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14 Best College Essay Services for 2024 (40 Services Reviewed)

Research conducted by Emily Kierkegaard , PhD, and expert-reviewed by Kevin Wong, PrepMaven Co-founder

Not sure which college application essay coaching and editing service is the best? We compared the top 40 services, created in-depth reviews for 14 of them, and narrowed it down to the 4 best that will help guide you through the process of writing amazing college application essays.

What is the Best College Essay Service?

• PrepMaven  – best college application essay service overall
• College Essay Mentor  – best for individual consultants
• The College Essay Guy  – best for unlimited essay assistance
• College Vine  – best of the big platforms

The best of the rest:

Individual essay consultants:

• College Essay Editor  – small editing team
• Allison Karpf  – former English teacher helping students
• Your College Vision  – former journalist with more affordable rates
• The College Guru  – good on paper but unresponsive
• Sofia Zapiola – budget-friendly application assistance

Mid-size teams:

• Lotus Learning  – focus on health sciences

Large platforms:

• Study Point  – larger platform with mystery editors
• Ivy Select  – larger platform with mystery editors
• Empowerly  – larger platform with mystery editors
• BeMo  – expensive and aggressive with wrong expertise

Schedule a college essay consultation

Best College Application Essay Services in 2024

#1 – prepmaven.

Our Verdict — Best College Essay Assistance Overall Price: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package) PrepMaven’s one-on-one college essay assistance is the best option overall. Founded by brothers and Princeton grads Greg and Kevin, almost all of PrepMaven’s essay coaches have Ivy-League experience, primarily from Princeton and Harvard. All essay coaches also undergo a thorough training program in PrepMaven’s methods, developed by professional writers with deep understanding of the college admissions process, for helping students to discover the most compelling stories for their essays. Unlike other services, PrepMaven offers college essay assistance at several different price points. At the most accessible rate, students can work with current Ivy-League undergraduates who specialize in writing and have recently aced the college application process. At higher rates, students can work with coaches who are both Ivy-League grads and professional writers (screenwriters, journalists, editors) with many years of experience helping students to craft compelling essays. Interested students can even work directly with founders Greg and Kevin, who have over 15 years of experience helping students through the entire essay-writing process. PrepMaven’s services combine many of the best features of other good options into one, and it’s hard to beat their experience.

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help now

Any student wanting college essay help, at any point in the process, with a range of budgets.

At a glance:

• Cost: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package)
• Writing coach qualifications: Princeton graduates and professional writers (or current Princeton students); all trained

What we like:

• Ivy League experience —most of their writing coaches are Princeton grads or current students, with some from Harvard and other Ivies
• Different pricing options to meet different families’ circumstances
• More flexible and greater capacity to take on new students compared to individual consultants

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help

#2 – College Essay Mentor

Our Verdict — Best of the Individual Consultants Price: unknown but high Some college essay consulting services consist of just one expert. Of these individual essay consultants, Chris Hunt at College Essay Mentor is our favorite. He combines writing experience as a journalist for the Economist and the Wall Street Journal with personal experience as a graduate of Dartmouth. However, he only works with a small number of students each year, and students need to apply to work with him — he only accepts students with top grades and test scores who are already strong applicants for top schools. Chris offers the option for one-time written feedback, but this only gives big-picture generalizations. (And written-only feedback is always limited.) In order for help with the essay process, students need to purchase a complete essay package.

Students with top grades and test scores who want to work with a one-person business, who have a sizable budget, and who are ready to get started early.

• Cost: $210 for a one-time written essay feedback (big picture only), then $110 per draft feedback; pricing for essay process packages unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: professional journalist, Dartmouth grad
• Professional writing experience as a journalist
• Extensive experience working with college applicants
• Partners with Debra Felix, former Director of Admissions at Columbia, for full application review

What we don’t like:

• One-on-one work is limited to very high-achieving students, who need to apply with a resume : “I limit my one-on-one work to students who I believe will be strong applicants to elite universities. As a rule, this means having high grades in challenging classes, a test score of ACT 34+ or SAT 1500+, and substantial activities outside of the classroom.”
• Works with a limited number of students (60 per year), so often no availability
• All-or-nothing packages don’t allow students to work with Chris for just a few hours or for part of the essay-writing process
• Secretive about pricing (he’ll only give pricing details once he’s reviewed the student’s resume and agreed to work with them), but we expect the minimum cost of working one-on-one to be several thousand dollars

#3 – The College Essay Guy

Our Verdict — Best for Unlimited Essay Assistance Price: $4900 for application to 3 schools, $8050 for application for 10 schools We’re fans of Ethan Sawyer, the original “college essay guy”— his book, College Essay Essentials , is a great guide to the essay-writing process. Ethan doesn’t work directly with many students these days, but he now has a team of consultants who help students follow his principles. Their assistance is really all-or-nothing — they prefer to work with students from the very beginning of the process, and their minimum package is $4900, which includes assistance with essays for three schools. If students are applying to ten schools (a more realistic number for students aiming at competitive colleges), the fee is a hefty $7400.

Students who want unlimited help through the entire process, who have a sizable budget.

• Cost: $4900 (supplemental essays for 3 schools) – $7400 (supplemental essays for 10 schools)
• Essay coach qualifications: mix of Ivy grads and former teachers, some writers/screenwriters; all trained
• Great free resources about the essay-writing process
• Their Matchlighters Scholars Program gives back to the community by providing admissions consulting for select qualifying students
• All-or-nothing packages have a high minimum fee and don’t work for students who want just a few hours of feedback or help with just part of the process

#4 – College Vine

Our Verdict — Best of the Big Platforms Price: $140–180/hour There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Of these big platforms, we think CollegeVine has the best offerings. Compared to other large companies, CollegeVine provides more information about their tutors, and students can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster. However, this model is really just a way of finding individual tutors to hire. Tutors don’t receive any training and don’t share a common approach, so it’s a mixed bag. Their rates are fairly high for part-time tutors who don’t have specific expertise and training in college essay consulting. Because CollegeVine is really just a marketplace where individual tutors can find students, the quality and price will vary widely.

Students who want to work with a big company, or those who want a quick session or two to go over their essays.

• Cost: Typically $140–180/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: no specific qualifications, but a few are Ivy League graduates
• Possible to select individual editors to work with from their roster.
• Easy to schedule ad-hoc sessions with a tutor through the website.
• No training or common approach for tutors
• Editors are part-time , with no option to work with full-time college admissions experts
• Relatively expensive for this level of expertise

College Essay Editing Alternatives (that Didn’t Make the Cut)

Individual essay consultants, #5 – college essay editor.

Our Verdict — Small Editing Team Price: Roughly $5,950 for applications to 10 schools College Essay Editor comprises two graduates of Stanford. This means that they have personal experience applying to highly competitive schools. One member of the team also has a college counseling certification, which is a good background for college essays. Based on their website, they appear to focus on the editing and proofreading phase of the essay-writing process. This can be helpful to students, but we recommend working with a service who can help students to uncover their values and brainstorm really great material that allows them to really shine—and if this doesn’t happen at the beginning of the process, it’s much harder to add in later on.

• Cost: $195/1000 words for proofreading, $495/1000 words for 3 rounds of editing and proofreading, or $595/1000 words for unlimited rounds of editing and proofreading; for the purposes of comparison, complete applications to 10 competitive colleges would be around 9,650 words, or $5950.
• Writing coach qualifications: Stanford graduates, one of whom has college counseling certification
• Editors are graduates of Stanford University , and one is a member of NACAC, the national association of college counselors
• They focus on editing and proofreading only , not on the crucial earlier steps of brainstorming and strategy
• Small team with very limited availability
• All asynchronous editing so you won’t be able to cultivate a real relationship with your essay coach.

#6 – Allison Karpf

Our Verdict — Former English Teacher Helping Students Price: $385/hour or $3850 package for application to one school Another option for students looking to hire an individual consultant is Allison Karpf. Allison is a former high school English teacher and a graduate of UC Berkeley who also holds a Masters of Education from Stanford. Her rates are definitely on the higher side, especially for someone who doesn’t have a professional writing background, but she does have extensive experience working with students to craft their essays.

