College Application Essay Intensive
College application essays are, undeniably, an overwhelming task. Not only must students demonstrate academic ability, character, and dedication while recounting formative experiences, academic and career goals, fit with specific universities, and perspectives on big ideas like ‘life’ itself, but students must also do so with style, personality, and voice. This four-week workshop takes the mystery out of composing college application essays by introducing students to the role of application essays in the admissions process, what admissions officers are looking for, different types of questions, and what makes successful application essays work. Most importantly, students will brainstorm, strategize, plan, outline, draft, and revise an application essay of their own under rigorous, individualized guidance. The workshop will include instruction and guided exercises to help students plan, craft, and polish application essays, with detailed feedback from instructors throughout the process. At the end of the course, students will submit a completed essay for final editing and will conclude the course with a polished application essay ready to be submitted or adapted for another school. Polished, ready-to-submit essays will be returned to students within one week of the end of the course. Student application essays will be based on either one of the student’s already chosen schools or an essay question from the 2019-2020 Common Application (required by over 800 schools).
- Session 1: 08/29/2019 – 09/25/2019
- Session 2: 10/032019 – 10/30/2019
- Session 3: 11/07/2019 – 12/11/2019
The task is intimidating primarily because it is so little understood. College application essays are unlike any other writing assignment that students (or their parents) have ever had to tackle, and they are becoming increasingly more important in the application process. An entire industry has emerged in the wake of the anxiety and confusion induced by college application essays, with consultants regularly charging anywhere from $600 to $2,000 per essay or between $4,000 and $10,000 for a set of essays.
One of the reasons the industry continues to flourish is because so many consultants treat the process as an editing or writing job, rather than as a teaching one, a fact that keeps the process shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, some find that it is, indeed, easier to just hire someone else to write or rewrite student essays after a consultation (if you can afford it anyway). However, essays for hire can also backfire, and often do. Many admissions committee members have been quick to point out that they can tell when a student’s own story and voice are missing in the final product.
At Write Brain Education, we believe that the college application essay need not be daunting or expensive. In fact, we have found that when students are walked through the actual process of writing personal statements and essays, the experience is not only not painful, but an enjoyable, invigorating one. During the composition process, our students come to feel proud of their accomplishments (so many of which they always took for granted) and excited about the future. Moreover, students take away much more than a polished essay. They gain insight into themselves and learn writing techniques and strategies that help them in college. And, all of this can happen through just a few lessons.
How do we do it? We provide a staged process in a positive environment that allows students the opportunity for deep reflection on their experiences and goals, as well as guidance in constructing their story in their own voice. We teach students how to apply the proper techniques and strategies during each phase of the writing process, and we provide the structure, feedback, and accountability necessary for the essay’s conceptual development and its presentation. By the end of the process, students are proud of their essays and what they say because they see themselves deeply reflected in them. Our final revisions just provide the polishing.
We are currently offering a four-week online workshop to guide students through the process of selecting a topic, brainstorming, strategizing, planning, outlining, drafting, and revising an application essay of their very own under close, individualized guidance. At the end of the course, students will graduate with a polished application essay ready to be submitted or adapted for another school.
Student application essays will be based on either one of the student’s already chosen schools or an essay question from the 2019-2020 Common Application (required by over 800 schools).