EFFECTIVE ESSAYS MATTER
The "college essay" is just the beginning. As college lists have grown, so has the number of essays my students write.
50% of applicants will write 6-10 essays.
20% of applicants will write 2-5 essays.
10% of applicants will write more than 21 essays.
Most colleges are test-optional. Essays that show admissions officers who you are and what you have to offer get more attention.
The EFFECTIVE ESSAYS MATTER PACKAGE gives us four hours (plus one bonus hour) to brainstorm ideas, compose thoughts, and write and edit essays. Less College Stress Consulting Students have access to an exclusive video to jumpstart the essay process.
WHY I LOVE HELPING STUDENTS WITH COLLEGE ESSAYS
Over the past fifteen years, I’ve helped students with over 1,000 essays, and studied essay technique from Ethan Sawyer, "The College Essay Guy," Story2, Prompt, 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.
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.
VIDEOS
Some colleges are requesting Glimpse, ZeeMee or other videos in addition to or instead of essays. We'll help you prepare.
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
THE BENEFIT OF AN ESSAY COACHING TEAM
Under my supervision, every student has an assigned essay coach. A writing professor leads our team of coaches, and each coach is a professional writing teacher, editor, or writing tutor. As seasoned wordsmiths, they know how to help craft compelling narratives and standout supplemental essays that express what admissions officers want to learn.
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.
As one of my top editors says, "Colleges want to know about you, but AI doesn't know you."
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