• Cost:  $385/hour or $3850 unlimited counseling (includes supplemental essays for one college)
• Essay coach qualifications: former high school English teacher; Berkeley grad, Stanford MEd
• Lots of experience helping students improve their college essays
• Very quick to respond to client requests
• No professional writing experience or Ivy-Plus undergraduate experience
• High rates relative to other options
• Limited availability , since she works alone

#7 – Your College Vision

Our Verdict: Former Journalist with More Affordable Rates Price: $180/hour, or packages starting from $3500 Laurie Lande is another individual consultant who helps students through the essay-writing process. She comes recommended by other consultants like Chris from College Essay Mentor . Laurie did not herself attend a highly competitive school, so she doesn’t have that personal experience of going through the selective admissions process, but she does have a professional writing background as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.

• Cost: $180/hour or packages starting at $3500
• Essay coach qualifications: journalism background
• Affordable pricing , relative to other options
• Not a graduate of a highly selective school

#8 – The College Guru

Our Verdict — Good on Paper but Unresponsive Price: unknown Yet another individual essay consultant is Geanine Thompson from The College Guru. Geanine attended Dartmouth as an undergraduate and also holds an MBA from Duke. She also has a professional writing background as an assistant book editor at Berkley Publishing Group. Like Greg and Kevin at PrepMaven , she combines experience in the business world and at Wall Street firms with experience in education.

• Cost: unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: former assistant book editor; Dartmouth grad, Duke MBA
• Dartmouth graduate and former book editor
• Not responsive to emails and client requests

#9 – Sofia Zapiola

Our Verdict — A budget-friendly, personal essay editor. Price: $80/hour Yet another individual essay consultant is Sofia Zapiola, who offers a mix of essay editing and college application counseling services.

• Cost: $80/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: M.A. from Harvard; certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego.
• Individual approach, budget-friendly rates, commitment to working within families’ budgets.
• Very few testimonials, so it’s difficult to evaluate how effective she is.

Mid-size Teams

#10 – lotus learning.

Our Verdict — Expensive for Tutor Background Price: $165/hour Founded by a Harvard grad who is a former teacher and veteran of the publishing industry, Lotus learning offers college essay help in the Boston area. They have a small team of tutors, mostly recent grads from good but not Ivy-Plus colleges, and mostly with focus in health sciences.

• Cost: $165/hour (minimum 8 hours)
• Essay coach qualifications: tutors are recent grads, but not Ivy-Plus schools
• Reasonable pricing with flexible packages
• Essay editors aren’t graduates of Ivy-Plus schools and don’t have professional writing experience

Large platforms

#11 – study point.

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: Rates Between $60 and $120/hr Study Point is a larger essay editing service. They claim to have several decades of experience helping students to craft their college essays, but they do not give information about who their essay coaches are and what qualifications they might have.

• Cost: $60-120/hr, depending on tutor experience
• Essay coach qualifications: unknown
• Larger company with several decades of experience
• Unclear who the essay coaches are
• Lack of statistics about their results

#12 – Ivy Select

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: unknown Ivy Select makes a lot of big promises on their website about having the best college essay consultants in the business, but they offer no information on who these consultants are, or on their backgrounds. They also brag that each consultant “only” works 20 students in one application cycle, but in our experience, that’s quite high.

• Long list of impressive (but anonymous) testimonials
• Only work with “top students”
• No information on their website about who the editors are
• Each essay coach works with up to 20 students at one time

#13 – Empowerly

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: High, from $6000/year Empowerly has over 60 college counselors who each work with an average of 5 students per year, in order to have more time to devote to each student. Their counselors come from “different educational backgrounds,” and while they do not provide specific biographical details we can assume that most of their essay coaches did not attend highly selective schools.

• Cost: typically from $6000/year
• Essay coach qualifications: college counselors
• Counselors work with just a few students per year
• You have to upgrade to “Empowerly Elite” to guarantee a counselor with a more selective educational background
• No professional writing experience

#14 – Prepory

Our Verdict — Expensive but with Good Expertise Price: $325/hr Prepory is a college application and career counseling service that offers a comprehensive program for college applications at any stage of the process (including as early as 9th grade). They make a lot of impressive claims about the expertise of their coaches, but it’s quite difficult to actual find much information about their essay coach qualifications.

• Cost: $325/hr
• They have a comprehensive college application program that begins as early as 9th grade.
• Limited information about essay coaches
• High prices

Top 40 College Essay Services Considered

• College Essay Editor
• The College Essay Guy
• College Vine
• College Essay Mentor
• Study Point
• Allison Karpf
• The College Guru
• Lotus Learning
• Summit Prep
• Sofia Zapiola
• Ivy Global / New Summits
• College Essay Solutions
• Your College Vision
• Essay Edge*
• ServicEscape*
• PapersForge*
• QuickWriter*
• JustEditMyEssay*
• JustDoMyEsssay*
• ExpertWriting*
• SpeedyPaper*
• GradeMiners*

* A number of services will edit essays directly for students, or even write portions of the essay for students. We do not condone this. Admissions officers can tell when essays have been written or edited by adults and this can have severe consequences. We have excluded these services from our reviews.

Why are college application essays important?

Can a great college essay alone get you into Harvard?

No. You’ll need your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities (as well as letters of recommendation and interview) to be outstanding.

But can a mediocre essay be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard?

Yes. There are thousands of amazingly-qualified students who graduate from high school each year. Great grades and test scores might be a prerequisite for admission to a competitive college, but they alone aren’t enough.

College essays are a key component of a student’s application . When done well, they transform a collection of numbers—GPA, class rank, SAT or ACT scores , number of AP classes taken, AP scores—into a glimpse of a real, individual person.

Essays do many things. Good college essays can highlight extracurricular achievements which otherwise would be overlooked in a sterile list. Strong essays often indicate the student’s future plans —how they plan to leave a mark on their college campus and on the world. They can shine a light on unique challenges that a student may have had to face on their journey.

College admissions officers only have a few minutes to spend on each application. College essays need to be original, interesting, and memorable . They need to grab the attention of the admissions officer and persuade them that this is the student out of hundreds or thousands of other similarly-qualified applicants who should be admitted.

College admissions essays are usually unlike any other kind of writing that students have done before. They’re a combination of memoir and marketing pitch, and they need to be creative but also highly strategic. That’s a tough assignment!

What’s more, students are left to figure this assignment out on their own. A thoughtful and generous high school English teacher may provide guidance or offer to read essays and give feedback, but these teachers are responsible for many students, and they’re (usually) not experts in admissions strategies.

There’s another reason college essays are especially important from 2024 on. After the recent Supreme Court decision, the application essay has become one of the main ways that you can communicate how your racial identity has affected your life.

In fact, the New York Times published an article about how important it can be for students to discuss race in their college application essays!

Why work with a college essay service?

You may want to consider a college essay service if:

• You have no idea where to start in order to write your college application essays
• You feel overwhelmed by all of the different ideas you have and don’t know what would be the most strategic for college admissions—and what topics to definitely avoid for college essays
• You don’t know how to craft a compelling stor y
• You’re not sure how to edit and refine what you’ve written
• You have a hard time keeping yourself on track and want an external structure to hold you accountable
• You’re tired of conflict between students and parents about college essays
• You’re aiming at a competitive college (not just the Ivy League!) and know that you need your essays to be outstanding
• Your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars aren’t exceptional, so you need your essay to make your essay stand out from the pack
• You’re unfamiliar with the US college admissions process (a common situation for international students and first-generation families in the US)

Any of these are strong reasons to consider working with a college essay service!

It’s also worth remembering that a lot of the free advice on college’s website isn’t always very clear. For example, NYU’s admissions Senior Assistant Director of Admissions says that “There is no right or wrong way to answer as long as your answer is genuine to you.”

While that’s true, that doesn’t offer much guidance on how to actually write the essay!

Though many college applicants might not mention it, more and more students are using professional college application consultants. Research at the University of Chicago has shown that over a quarter of high-achieving seniors employed private specialists to help with the college application process.

In fact, according to NPR , some companies are even offering college admissions counseling to their top employees as an incentive–that’s just how important professional help can be in the current landscape of college admissions.

It’s important to note that a good college essay service will not write your college application essays for you . This is unethical and illegal. That’s not just coming from us: take it from a school like Princeton, whose website insists on the importance of writing your own application essays.

A good college essay service will guide you through each step of the process , teaching you how to self-reflect and write well while sharing insider insight about admissions strategy .

What makes a good college essay service?

We strongly believe that students need to write their own college essays , and we do not condone plagiarism or “buying” a college essay.

