Seattle's College-Admissions Essay Tutors
The college-admissions essay is a unique genre of writing, with conventions and best practices that are not made explicit in the instructions. It's also a high-stakes endeavor. Students are understandably stressed by the prospect that these 300- or 600-word essays might determine so much about the course of their lives. They have certain bits of advice in mind––be authentic, try to stand out––but it's hard to know where to go from there.
One of the great benefits of working with an experienced college essay tutor is simply that we can ease the burden of stress. There's a comfort in working with someone who has seen other students do this before and succeed. Not only do we know what what a successful essay looks like, but we know what it looks like for a real-life high school student to start with an idea and see it through to a final product.
One piece of advice: if the underlying message of your essay is try hard and you will succeed, you may want to reconsider your approach. The sentiment is a good one, but in our experience, it's one that admissions committees must see all too often.
A related piece of advice: it's best to speak to a tutor before you settle on the story you're going to tell. If you were only going to do one session with a tutor, it's best to do that at the brainstorming rather than final-editing stage. That's not to say that it's not worth working with a tutor after a draft has been drawn up. But once you get started on an essay, it can be painful to change course.
No matter whether it's early or at the last minute, we look forward to helping students put their best foot forward in their college essays.
Jesse
I have been tutoring writing for five years, with over a decade of experience as an educator. You can read my full tutor bio here. I have also worked as a college essay coach, working with hundreds of students on their essays and receiving training from college admissions officers. I've helped many students get into their first-choice schools. I've helped students with strong ideas get into elite schools. I've also helped students who are overwhelmed, struggling, or unmotivated finish their essays with ease and gain admission to the schools of their choice. I also have experience working with those applying to graduate school and non-traditional applicants.
College essays are also an opportunity for students to express themselves creatively, share their stories, and tie a bow on important experiences they've had. It's an opportunity to reflect on their growth throughout the last several years. When working with students on a personal statement, I begin with extensive brainstorming about the values, experiences, character traits, and goals that are most important to them. We then utilize creative nonfiction techniques to tell a story that is captivating, honest, and exceeds the expectations of college admissions readers. I also have experience helping students with supplemental essays, resumes, and activity lists—all of which have specific (and often unspoken) requirements and parameters.
I take great pride in helping students create college essays that not only get them into great colleges but also reflect their true selves and grow their skills as writers. I'd look forward to supporting your student!
Juliet
I have a deep passion for writing and for helping students discover and articulate what makes them unique, which is exactly what the college essay demands.
I completed a dual B.A. program between Sciences Po Paris (Political Science) and Columbia University (Evolutionary Biology) and recently earned my M.Phil. in Human Evolutionary Studies from the University of Cambridge, where my thesis received distinction. In the fall, I will be starting a PhD in Integrative Biology at the University of Chicago.
Across three very different institutions, I wrote extensively and in a wide range of genres and disciplines, from policy papers to scientific research. I know firsthand how much writing can vary depending on audience and purpose. The college essay is its own genre entirely, and learning to work within its specific conventions is something I find very exciting.
At Columbia, I served as Editor-in-Chief of Sapient, the university's undergraduate journal of biological anthropology, where I guided student writers through the editorial process from submission to publication. I also completed two undergraduate theses and was awarded the Senior Thesis Prize for my research on primate dental morphology. These experiences taught me that strong writing is almost always the product of strong revision, and that the best essays come from real reflection, not from trying to sound impressive.
When working with students on their college essays, I start with brainstorming: helping them identify the stories, values, and moments that are worth telling. From there, I focus on voice, structure, and the sentence-level clarity that makes an essay compelling to read. I believe every student has a story worth telling. The challenge is finding the right frame for it, and I love that part of the process!
Dan
I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Seattle University, and earlier in my career I spent three years evaluating hundreds of admissions essays for the Arts and Sciences department at McMaster University. This experience provides me a special insight into the mind of the admissions-committee reader who is the intended audience of the college essay.
I also have fourteen years of experience with teaching students how to write fantastic college-level essays. My students have gone on to some of the best colleges, medical schools, law schools, graduate schools, and professional careers. I am honored to help students brainstorm, write, revise, and fine-tune their college-admissions essays.
Wendy
I have worked in youth and school programming for over a decade, and have been a writing tutor since I was an undergraduate at Middlebury College; you can read my full bio here. While I am now a social worker in a middle school, I am looking forward to working with high schoolers again this summer and fall with their college applications.
When I was a college access coach, I supported high school juniors and seniors to and through the entire college application process, from creating a top schools list, to scholarships, interviews, and of course, each and every essay. I also helped students and their families after the acceptance process as desired and needed. One of my favorite experiences in this role was aiding students with their college admissions essays. I find it to be an exciting, vulnerable, and honest writing process that helps young adults navigate who they are, who they may wish to become, and how they want to share that with others along the way.
