Essay Writing Philosophy

I’ve helped college-bound high school seniors get through the process of writing the application essays for over a decade. By now I’ve worked with hundreds of students, some who wrote enthusiastically, and others who had to be coaxed into the task. Some enjoyed writing while others saw it as something on their to-do list, some took to the process easily and others tried to avoid it for as long as they possibly could. Through coaching and coaxing, watching and witnessing this writing process, through reading bad drafts and better ones, I’ve learned a lot about how students dream up, write, and revise their college essays. I think the most important lessons, though, boil down to the following truths I’d like to share with you in the following posts.

Remember, experts don’t always know everything. If we work together, you will find me offering you lots of advice along with many checks and balances that are meant to help you avoid scuttling your own intentions, especially with the sort of impetuous late-night brilliance that fades in the morning. But you will always find me supporting this statement: Your college essay is YOUR college essay. In the end, you’re the writer, and you get to say. Given the subject matter who could write your personal essay better than you?