However, writing college application essays requires a completely new set of skills that is rarely taught in high school!

Writing a personal essay is much more creative than simply writing a good paper for English class. It requires a compelling narrative and a great deal of writing craft . A good essay service will teach how to do this kind of writing.

There are many college essay services that will provide only written feedback to students, usually in the form of comments added to an essay draft. (Remember, it’s important that students write their own essays, so avoid any college essay service that will make edits directly to an essay document .)

Written comments can be an effective component of good essay coaching. However, writing college essays is a deeply personal process , and it’s incredibly difficult to guide a student through the process of self-reflection, brainstorming, and planning purely through written comments.

In addition, a great college essay coach will teach students how to do this entire process of brainstorming, planning, outlining, writing, and revising . It’s difficult to learn why an essay coach is advising certain changes through written comments alone.

For these reasons, look for a college essay service with live, one-on-one services , not just written feedback. These days, it’s easy to work with the best college essay consultants in the country over Zoom!

Students need to reflect on their goals, their passions, and what drives them to be the person they are. This requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-analysis . An experienced college essay coach can help draw these ideas out of students through tested introspection techniques and brainstorming exercises .

On top of all of that, students need to be cognizant of which traits and accomplishments will be most appealing to colleges , and which stories will be cliche and boring. Personal statements and supplementary essays need to fit together to tell a cohesive story, and they need to work together with the rest of the student’s application (extracurriculars, grades, and other accomplishments).

In other words, there’s a great deal of strategy here! An experienced college essay service can help students decide how to present themselves in the best possible light .

Furthermore, most students don’t know how to edit effectively . A really top-notch college essay service will also teach students how to edit their own writing —how to reorder sections for better flow, cut unnecessary words to meet a word count, eliminate passive verbs, and make their writing vivid and exciting. Our students are routinely amazed by how transformative this step can be, and how much they learn by doing it together with the essay coach.

Finally, the best college essay services can also help students to make a writing plan and keep them on track , so that parents don’t have to be involved directly.

Ready to work on your college essays? Schedule a free 15- to 30-minute consultation with Jessica or one of our founders.

Best overall: PrepMaven’s tutors offer the highest quality at the best price. With three tiers of tutors, they make it easy to work with an Ivy League undergraduate for as little as $79/hr. Or, families can work with education professionals or Ivy League graduates from $150/hr. PrepMaven’s track record means that you can be sure every hour is being spent productively, so that you can expect real results from the work.

Best for individual consultants: College Essay Mentor. In theory, College Essay Mentor would offer an unparalleled level of individual attention and guidance: his website boasts of some very impressive results. You might find it hard to actually schedule with him, however, since he’s very selective about his clients.

Best for unlimited essay assistance: The College Essay Guy might not offer that personalized attention you get from live, face to face essay coaching, but they do offer unlimited essay editing for up to 10 schools (if you’re comfortable paying a hefty package price).

Best of the big platforms: College Vine will always be a bit of a gamble. Because it’s a tutor marketplace, your results (and costs) will really depend on how lucky you get with your consultant. From our research, however, many of their essay coaches look to have solid track records.

Ready to work on college essays with one of our experienced writing coaches? Schedule a free test prep consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

It’s always best to start early and not wait until the last minute to write your college essays! Remember that essays can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of writing now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later. 

We work with students at all stages of the writing process, from I-have-no-idea-what-to-write to final edits. To start working with an Ivy-League writing coach today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

Schedule a free college essay consultation

Top College Essay Posts

• 14 Best College Essay Services for 2023 (40 Services Reviewed)
• Qualities of a Successful College Essay
• 11 College Essays That Worked
• How to Answer the UC Personal Insight Questions
• How Colleges Read your College Applications (A 4-Step Process)
• How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essays
• The Diamond Strategy: How We Help Students Write College Essays that Get Them Into Princeton (And Other Ivy League Schools)
• What is the College Essay? Your Complete Guide for 202 4
• College Essay Brainstorming: Where to Start
• How to Write the Harvard Supplemental Essays
• How to Format Your College Essay

Emily graduated  summa cum laude  from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

Tips for writing an effective college essay.

College admissions essays are an important part of your college application and gives you the chance to show colleges and universities your character and experiences. This guide will give you tips to write an effective college essay.

Want free help with your college essay?

UPchieve connects you with knowledgeable and friendly college advisors—online, 24/7, and completely free. Get 1:1 help brainstorming topics, outlining your essay, revising a draft, or editing grammar.

Writing a strong college admissions essay

Learn about the elements of a solid admissions essay.

Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes

Learn some of the most common mistakes made on college essays

Brainstorming tips for your college essay

Stuck on what to write your college essay about? Here are some exercises to help you get started.

How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Learn how formal your college essay should be and get tips on how to bring out your natural voice.

Taking your college essay to the next level

Hear an admissions expert discuss the appropriate level of depth necessary in your college essay.

Student Stories

Student Story: Admissions essay about a formative experience

Get the perspective of a current college student on how he approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about personal identity

Get the perspective of a current college student on how she approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about community impact

Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

This content is licensed by Khan Academy and is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

How to Write Your College Essay: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide

Getting ready to start your college essay? Your essay is very important to your application — especially if you’re applying to selective colleges.

Become a stronger writer by reviewing your peers’ essays and get your essay reviewed as well for free.

We have regular livestreams during which we walk you through how to write your college essay and review essays live.

College Essay Basics

Just getting started on college essays? This section will guide you through how you should think about your college essays before you start.

• Why do essays matter in the college application process?
• What is a college application theme and how do you come up with one?
• How to format and structure your college essay

Before you move to the next section, make sure you understand:

How a college essay fits into your application

What a strong essay does for your chances

How to create an application theme

Learn the Types of College Essays

Next, let’s make sure you understand the different types of college essays. You’ll most likely be writing a Common App or Coalition App essay, and you can also be asked to write supplemental essays for each school. Each essay has a prompt asking a specific question. Each of these prompts falls into one of a few different types. Understanding the types will help you better answer the prompt and structure your essay.

• How to Write a Personal Statement That Wows Colleges
• Personal Statement Essay Examples
• How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity Essay
• Extracurricular Essay Examples
• Tips for Writing a Diversity College Essay
• Diversity Essay Examples
• Tips for Writing a Standout Community Service Essay
• How to Write the “Why This Major” Essay
• How to Write a “Why This Major” Essay if You’re Undecided
• How to write the “Why This College” Essay
• How to Research a College to Write the “Why This College” Essay
• Why This College Essay Examples
• How to Write The Overcoming Challenges Essay
• Overcoming Challenges Essay Examples

Identify how each prompt fits into an essay type

What each type of essay is really asking of you

How to write each essay effectively

The Common App essay

Almost every student will write a Common App essay, which is why it’s important you get this right.

• How to Write the Common App Essay
• Successful Common App Essay Examples
• 5 Awesome College Essay Topics + Sample Essays
• 11 Cliché College Essay Topics + How to Fix Them

How to choose which Common App prompts to answer

How to write a successful Common App essay

What to avoid to stand out to admissions officers

Supplemental Essay Guides

Many schools, especially competitive ones, will ask you to write one or more supplemental essays. This allows a school to learn more about you and how you might fit into their culture.

These essays are extremely important in standing out. We’ve written guides for all the top schools. Follow the link below to find your school and read last year’s essay guides to give you a sense of the essay prompts. We’ll update these in August when schools release their prompts.

See last year’s supplemental essay guides to get a sense of the prompts for your schools.

Essay brainstorming and composition

Now that you’re starting to write your essay, let’s dive into the writing process. Below you’ll find our top articles on the craft of writing an amazing college essay.

• Where to Begin? 3 Personal Essay Brainstorming Exercises
• Creating the First Draft of Your College Application Essay
• How to Get the Perfect Hook for Your College Essay
• What If I Don’t Have Anything Interesting To Write About In My College Essay?
• 8 Do’s and Don’t for Crafting Your College Essay
• Stuck on Your College Essay? 8 Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Understand how to write a great hook for your essay

Complete the first drafts of your essay

Editing and polishing your essay

Have a first draft ready? See our top editing tips below. Also, you may want to submit your essay to our free Essay Peer Review to get quick feedback and join a community of other students working on their essays.

