Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some of the many questions parents and students have asked me. If you have a question for me, please send it to me in the message box on the contact page.How do I arrange for an initial consultation?
What will you cover during the free ½ hour consultation?
Are you expensive?
How does your on-line editing service work?
What services do your clients generally request?
Why do your editing and strategic coaching services give me an advantage when I apply to colleges?
Why is the college admissions essay such a critical part of the application?
How will you help me with my essay?
How many times will it take to edit an essay?
What if I don’t know what to write about?
What are the most common mistakes I should avoid when writing my essay?
Will you write a customized essay for me?
When should I begin to work with you on my college essay?
When are college applications due?
Do you have any guarantees?
Will you help me select colleges to apply to?
What colleges and universities have your clients been accepted at?
How do I arrange for an initial consultation?
You can reach me by sending me a message on this website’s contact page. Please leave your phone number and email address. I will contact you within 24 hours.
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What will you cover during the free ½ hour consultation?
During the initial free ½ hour consultation with parents I will determine editing and coaching needs, get to know a little about the student and answer any questions about the process, including my fee, how I bill for my time and payment arrangements. Depending on location, I am also available for a face-to-face meeting with one or both parents and the student for the initial ½ hour free consultation.
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Are you expensive?
It depends on what you mean by “expensive” and how you view the advantages I provide as a college application specialist. For my services, you pay by the hour and only for what you need. In fact, I enable you to free up your time so you can concentrate on many other aspects of the application and the many demands being made on you during the first half of your senior year. In addition, I can relieve the stress that you and your parents experience during this period not only as an experienced resource, but also as a sounding board, an advocate and a facilitator.
If the education you want is worth the tuition you will have to pay, then it is certainly worth my fee which is only a mere fraction of the total cost of any degree program. There is the old saying that “you get what you pay for.” You will soon see why I have a very high success rate at helping clients get into their top choice schools mostly in the Ivy and sub Ivy universities, many through early decision.
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How does your on-line editing service work?
The editing and feedback process in most cases takes place through an online exchange of your essay drafts with my suggested edits. All you have to do is save your work in Word and email it to me as an attachment. Within one to two days of my receiving your draft I will respond to you by email with suggested edits and comments. We will continue this process for as long as it takes until you are satisfied that your essay is perfect. I am also available to talk by phone as needed.
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What services do your clients generally request?
Most of my clients take advantage of both my editing and coaching services for all colleges they apply to. The number of colleges that students are applying to is rising and the average is 12 applications. The most intense part of the work usually spans a 3 month period of time. In addition to the common application essay, this includes the resume, short answers and supplementary essays. If you just need an expert critique of a particular essay you wrote, I can provide suggestions for improvement and point out grammatical errors.
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Why do your editing and strategic coaching services give me an advantage when I apply to colleges?
I bring a level of expertise in college application showcasing and editing which you and your parents most likely don’t have (and don’t care to have). I am fully familiar with what admissions committees are looking for and how you should “sell” yourself. As an editing specialist I also know how to guide you in writing the best essay that you can. Since I take the time to get to know you, I will ensure that your personality and voice will be totally present in your essay. My goal is to help you turn a bland or generic essay into one that is compelling, individual, authentic and distinctive.
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Why is the college admissions essay so critical?
After decades of being in the shadow of the SAT, the college essay has emerged as a critical part of the application package. There are so many students who have similar achievements, academic records and test scores that college admissions committees need to have a way to differentiate one student from another. The essay is your chance to stand out above your competition and prove you are not like thousands of other students.
The other parts of your application contain information about you that has occurred in the past. What’s done is done. So your essay is the only part of your application packet over which you have full control. It is your chance to “talk” directly with the admissions committee and show them something meaningful about yourself. A stellar essay will definitely improve your chances of getting admitted to your college of choice. It could also compensate for weaker parts of your application and can even be a decisive factor in keeping your application out of the rejection pile. On the other hand, a poorly written essay can drag an otherwise outstanding application down.
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How will you help me with my essay?
I will critique all elements or your essay and give you specific recommendations for improvement. This includes but is not limited to grammar, spelling, punctuation, structure, content, relevance to the question, clarity, flow, tone, conciseness, interest, word usage, and adherence to word/character limit.
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How many times will it take to edit an essay?
