commercials, articles and blogs, essays, or a book. I am also the mother to three sons who have been through the college application process. So I know firsthand how fraught and overwhelming this can be. You can learn more about my work experience and see samples of my writing here.