• 11 Tips for Proofreading and Editing Your College Essay
• Getting Help with Your College Essay
• 5 DIY Tips for Editing Your College Essay
• How Long Should Your College Essay Be?
• Essential Grammar Rules for Your College Apps
• College Essay Checklist: Are You Ready to Submit?

Proofread and edited your essay.

Had someone else look through your essay — we recommend submitting it for a peer review.

Make sure your essay meets all requirements — consider signing up for a free account to view our per-prompt checklists to help you understand when you’re really ready to submit.

Advanced College Essay Techniques

Let’s take it one step further and see how we can make your college essay really stand out! We recommend reading through these posts when you have a draft to work with.

• 10 Guidelines for Highly Readable College Essays
• How to Use Literary Devices to Enhance Your Essay
• How to Develop a Personalized Metaphor for Your College Applications

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 13 best college essay tips to craft a stellar application.

College Essays

In many ways, the most labor-intensive part of your college application process is the essay. It’s not just about forwarding transcripts or entering a list of extracurricular activities—you have to craft something personal and compelling to show the admissions committee who you are beyond your resume.

In this article, we’ll go over our 13 best tips for writing college essays. We’ll give tips for every step of the process including planning, writing, and editing your essay, as well as some quick and easy tips to boost any essays you already have written! With these college essay tips, you’ll be that much closer to the best admissions essay ever!

5 Tips for College Essay Planning

Doing a good job planning makes the college essay process that much easier. These five college essay tips will help you get started and pave the way for a great final product.

#1: Make a Plan of Attack for Your Essays

The first thing you’ll need to do is identify all the essays you’ll need to write and their deadlines. It may help you to make a spreadsheet with the essay guidelines for each school, the word count, the prompts, the due date, and any special instructions. This will help you figure out:

How many essays you’ll need to write, and how long those essays need to be.

Whether you can reuse any essays: In general, you can reuse essays for prompts that are about your life, broadly similar in theme, and have a similar word count. You probably can’t reuse essays that are very specific to the college, like “Why This College” essays .

Which essay you should write first: You’ll probably want to start first on the essay with the earliest application deadline. Alternatively, if you have plenty of time or the deadlines are close together, you could start with the longest essay (which will take the most time) or the essay that will be used for the most schools (like a Common Application essay). Do what you feel most comfortable with.

With all this information gathered, you’ll be able to make a plan of attack for your essays and make sure nothing gets lost in the application shuffle. (In fact, I actually advise keeping track of all necessary components of your application in a spreadsheet for the same reason).

#2: Start Early

You want to start writing way before the deadline. If possible, give yourself at least two months, and maybe even more time if you can. This will make sure that you have enough time to adequately plan your essay, draft it, and edit it.  

And, of course, the more essays you have to write, the earlier you should start!

#3: Choose the Right Topic

Choosing the right topic has two facets: first, choosing the right prompt (if there’s a choice) and second, choosing the right topic to write about for that prompt.

The Right Prompt

If there’s a choice of prompts, you may want to actually start by brainstorming the specific topic or thing in your life that you want to write about, and then reverse-engineer back to the most appropriate prompt. Most college essay prompts are pretty vague, so a broad range of topics and issues can be applied.

You can also use prompts to help you brainstorm if you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write about. Think about the prompt that seems most appealing to you at first. What intrigues you about it? What do you think you could communicate about yourself through that question?

Here’s some tailored guidance on some of the most common college essay prompt types . And if you’re writing a Common Application essay, here’s advice on how to choose the right Common App prompt for you .

The Right Topic

When you’re trying to choose something about your life to write about, consider the following:

What are you excited to write about? A good college essay can be about a wide variety of topics, but it should show that you’re passionate about something. This could be anything from a hobby you have to your favorite book or even your most beloved stuffed animal, just so long as you can make it memorable and positive. Also, your writing will be a lot better if you are writing about something you care about and are interested in!

Whatever you write about should be primarily about you. You should be the focal point. Even if you’re writing about someone who has influenced you, for example, you need to relate it back to yourself. What does this tell admission officers about you?

What makes you stand out? This should be something that goes beyond what’s in the rest of your application. Your test scores and GPA are already there. What really shows something unique about you?

Choose a topic you can be honest about . If you’re not being genuine, it will end up coming through in your writing. So don’t write about how much your membership in Youth Group meant to you if you only went to make your mom happy and you actually didn’t care that much.

In general, you should avoid topics that are overly controversial, like things that are politically charged, doing things that are illegal, or anything involving graphic descriptions of any bodily function. So if you’re going to write about recovering from hip surgery, probably leave out the gory details of you being constipated and your oozy scars.

Check out our 35 brainstorming techniques for college essays for even more help coming up with a topic!

If you’re really stumped, consider asking your friends and family what they think could be good topics. They may help you figure out something memorable and interesting. But also, don’t feel like you have to write about a topic just because someone else thinks it would be great. You need to be genuinely interested in what you’re writing about to write an engaging essay!

#4: Decide on Your Approach

In general, there are two main approaches you might take to write your essay. It might primarily take a narrative format, or it might take a thematic format.

In a narrative format, you’ll be relating a particular anecdote or experience and what it means to you. In a thematic format, you’ll present a particular theme—say, your love of parakeets or your secret talent for balancing books on your head—and expound on that theme in a descriptive way to reveal more about you and your personality.

Sometimes your approach will be determined by the prompt or topic that you choose. For example, if a prompt says to relate a particular event or anecdote, you’ll probably use a narrative approach. By contrast, if you want to write about how your favorite book changed your life, that will probably be a thematic essay.

#5: Write an Outline

Doing a little bit of outlining before you put fingertips to keyboard to write your essay is always a good idea. You don’t necessarily need to make a super-detailed plan before you starting writing, but a general idea of where you are going and the points you want to make will be very helpful when you start drafting. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending a lot of time staring at a blank Word document.

Yes, good, very detailed essay plan. 

4 Top College Essay Writing Tips

Here are four tips for writing college essays and making sure your work  stands out in a good way:

#6: Use Specific Details

The more details you use, the more your writing will come alive. Try to use words that are vivid and specific, instead of ones that are vague like “nice,” “good,” and so on. This will really flesh out the scene and help the reader picture what’s going on.

So take something like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my little brother to ride a bicycle. I encouraged him to keep going when he fell down. Now he’s a great cyclist!

To something more like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my eight-year-old brother to ride the racy red bicycle he got for his birthday. He wanted to give up when he took a tumble and skidded across the sidewalk. But while I bandaged up his knees with Batman band-aids, I convinced him to give it another try. I told him to think about how he would be able to bike all around the neighborhood exploring. Now I smile whenever I see him zooming down our street—wearing his helmet, of course!

See the difference? Wouldn’t you rather read the second one?

#7: Be Genuine

It’s important to get beyond the superficial in your personal statement. You should be writing about something that’s genuinely important or significant to you, so try to get beyond the surface. Instead of writing vague platitudes about how you really like the violin but it’s hard, really get at the meat: did you ever think about quitting? What’s frustrated you the most? What really keeps you going?

This means you shouldn’t try to write about things where it’s too painful to be honest. So if your parents got a divorce last year, it may be too raw to write about, which is perfectly fine. If, however, they got divorced when you were 5 and you can honestly reflect on how it changed your life, go for it.

Of course, you want to be honest in a reasonable and appropriate way. If you overshare, it will make it seem like you have bad judgment or don’t understand social norms—not good impressions to give the admissions committee. So probably don’t write about how much you despise your mother and think she is evil since she had an affair with your school librarian. It’s fine to feel how you feel, but there are some things that are a little too charged to write in your college essay.

#8: Be Unique, but Not Bizarre

You definitely want your writing to set you apart—but you want it to set you apart in a good way. This means you want high-quality writing about unique experiences and qualities you bring to the table that aren’t covered elsewhere in your application.

This does not mean you should get really avant-garde with your essay formatting. Don’t send in a piece of art instead of an essay, or make a video, or write a poem instead of an essay, unless those things are explicitly allowed.

Similarly, while your essay doesn’t have to be 100% deadly serious in tone, you should be careful with humor. This doesn’t mean absolutely no jokes or tongue-in-cheek moments or that your essay should read like an 18th-century book of sermons. But if your essay relies too much on humor, you’ve got a lot riding on whether or not the person reading your essay “gets” it. They may well be annoyed. So deploy humor carefully and selectively.