With my Bachelor's in English/Creative Writing and my Master's in Social Work, I not only tailor my tutoring to where students are in their writing journeys, but also where they are socially, emotionally, and culturally. I know that the writing process is different for each student, and I use varied brainstorming and drafting techniques in essay writing to help each person find and convey their most confident personal narrative.
Deepti
A long time and passionate educator, I most enjoy working with students in one-to-one settings. I was trained as a K-12 educator in graduate school, and transferred those learnings to teaching and tutoring writing at the college level. Please view my full bio here.
I have worked with a wide range of students on application essays for scholarships, study abroad, college transfer, and graduate school. These were some of my most memorable and productive sessions as I prompted students to reflect deeply on their talents and experience and then frame these moments into a narrative for an admissions audience.
My approach for tutoring college application essays emphasizes the writing process, starting with understanding college expectations and guidelines, then moving to brainstorming specific student interests, skills, and experience, and then connecting them together to create a compelling narrative. I also like to provide both oral and written feedback throughout so that revision becomes an integral part of our process.
Josh
Hi! I’m Josh, and I’m an educator who’s taught persuasive writing to high school and college students of all backgrounds for over a decade. I did my undergraduate studies in cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and then went on to complete my PhD in linguistics as a Presidential Scholar at Harvard University. At Harvard, I won school-wide teaching awards for every eligible class I taught, and served as the Departmental Writing Fellow in linguistics. I’ve also been a speech and debate coach for over a decade, helping students learn to construct persuasive, well-researched arguments and tailor their writing to different audiences–essential skills for the college essay. Students I’ve coached have gotten into undergraduate and graduate programs at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cal, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, and others. You can read my full bio here.
For so much of their education, students are taught that writing is a tool for showing that they’ve learned the material, and not for composing their own thoughts in rigorous, persuasive, and fun-to-read ways. That style of teaching often causes problems once they need to present themselves as an individual through their writing, which is exactly what the college essay asks of them. When tutoring for college applications, my goal is to help students put their voice to the page, demystifying writing and empowering them to give structure and clarity to the stories they already carry. To do so, I combine my technical background in language science, persuasive argument, and creative storytelling with a sincere commitment to getting to know the student. There’s no “right” answer for the college essay. That can be the scariest part for students, but with the right coaching, it can also become the most liberating.
Lisa
Over the past years developing and instructing the Mechanics of Writing course at the University of Washington Youth and Teens Program, I’ve successfully led students through the brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and revision process of the personal essay, equipping them with skills needed to tackle their applications head-on. Both in my teaching and admissions coaching, I emphasize the importance of experimentation and believe firmly in the power of the iterative process.
I apply my experience as a writer and teacher to help students identify their admissions traits, craft a compelling narrative, and deliver it in their unique voice. While college applications may seem like a daunting process, I’ve experienced first hand the confidence my students gain from having someone to guide them through the initial ideation all the way to the nitty-gritty of sentence level edits. I truly enjoy getting to know students through the essay-writing process and am there to support them in this exciting step in their admissions journey.
Stephen
I have more than ten years of experience teaching and tutoring students in writing skills––you can see my full tutor bio by clicking here. Since graduating with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, I have regularly worked with students to improve their college essays and have learned how to steer them through what can sometimes be a trying process. I think that the college essay is essentially a creative writing task, and it's one in which the constraints are your opportunity for invention. Students struggle to present all of themselves in so few words, and in response to prompts that are not of their own choosing. But when a student homes in on the story or anecdote or approach that is going to communicate something of their peculiar charm, their idealistic ambitions, their shining hopes for the future, it's all the sweeter for having come in response to a boilerplate application prompt.
Pamela
Approaching your college admissions essay can seem like a daunting experience, but the right approach will help any student write the essay that they need for their dream school. Many students struggle with what they should write about, so I often start with a brief, casual conversation or a quiet freewriting activity, where we can discover what life experiences or personal abilities are important to them. After this, I help translate that conversation into a potential structure for their essay, and we develop an outline together. Once a student has a partial draft, we usually focus on overall writing structure and using strong, specific supporting details. Finally, we can refine the wording so that their essay articulates their thinking clearly and showcases their potential as a future student.
Throughout the process, I have a couple of different strategies to minimize stress and help students meet their needs. I provide appropriate examples to help students visualize what a strong essay can look like, and I make sure they always know what next steps they need to take. If a student struggles with time-management or completing tasks, I am always happy to help develop a more detailed writing schedule or break down each step into smaller tasks.
I spent two years working as a writing tutor while pursuing my MA in Anthropology, and I helped many students write admissions and scholarship essays, including students applying for graduate programs. In addition to helping with college essays, I currently tutor students from ages 7 to 18 in reading and writing skills, including developing their essays for various subjects. I hold a Masters in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno and a joint-honors degree in Archaeology and Theatre Studies from the University of Glasgow.