The time spent on editing an essay is as long as it takes until you are satisfied with it. It considerably depends on how well your initial draft is written. On average, this involves about 3 hours of editing and feedback. I will apply a series of editing passes, each time concentrating on very specific elements of your essay. Then I will make content suggestions to significantly improve your essay so that it is technically perfect, memorable and stands out as speaking uniquely of you. My final pass will be a fine edit with finishing touches.
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What if I don’t know what to write about?
I can help you brainstorm topics and/or themes. Through our conversations, I will first get to know what you are about as a person—your major accomplishments, special things that you have done and where you see yourself in the future. Remember that writing is a process, and it takes some time for structure and wording to evolve. Rest periods of several days between essay drafts are highly recommended. Then you can return to the essay and assess it with a fresh perspective.
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What are the most common mistakes I should avoid when writing my essay?
There are several common mistakes such as not answering the question, picking an inappropriate topic, writing too much, using poor grammar and /or spelling, and repeating information that is evident elsewhere in the application. But a very common and unfortunate mistake is that many applicants write what they think admissions committees want to hear instead of writing what they want admissions committees to know about them. An applicant does not need exotic or exceptional experiences in order to stand out. Actually, it is not what you “tell” that matters, but how you “show” what is distinctively you. Admissions committees want to know that you will be a valuable contributor to the college community and to the classroom experience of other students.
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Will you write a customized essay for me?
Purely as a matter of ethics, I NEVER write essays for my clients.
Apart from ethics, it is a fatal mistake to pay someone to write an essay for you or to use a “canned” essay that you get from the Internet or a book. Since your SAT essay is available on line for admissions committees to examine, any sense that you are not the author of your essay will be hurt your chances of admission. Also, in certain instances admissions committees can easily tell when an essay is written in such a way that it does not correlate with the rest of your application including academic records and test scores.
Lastly the essay has to show something unique about you—your personality and your voice. If it sounds generic, I can confidently say that it will hurt your chances of admission.
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When should I begin to work with you on my college essay?
Writing your essay requires care and patience. The best time to formulate thoughts for your essay is in your junior year. You can call me at that time and I can help you brainstorm. Jot down ideas when they come to mind and begin to write a first draft when you are less stressed, such as after your final exams. When crunch time comes, if you plan appropriately and allow for several breaks between revisions, you will have a better chance of crafting a thoughtful and focused essay. You should have your revised and refined essay completed and ready to go at least 2 weeks before the college application is due.
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When are college applications due?
Due dates for applications depend on the colleges you have selected and whether you are applying early decision, early action or regular decision. You need to keep a careful chart of the colleges you selected with the application due dates and all requirements. Usually early decision/early action applications are due in November and most other applications are due in December or January.
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Do you have any guarantees?
I guarantee that you will be 100% satisfied with the services I give you and my responsiveness. I believe that you will feel very comfortable working with me as long as you are open to constructive criticism and suggestions. I always have your best interests at heart and give you advice as though I were applying to your selected colleges myself. However, I cannot make any guarantees as to what colleges you will get into, although I will give you my opinion as to whether you have a good chance to be admitted at the colleges you selected.
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Will you help me to select colleges to apply to?
I do not provide counseling regarding choice of colleges as that is not my expertise, but I can provide you with a referral for that purpose. I am a “niche” specialist in college essay and resume editing as well as college application strategies. This means that you will need to already have an idea as to what colleges you will be applying to before you begin working with me. I can of course help you narrow down your choices once I have had a chance to review your test scores together with your academic and extracurricular accomplishments.
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Which colleges and universities have your clients been accepted at?
Many of the universities and colleges below were successes for multiple students. 98% of my clients were accepted at their first choice school. Those wait-listed at first choices Harvard and Yale decided to withdraw and move on to accept attractive offers from other elite universities. In a couple of cases, students opted not to attend their original college of choice because they were offered favorable financial packages at other equally competitive schools.
Amherst
Babson
Boston College
Boston College--Honors Program
Brown
Bucknell
Cornell
Duke
Duke--Robertson Scholars Program
(4 year full academic scholarship)
Eckerd
Emory
Fairfield
Flagler
Florida Atlantic
Fordham
Georgetown
Gettysburg
George Washington
Hofstra
Johns Hopkins
Lehigh
Loyola
Middlebury
Princeton
Quinnipiac
Rensselaer
Rice
Sienna
Syracuse
U Delaware
UNC at Chapel Hill
U Penn--The Wharton School
U Penn--The Jerome Fisher Program (Dual degree from Wharton/Engineering School)
U Tampa
Vanderbilt
Villanova
Wake Forest
William & Mary