#9: Avoid Cliches and Platitudes

The more cliches you use in your writing, the more boring and less insightful your essay will be. Cliches are phrases that are so overused that they are essentially meaningless, and they are likely to make any reader roll their eyes. Phrases like “a dime a dozen,” “outside the box,” “cold as ice,” “dirt cheap,” “flash in the pan,” and so on are frequently deployed in conversation because they convey a common idea quickly. But you don’t want your essay to be common, so avoid cliches. Try to think about how you can communicate the same idea in a more specific and interesting way.

Here’s a list of over 600 cliches . But for the most part, you won’t need a list; you’ll know something is a cliche because you will have heard it a million times already.

You should also avoid platitudes or sweeping generalizations about life. These are statements that are so broad and far-reaching as to be both obvious and completely uninsightful.

So avoid making statements like “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” or “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” You may think you sound sage or wise, but the truth is, platitudes are going to sound immature and poorly-formed to the reader. Similarly, don’t say things that sound like they could come from an inspirational quote account on Instagram. (See, ahem, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take,” “Shoot for the moon,” and so on.)

How do you avoid the platitude problem? Try to keep what you’re saying specific to you. So instead of saying “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” try, “This experience helped me to realize that when I put concentrated effort into something that’s important to me, I can accomplish it even when there are roadblocks.” Keep the focus on what you can and will do in your own life.

Avoid  trite sayings like this one.

2 Tips for Editing Your College Essay

You may think that once you’ve gotten a draft done that you’re good to go. Not so! Editing is one of the most important parts of writing the best college essay possible, and here are two essential college essay tips for editing.

Tip #10: Ask for Help

It’s always wise to get another set of eyes on your college essays. In fact, several sets of eyes is even better! Other people can help you make sure your essay flows, you have enough detail, that everything is relevant, and that you sound as engaging and interesting as you really are! They can also help you catch typos and other minor errors—although you’ll want to double and triple-check for that yourself before submitting.

Here’s advice on how to ask for help with all parts of the college essay process , including editing.

Tip #11: Be Prepared to Cut a Lot

Brace yourself for cutting up your initial draft into tiny little ribbons and rearranging the remaining pieces Frankenstein-style. A first draft is really just a starting place to get your ideas down before you revamp the entire thing into a more streamlined, better organized, highly polished version. So you have to be ready to let go of pieces of your essay, no matter how much you love a particular turn of phrase or analogy. The ultimate goal is to turn the rough stone of your first draft into a polished and clear piece of writing—and that’s going to take a lot of chipping and sanding!

2 Final Tips for College Essay Success

Here are two quick but essential college essay tips you can implement easily.

Tip #12: Have a Standout First Sentence

One thing you can do to give any essay a boost is to make sure that your first sentence is attention-grabbing. If you can pique the interest of the admissions counselor right away, you’ll help keep their attention throughout your essay.

Here’s our guide to getting that perfect first sentence!

Tip #13: Triple-check for Typos and Errors

The most important quick thing you can do for your essay is to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. It will make your essay look sloppy and unfinished, and that’s the last thing you want! College admissions officers expect a polished product, and there’s nothing less polished than misspelled words and comma splices.

13 College Essay Tips: Key Takeaways for a Great College Essay

To recap, here’s our 13 tips for the best college essay ever:

College Essay Planning Tips:

• Create a plan of attack for all of your essays so you can keep track of everything.
• Start early—at least two months before the due date, if not more.
• Choose the right prompt and topic for you.
• Decide between a narrative or a thematic approach to the topic.
• Outline before you start writing!

College Essay Writing Tips:

• Use vivid, specific details.
• Be genuine—get beyond the superficial.
• Be unique, but not bizarre.
• Avoid cliches and platitudes; they are boring and unimaginative.

College Essay Editing Tips:

• Get other people to look at your essay.
• Be prepared to change, cut, and rearrange a lot!

Final Tips for College Essays:

• Make sure your first sentence is stellar.
• Triple check for typos and grammatical errors!

What’s Next?

You’ve read our tips for success—now see 10 college essay mistakes to avoid .

Looking for some college essay examples? See 133 essay examples and expert analysis here , along with 11 more places to find great college essay examples .  

Check out our complete guides to ApplyTexas essays , UC Personal Insight questions , and the Common Application essay !

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?  We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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Looking for College Essay Help? Here Are Your Options

• 8-minute read
• 8th August 2023

You have your first college essay to write, so what are your options for getting help? You knew where to get help back in high school, but college is a whole new hockey game. Should you pay someone to write your essay? Should you talk to your professor? Your roommate?

Fret not, because we will outline your options for getting help with your college essay .

In this post, you will learn:

●  Where to go to get help with essay writing.

●  Our take on essay writing services.

●  Advice for using AI to help you with essays.

While college teaches you to be fully independent, that doesn’t mean you have to figure everything out for yourself. Even the most independent college student needs help sometimes, so you should never feel ashamed for needing help.

Writing an essay is no easy task. Knowing your options will get your essay off to a great start, (and you want to avoid the cardinal sin of college writing: academic plagiarism ).

Your Options for Help

1. consult your professor.

While meeting with your professor seems counterintuitive, they can offer the best advice for tackling an essay. After all, they will be assessing it. Many students avoid asking their professor for help, as they feel that the professor will view them as incompetent. Of course, this isn’t true. The professor will be glad you’re seeking their help; it shows you’re a serious student. The best time to catch your professor is after class, or during their office hours.

We recommend following this plan:

1.  Make an appointment to see your professor during their office hours (this way, they will block time for you). 

2.  Come to the appointment with questions like “What ideas or themes should I specifically focus on in this essay?”

3.  Thank them for their time.

Professors will offer suggestions and ideas but won’t revise your essay draft. That’s your job. Think of it this way: A professor will give you fuel to get the fire going; it will be up to you to keep it burning.

2. Consult Your Teaching Assistant

A teaching assistant, or TA as they are colloquially known, is another helpful option. They’re often current graduate students, so they can relate better to you than the professor. Remember that they’ve been down the road you’re traveling, so they’ll have plenty of essay-writing experience.

If you’re attending a small private university, you probably won’t have a TA for any of your classes. However, if your class does have one, we suggest consulting with them before speaking with the professor.

As a TA is also busy, we urge you to take the same approach as you would when meeting with a professor. You’ll get an optimized help session with them when you make an appointment.

3. Visit the Writing Center

You might have been introduced to the university’s writing center during orientation. Did you know that a writing center is an excellent option for essay help? Current students majoring in English and creative writing studies often work as writing center tutors. You can be assured that writing center tutors are passionate about writing. Before visiting the writing center, you’ll need to have some ideas about how to tackle the essay. Therefore, we recommend consulting your professor or TA first.

Students often have a misconception of what falls under the scope of a writing center . Some students leave a writing center session disappointed with the services they received. Therefore, we want to clarify what a writing center does and doesn’t do.

A writing center will:

●  Work with you one-on-one, taking you through the assignment and the steps needed to complete it.

●  Help strengthen your thesis statement.

●  Provide feedback to clarify your ideas and express them more effectively.

●  Aid in developing or improving self-editing strategies.

●  Help you identify your writing strengths and weaknesses.

A writing center will not:

●  Write the essay for you; that’s your job.

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●  Tell you how to write the essay from the introduction to the conclusion.

●  Fix grammar errors, typos, and word choice in an essay.

A writing center will inspire you to get cracking on the assignment; the rest will be up to you.

4. Consider a Podcast

Are you a Spotify addict? Do you often listen to podcasts? If so, why not listen to podcasts catered to students needing help with college essays? There are a variety of student-related podcasts to choose from. However, you’ll need to listen to a few to find one that strikes your fancy.

You can listen to them while you eat dinner in the cafeteria, work out at the gym, or commute to and from campus. However, we don’t suggest listening to podcasts during class lectures – you’ll miss out on key pointers for exams!

5. Find a Tutor

You can find a tutor through your university or engage another student. The former will usually be free. If you prefer the latter, you can usually find advertisements around campus. We suggest asking them a few questions before setting up a session.

Working with a tutor will take some time, as you must get to know each other first. An advantage of a private tutor is you can get one-on-one time; there might be other students in your tutoring session if it’s through the university. The advantage of university-organized tutoring is that their tutors have been interviewed and you can be assured that these tutors specialize in their subjects.

If you’re anxious to get going posthaste, a tutor may not be the best option for you.

Should I Use an Essay Writing Service?

