Dr. P.’s Top Tips for Writing Successful College Essays

 Here are my top tips – and one warning – for this year’s rising seniors based on my years of experience scores of students write their personal statements as an online college essay coach and teacher.

Don’t start writing until July.

Nobody produces great writing when they’re stressed and exhausted.  As an an online tutor, I’ve watched as final exams, SATs, and AP exams colonize high school juniors’ brain space in April, May, and early June.  Kids who start their college essays in the spring of junior year never write their best work then.  With a clearer head and several months of maturation, they often revise or scrap that essay six months later.  Give your child some time to decompress and to become as “adult” as possible before reflecting deeply for their college essay.

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TRY to Finish the personal statement before starting senior year.

Try to cross all the “t’s” and dot those “i’s” on the personal statement before the new school year begins.  Many students will have dozens of smaller supplemental essays to write by November 1.  Maintaining strong senior year grades is key to getting – and staying – accepted.  Finishing the all-important college essay before focusing on these other tasks start helps ensure that they all get done well and healthily.

One note about a last ACT / SAT attempt.  If your teen was unhappy with junior year scores, try to set the “last chance deadline” in July (ACT) or August (SAT).  The double-act of prepping-writing during the summer will be more manageable than adding test prep to the grades-supplemental essay-application mix of the fall.

Enroll in a course for structure and motivation.

Short-term classes geared toward writing the college essay can provide “positive peer pressure” to start writing.  Hopefully, the class’ structure will also establish deadlines necessary for finishing.  All students produce a rough draft by the end of the five-week course that I’m teaching at Port Washington Adult Education this September and October.  Each year, one or two even polish their final essay!  Just make sure that the teacher has experience teaching teens to write effective personal statements – that is, essays that actually help earn them admission to their top-choice universities.  (Here’s where my own students got accepted last spring.)

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English teachers and guidance counselors often don’t have the time, skills, or experience to mentor kids through this specialized writing process.

School counselors need to file teacher recommendations and school reports in the fall.  They also must write their own letters of recommendation for as many as 500 students.  Sadly, most do not have the time to guide your child through the process of brainstorming topics and revising multiple drafts.  English teachers seem like better candidates.  However, my own experience as an online college essay coach has demonstrated that some well-meaning teachers don’t possess the skill set or the experience to effectively coach applicants.  

A couple of years ago, a family found me in mid-October, after the teen had worked for six weeks with his AP English teacher on his personal statement.  When they showed the draft to a family friend who conducted alumni interviews for Brown University, he was aghast.  Luckily, a mutual friend then introduced this family to me. In just ten days, we completely overhauled the boy’s essay, in time for the early application deadline of November 1.  

Unfortunately, however, the process was stressful for all involved – and not because this student procrastinated.  The guidance that he received from his well-intentioned teacher was ineffective.  I’m sure she taught her students how to write brilliant analytical essays for the AP exam.  But the personal statement isn’t a literary analysis.  The college essay coach needs a different set of techniques – emotional, pedagogical, as well as artistic – to empower a student to craft a strong personal statement that will help him get accepted.  (Good news: this student’s now thriving at the University of Michigan.)

Consider hiring an experienced college essay coach with whom your child is comfortable.

I know what you’re thinking: “You’re an online college essay coach.  Of course, you’re going to recommend hiring a coach.”  While it’s true that I am an online college essay coach, I didn’t say, “Hire me!”  I might not be the right online college essay coach for your kid.  If that’s the case, by all means, find a different coach.  Please use my interview questions below as your guide.  

My own decades of working with teens has given me the psychological insight to help many through this rite of passage.  By gently questioning teens about their lives in light of the essay prompt, I’m able to draw out a set of experiences that will illustrate their growth, their passions, and their ability to make a mark on the campus they’re aiming for. (Read some of my 37 five-star Google reviews to hear parents and students in their own voices.)

This question-and-answer process often exposes vulnerabilities.  So, it’s important that the coach you hire possesses the patience to honor your child’s limits.  It’s equally important that parents appreciate that such understanding takes time.  Writing and re-writing is normally a slow process, even more so when that writing’s coming from the heart and not the head.  Trusting that the coach and the child are doing their best will relieve some of the pressure surrounding the process so that your child can write the best essay possible.  

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In order to have that faith in whoever you hire, here are some questions that I recommend asking any potential online college essay coach:

·      How long does the essay-writing process normally take?

·      What’s your process of working with kids writing their college essays?

·      How long have you been helping teens write personal statements?

·      Which universities have your past students gained admission to?

·      How much money in merit aid (scholarships) have your past students earned with essays that you coached them through? 

·      Can we read reviews of your work as a college essay coach?

·      May we speak with past clients or students?

 Of course, no interview comes with a crystal ball.  Nevertheless, make sure to inquire about more than just price when you interview prospective college essay coaches.  Finding the right online college essay coach from Day One will go a long way toward ensuring that your money’s well spent and that your child’s experience will be both rewarding and effective.