Some students pay an essay writing service to write the essay for them. However, you should be aware of the pitfalls of using them.

Common pitfalls include:

●  The writers may not be experts on your topic.

●  You won’t have an opportunity to view the writers’ credentials.

●  Someone else is writing the essay, leaving you wanted by the Plagiarism Police.

●  You will not learn anything (the whole point of university is to learn).

Professors expect you to write an essay using your own words and ideas. Additionally, they can distinguish your writing from someone else’s. Furthermore, many universities subscribe to plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin .

The consequences of plagiarism can be quite severe, ranging from automatically failing the assignment to being expelled from the institution. Sometimes, you can receive a particular failing grade indicating you were caught plagiarizing. This grade cannot be erased from your student record.

While essay writing services are tempting, we believe they aren’t worth jeopardizing your student career.

Should I Use ChatGPT to Write My Essay?

Students are increasingly using AI to help them with their essays. Popular AI platforms such as ChatGPT can save you valuable time. However, the world of academia is catching on to AI-student interaction. Using ChatGPT to write an essay could land you in plagiarism trouble if you simply copy and paste the entire AI-produced text. Universities are currently finding ways to detect essays written by ChatGPT, so don’t think you can fool your professor.

We encourage you to use ChatGPT to help you with the topic rather than use it to write the entire essay. Like professors, your TA, and the writing center, AI can get the fire going . Here are a few ways in which ChatGPT can help:

●  Provide anecdotes about the topic.

●  Suggest interesting facts and issues about the subject.

●  Suggest an outline for the essay.

You have more essay help options than you realize. Becoming a fully independent young adult doesn’t mean that you don’t need help sometimes – we all need help from time to time. We recommend consulting your professor, TA, and your school’s writing center. When seeking help, we advise you to understand what the essay asks of you. And above all, don’t expect someone else to write the essay for you.

We urge you to use AI to help with your essay’s topic rather than using it to write the essay from scratch. Misusing AI could result in plagiarism—the cardinal sin of academic writing!

After you’ve written your essay, we strongly recommend proofreading it. All your hard work can sometimes leave typos, extra spacing, and incorrect punctuation. You shouldn’t rely on your word processor’s spell-check tool to catch them all. Proofreading can be challenging, so we recommend asking our proofreading experts to review your writing . They can check that the paper is clear and concise. Additionally, they will ensure perfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Consider submitting a 500-word document for free!

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Recent College Essays Tutoring Session Notes

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• College Essay Help

College essay help is a service with IvySelect that aids you in writing the best college application essay possible. Our college essay help specialists have world-class experience in the field of essay writing. Your college essays play an incredibly important role in the highly selective admissions process. Standardized test scores, your GPA and the rigor of your curriculum remain as pivotal pieces of your college application. But with so many students submitting test scores and grades at the highest level, how is a university able to decide to whom they should offer admission?

College Essay Writing Help From Unsurpassed College Essay Specialists

By employing a “holistic” approach to the process, admissions officers are able to separate students with very similar academic credentials. Their subjective analysis draws upon many pieces, e.g., your letters of recommendation, your activities and how they’re viewed in the context of “institutional priorities,” your “special status” as an athlete or legacy and so forth.

Your essays are very highly valued in this analysis. They provide (or should provide) insights into how you write, how you think and what you’re passionate about. Your personal statement, short answers and supplemental essays reveal your personality traits, how you visualize your academic path, and detail your life story.

Is it any wonder, then, that the vast majority of students find writing their college essays to be incredibly daunting? Due to a lack of information, anxiety and a dearth of fundamental knowledge, students often fail to write “winning” essays that can be the difference between whether or not they get in to various schools. That fate will not be yours when you work with IvySelect!

Our college admissions counselors possess an expert understanding of the essay writing process. We will guide you to write top-notch essays that stand out from your competition.

We’re sure you have many questions. How do you begin the writing process? What strategies distinguish exceptional personal statements from ordinary essays? Will I have to write many drafts? How can I make my essay stand out from other students? What methods do I use to reveal different aspects of myself in the many short answer questions and essays I’ll be writing?

Don’t Let Inadequate Resources Undermine Your Essays

The resources you might consider are simply inadequate. Your guidance and/or college counselors do not have the time to work with you on an individual basis through multiple drafts of your multiple essays. Alternatively, filled with hubris, some students believe that because they receive strong grades in English and read a book on “successful Ivy League essays,” that they are well equipped to write an outstanding personal statement.

Keep in mind that the college personal statement is a very different beast than the five-paragraph essays that make up your high school writing assignments. Admissions officers are evaluating your essays in an exceedingly different light than your English teacher. Therefore, the college essay help offered by your English teacher may totally miss the mark, as your teacher is without the requisite expertise needed.

Essay Coaching Companies Lack The Knowledge Of Our Professional College Counselors

Essay coaches share something in common with English teachers: they, too, are NOT professional college counselors. The writing background that essay coaches may have does not make them admissions experts!

IOur counselors participate in national college conferences alongside admissions officers, who share their insights about their schools and their different admissions processes. We fly all over the country to take part in professional development seminars where we receive current information on college admissions. Our consultants visit schools in the U.S. and internationally in order to help you build essays that are on-point for each university.

We are true college essay specialists, with a honed professional understanding that is way beyond essay coaching and writing services. Utilizing our experience, knowledge base and deep-level strategies, your writing will be top flight, unique and will stand head and shoulders above your competition.

We’ll Provide Insight Into How Admissions Officers Evaluate College Essays

When students lack professional college admissions guidance, they often will write essays that they think admissions officers want. They may envision a professorial old man sporting a bow tie and dowdy sports jacket as their gatekeeper. Though a few admissions officers may fit that profile, most AO’s do not belong to that demographic.

Attempting to craft an essay to impress your particular vision of an admissions officer is foolhardy. It may actually undermine your chances of getting into a particular school.

Our college counselors will help you avoid these types of pitfalls. Given our experience and knowledge, including the many conversations that we have with admissions officers, we are able to guide you in crafting authentic essays that are exceptional.

We Will Assist You In Discovering Your “Life Themes”

Students without the proper counseling often write essays that are bereft of passion and that fail to delineate who they are. Their writing, on most occasions, often does not identify their “life themes” that are part of different pieces of their applications, including resumes, letters of recommendation, the academic record as well as extracurricular activities.

Your Ivy league college counselor will help you tie together the various pieces of your application in both the academic and extracurricular contexts. Through our strategic vision, you will understand how your school-based and summer activities, as well as your personal and family experiences tie together to showcase your life themes. We’ll help you demonstrate your vision throughout your application and your essays, so that, in admissions speak, there will be the proper “resonance” across all of your college admissions documents.

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It’s not sufficient to know what to write. How you convey ideas is crucial. From experience, you understand that not all teachers, coaches and counselors have the same abilities. You simply learn more from certain individuals. Let’s face it – some people have superior talent in imparting what they know and in helping you elevate your writing.

Our Director has experience as an editor at a major New York publishing firm and is an award-winning writer. He possesses exceptional skills in helping students craft their essays. Should you work with him, you will receive guidance on your essays from an Ivy League graduate with a special talent and training to teach you how to write standout essays.

Regardless of which of our college counselors you work with, you’ll be in great hands. For example, our Senior College Admissions Consultant has a wealth of experience, having read literally thousands of essays in her role as a member of an admissions committee at one of the Ivies.

Our group of first-rate professionals will guide you in crafting personal statement that cut through the clutter in the very competitive admissions landscape at highly selective universities.

We Help You Conceptualize Standout Essays

Our college counselors will help you brainstorm concepts for your personal statements that you would most likely have not thought of on your own. Although we do not write essays for applicants, we guide you in crystallizing your ideas, direct you when your concepts flail and stop you from submitting essays that fail to answer the question or that do not make your best case for admission.

Is Hiring a College Essay Specialist Worth It? Ask Our Students and Their Parents.

College essay help testimonials, read more from our clients and what they have to say about our college essay advisement services., college essays: why are they important, the essay makes up 25% of your college application.

Essays are a key component in admissions evaluations to top-tier schools. Depending upon the university, they can represent 25% or more of your application. Writing and submitting great college essays can play an even greater role in your admissions chances to elite schools than the mere percentage they represent, however. As one of the few subjective pieces of your application, they can serve as true differentiators, helping you to maximize your competitive stature to high-end colleges.

Essays Help You Stand Out From the Competition

Top colleges are not only looking for students with exceptionally high grades and standardized test scores. In the world of highly selective schools, the vast majority of students will have the “numbers” that put them in the conversation for admission. Beyond the “hard factors” though, top-tier universities employ a holistic admissions policy that looks at the whole student. The colleges are seeking students who demonstrate academic passion, intellectual curiosity, a dedication to impactful extracurricular activities, resilience, character, kindness and a commitment to their community. Your college essays are one of the primary mechanisms for manifesting these traits that can serve as a great contrast to other students with superior numbers. Your Ivy league consultant can provide you with exceptional college essay help, so that you can stand out from the competition.

Essays Can Highlight Your Creativity

College essays do more than highlight your strengths and passions. They also demonstrate the way you express yourself. They provide insights into your personality and how you think. With our college essay help, we will make certain that your “voice” comes through. You are unique – and the story you have to tell is unique as well!

Essays Provide an Outlet to Tell Your Story

Admissions officers truly want to get to know you. It’s a hard task when they might have 10 minutes or less to review your entire admissions file. Your transcript, standardized test scores, resume and more all tell part of your story. Yet, it’s the “soft factors” or subjective pieces of your application like letters of recommendation and essays that can really make you come to life, off the page, in a three-dimensional way. Essays can elicit an emotional reaction in admissions officers reviewing your file. Your college essays can really showcase in a heartfelt way who you are, making admissions officers more inclined to advocate for you in committee if they feel a connection to you through your writing.

Essays Help Round Out Your Application

It’s one thing to simply check off a box in your application indicating what you want to study in college. Grades in AP, honors or IB Higher Level courses in high school in that discipline can also demonstrate your interest in and aptitude for a given area of study. However, it’s another thing to be able to articulate with passion and authenticity why it is that you want to pursue a major in a specific field. In your Common App essay, you can speak about a meaningful extracurricular activity that cemented your interest in pursuing study in a given area. In a “Why X College” essay, you can write about how your interest developed, the resources that the college has that will help you learn more about your intended major and why, because of that alignment, you’re a great fit for that school. Essays allow you to provide a different perspective to round out your application. The college essay help that our team provides can make a pivotal difference in your admissions outcomes.

Our Counselors Work With You For Months On Your Multiple Essays

Although the Common Application has one “main” essay prompt, students are often surprised to find that each school may require that they respond to multiple supplemental essays and short answers. Many selective schools and, of course, highly selective colleges, require you to write at least one and often two additional essays. These writings may range in length from 250 to 500 words or more. In some cases, you may find yourself responding to five to seven questions for a single university!

If you submit a polished “main” personal statement that an essay coach or your English teacher helped you with, but answer your supplemental essays and short answers with awkward writing, this will raise red flags to admissions officers. They will surmise that you had help with your main essay and that your poor writing in other essays reflects your true abilities. In such a case, you will surely lose credibility.

In order to write multiple essays that are of the same elevated, high quality as your main essay, you need to spend the time, do the hard work and receive informed guidance. Working with your college counselor in hands-on, individualized weekly meetings that take place over a period of months, your essays will truly standout and help make your best case for admission to top colleges.

The IvySelect Essay Strategy

Preliminaries.

• Analyze your academic and extracurricular profile & interests
• Learn about the student and family
• Conceptualize and develop an essay strategy
• “Life themes” exploration
• Discuss possible essay concepts
• Delineate what admissions officers look for in your essays

Essay Brainstorming & Conceptualization

• Review various approaches to develop outstanding essay themes
• The use of the “Snow Plow” to generate ideas
• Writing About “Your Passions” Method
• The “What do I believe?” Question
• The “Values” Approach
• Use of adjectives as a starting point
• Discussion of Experiences: interests, activities, family, job, philosophy
• Conceptualization through Formation of the Essay Idea

The Synthesis Stage

• Drawing together material through your experience
• Relating your experience to strengthen your positioning strategy
• Defining how the experience was significant and your “take away”
• Ascertaining your theme — revealing a truth, manifesting uniqueness
• Pre-writing concepts — consider what will make your writing sound authentic and what to include for specificity
• Avoiding trite topics that admissions readers hate
• Making sure that you answer the question
• Conferencing on what should be included in a specific essay

The Drafting Stage

• Guidance on structure
• Editing Considerations — length, flow, clarity, content, objectives, structure
• Making certain the essay follows the “Do’s & Don’ts” rules
• Discussing when you need to “kill your darlings”
• Making certain the essay resonates with emotion & passion
• Story development
• Making the “character” come to life
• Emphasizing Authenticity
• Grammar assistance
• Months-long feedback on an ongoing basis given for personal statements and short answers
• Elevation of essays by taking them through multiple drafts

The Polishing Stage

• Polishing the Introduction to “draw the reader in”
• Elevating your positioning strategy via the polish
• Making certain your ideas are defined & polished
• Polishing the flow of your personal statements
• Maximizing the depth & focus of your essays through the polish
• Making certain your essay feels “complete” by polishing your Conclusion
• Proofread for final adjustments

Our essay strategy is applied to all your essays and short answers.

Speak to a College Essay Specialist Today

Our college essay specialists have vast experience in the world of essay advisement and they know what they’re doing. Michael Goran and our team possess the talent to help you write a five-star essay, so that you have the best chance at the college or university of your dreams.

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What are families saying about CollegeVine?

“Sophie clearly went above and beyond, taking the time to absorb and reflect upon an essay that was complex in form.”

“Aja was extremely well-versed about the application process and UPenn's requirements. She also was patient to answer our random college questions.”

“Olga was terrific, she’s very knowledgeable and her response time was amazingly quick! She was a plaesure to work with!”

Where is CollegeVine available?

CollegeVine is available to students and families all over the world, though our focus is on colleges and universities located in the United States. Advisors are required to live within the United States in order to list services on CollegeVine.

What kind of services do advisors on CollegeVine offer?

Advisors on CollegeVine offer a wide range of services focused on helping students and families navigate the college admissions process. You can get help with building a school list, planning out college visits, crafting a resume, improving your extracurriculars, writing essays, preparing for interviews, creating a plan to pay for college, and so much more! To learn more about the services each advisor offers, visit their profile.

Can I work with multiple advisors?

Yes! You’re welcome to work with as many advisors as you like—thanks to CollegeVine’s collaboration tools, each advisor you work with will be able to access your profile and school list to help you make the best decisions on your journey to college.

I'm an IEC looking to expand my business—can I start advising on CollegeVine?

We're always looking for more advisors to join the network. You can apply to start advising on CollegeVine here!

College Essay Help

Writing college essays is challenging., expert guidance can help..

KD College Prep’s team of experienced college counselors and essay editors helps students better understand what college admissions officers look for in an applicant. Students learn how to craft compelling personal statements and supplemental essays, which can help improve admissions odds.

Complete the survey to schedule a free consultation with a member of our team.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING OPTIONS FOR BUSY STUDENTS

Flexible scheduling.

Choose meeting times that work for you and adjust as needed

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Learn from our experienced team of college counselors, essay editors, and advisors

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COLLEGE COUNSELING PROGRAMS

Apply now™ advantage for 11th grade.

Program includes access to 16 live-online sessions that cover key aspects of the college application process like:

• Understanding the college admissions process
• Finalizing your college list
• Paying for college
• Completing applications
• Brainstorming and writing your personal statement
• Comparing financial aid packages and more
• Preparing for quality interviews
• And much more!

The APPLY NOW! Advantage Program provides 11th graders with in-depth, live-online courses that guide students and parents through the entire college application process.

The program includes access to 16 small-group classes. These sessions go over topics such as finalizing a college list, navigating financial aid and scholarship options, writing personal statements, and so much more.

APPLY NOW! Advantage students also receive access to two Pinnacle Sessions which provide families with personalized, one-on-one guidance from a member of the college counseling team.

Additional College Counseling Programs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do college application essays still matter.

When reviewing college applications, admissions officers see a lot of statistics—test scores, GPA, class rank, etc. Admissions officers can infer a lot of things about you from these items, but these stats don’t effectively show who you are as a person. For this reason, essays are an important component of your application. Compelling essays showcase your writing skills, creativity, and reveal things about you that may show admissions staff that you’re a good fit for a specific college.

Who can help me with writing my essay?

A college essay tutor or editor can help students build a compelling essay that aligns with their college admissions goals. At KD, our college counseling team helps in a variety of ways: brainstorming topics, finding their voice, shaping a story, correcting grammar and spelling mistakes, rewriting for other colleges, and much more.

How many words does my essay need to be?

Word count for personal statements and supplemental essays can vary from college to college. However, several U.S. colleges will accept the Common App®, which recommends 400-600 words for the personal statement (sometimes called the general college application essay). Supplemental essays are typically shorter but can vary by college. When applying, follow directions as closely as possible for each application to maximize your admissions odds.

What format do college application essays use?

Your college application essays will not follow the same formal structure that is expected with high school research papers or persuasive essays. In other words, you won’t need to come up with a thesis and support it with evidence. Instead, personal statements typically tell a story in a creative way. Students don’t often encounter this type of creative writing with their high school assignments, which is why many students find it quite challenging.

KD’s college counseling team is well-versed in teaching students how to craft compelling college admissions essays, and we’ve helped hundreds of students use the essays to strengthen their applications.

What do I write in a personal statement?

A student’s personal statement should tell a story that only he or she can tell. In other words, it needs to reveal something unique about the student’s experience that connects to the chosen essay prompt. With that being said, it’s typically a challenge to do this in a unique way, and there are certain topics that students should avoid.

Read more about choosing a college essay topic , and if you need additional help, consider signing up for a college counseling program .

How do I make my essay stand out?

Our advice is don’t play it safe. Be real. Be yourself. Finding your own unique voice and using that to tell a story about yourself is typically the best move when it comes to writing a good personal statement. Of course, that is easier said than done. Working with a college essay tutor can help guide you in the right direction. Most admissions essays sound like thousands of other admissions essays, and our experienced college counseling team staff can tell you which topics are generic and which align best with your application.

For more advice, read about these steps for how to write a powerful college essay .

How much do college essay consultants charge?

The cost of working with a college essay consultant or editor varies depending on a student’s needs. Families can choose to pay by the hour for one-on-one help or purchase a program that guides students through the entire college application process. For a more accurate description of pricing, explore KD’s college counseling program options or sign up for a free consultation to discuss specific needs with a member of our college counseling team.

When should I start writing my college essays?

Many students start working on their application essays during summer or fall of senior year, but some students begin as early as spring semester of 11th grade. However, there are many factors that may prevent a student from starting at that time, such as extracurricular involvement, a challenging course load, admissions testing, etc. But remember, college applications are time-consuming, and it takes a lot of work to build one that stands out.

To find out when is the best time to start, families can schedule a free consultation to discuss individual admissions goals with our team.

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“ My feedback can only be positive, given how much you helped me get ahead with my application process. I really appreciated how much work both of you put into helping me write the best essay possible, especially reviewing my essays twice to polish them completely. In addition, I have noticed that writing my resume has released a lot of stress off my shoulder when it comes to making sure I have all the things necessary to apply to schools. ”

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“I shifted toward taking practice tests and going to workshops because I felt those were the best ways to apply the concepts (I was) learning in class. I started applying the tips and tricks that the teachers were showing me in class. In conjunction, those two things helped me raise my score a lot because I was not a math kid before KD or high school. The repetition and being able to practice in a non-stressful environment and simulating that testing experience is something that was very beneficial for me... “The college counseling team was super patient and honest about the work I was submitting. I know for a lot of kids, it’s hard to articulate who you are through 250-300 words. It was definitely... Read more...

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Key to success: college essay help

After finishing school every college applicant is dealing with certain difficulties. Gathering all grades and scores, composing list of post-school activities, a person is ready to submit an application. But here another thing appears to be done! College entrance essay is unavoidable part of graduate's routine. And here a poor future student is, sitting in front of blank piece of paper without any thoughts in his head.

It's not a secret that college essay writing demands huge efforts and plenty of time. When you are struggling with putting words and sentences together and compose a winning piece of paper you might seek for support. College essay writing service with experts of enormous experience is available to solve that problem. You won't be devoting countless hours rotating thoughts and ideas, plots and turns, fitting your writing to strict format. College essay writing help will take care of it. As a result you get charming and engaging article about yourself to impress committee.

What college essay tutor can do

If you think that someone is going to do all work while you're relaxing under sun, that's a wrong approach. College essay help consists in guidance, making you compose paperwork yourself. Details and hints will be explained to you, and it would be an elementary task to describe your own individuality to admission staff. You will learn about college essay heading and can use correct format. In fact, college essay tutor is your guide through journey to your deepest treasures. He can help not only with illustrations of best qualities you posses but teaches to ask questions and challenge yourself during work. For every kind of essay there's a specific format you need to use. When making essay scholarships for college students you need to specify why you deserve that money and how it's beneficial for college to give you that scholarship. It is strongly recommended to seek for experts help when applying for scholarship. And most importantly is use of proper format, so committee would notice immediately from college essay header that writing was made by highly organised and educated person

What traits should be reflected in essay

Even if you consider your life boring, tutor can find captivating and attractive facts in your biography. In general essay should demonstrate how significant events in past helped you to become a unique individual you are and how this very college might influence you.

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Since 2005, Wyzant has provided a way for people to learn any subject in a way that works for them.

Tutors on Wyzant Cost $35 - 60 per hour on average

Tutors using Wyzant are professional subject experts who set their own price based on their demand and skill.

Compare tutor costs. With a range of price options, there’s a tutor for every budget.

Sign up, search, and message with expert tutors free of charge.

Only pay for the time you need. Whether it’s one lesson or seven, you decide what to spend.

Get the help you need first. You’ll only be charged after your lesson is complete.

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A nationwide network

Private Tutors in Any City in Michigan

We have the largest network of qualified private tutors, so it is easy to choose your ideal tutor (and rates) from the best of the best across Michigan.

Detroit Tutors | Grand Rapids Tutors | Flint Tutors | Wyoming Tutors | Kalamazoo Tutors | Lansing Tutors | Kentwood Tutors | Warren Tutors | Sterling Heights Tutors | Ann Arbor Tutors | Canton Tutors | Westland Tutors | Dearborn Tutors | Rochester Hills Tutors | Saginaw Tutors | Livonia Tutors | Farmington Hills Tutors | Farmington Tutors | Troy Tutors | Macomb Tutors | Shelby Township Tutors | Grosse Pointe Tutors | Southfield Tutors | Muskegon Tutors | Waterford Tutors | Battle Creek Tutors | West Bloomfield Tutors | Taylor Tutors | Pontiac Tutors

College Essay Tutoring is just the beginning...

Tap into Wyzant’s digital nationwide network to find either a local or online tutor for subjects related to college essay. Find the perfect tutor for you in over 250 subjects and test prep areas including:

College Application Essays Tutors | SAT Tutors | College Application Tutors | College Essays Tutors | Essay Tutors | Accuplacer Tutors | ACCUPLACER College-Level Math Tutors | ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills Tutors | ISEE (Essay) Tutors | ACCUPLACER Elementary Algebra Tutors | AP Literature Tutors | ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension Tutors | AP English Tutors | CLEP College Composition Tutors | AP English Literature Tutors | Narrative Essay Writing Tutors | GMAT (Analytical Writing) Tutors | SAT II Latin Tutors | SAT Verbal Tutors | SSAT (Writing) Tutors | SAT Writing Tutors | SAT II German Tutors | CLEP College Composition Modular Tutors

Find 1:1 Tutors in Subjects Related to College Essay

Wyzant makes it easy to get lessons from private tutors in any subject related to college essay. Find your ideal private tutor by reading ratings and reviews:

Michigan Essay Tutors | Michigan SAT Writing Tutors | Michigan SAT Tutors | Michigan SAT Math Tutors | Michigan SAT Reading Tutors | Michigan PSAT Tutors | Michigan College Math Tutors | Michigan ISEE Tutors | Michigan LSAT Tutors | Michigan COOP/HSPT Tutors

Local College Essay Tutors in Counties in Michigan

With our nationwide network, it is easy to find a tutor nearby who can tutor you in person or online. Browse qualified instructors near you in counties in Michigan.

Washtenaw County College Essay Tutors

Find Michigan tutors

Want to browse local tutors near you in more subjects? See all tutors in Michigan

Find online college essay tutors

Get college essay help anytime! We only accept the best online college essay tutors into our community. Get the help you need, right when you need it with the convenience of online lessons.