College Admissions Essays
Oh, joy! It’s college admissions time! And you’re quaking in your boots because you think your essay is the be-all and end-all, and you haven’t even started it—not to mention all those supplemental ones—because you have no idea what to say, and no idea where to start, and the whole process is just scary as all hell.
Take a deep breath. It’s okay. I can help. And I can make it fun. Your essay is your big chance to tell people who you really are. (As one Ivy League admissions officer put it so memorably, “Be yourself. It’s your only chance to get in. Unless yourself likes drowning kittens In which case, please, please do not be yourself.” Man, I loved that guy.) This is actually a lovely opportunity; writing a great essay is something you can control in a process that feels so out of control.
Let me be clear. No, I do not write your essay. You write your essay. (I wrote my own essays—they got me into Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Duke—and that was quite enough, thank you.) I encourage, nudge, do some light editing, clap hands, and make a lot of suggestions and jokes along the way. More importantly, I help you figure out your own voice. No matter where you end up going to college, figuring out how to say what you mean in your real, authentic voice is very powerful. I want you to know what that feels like. Once you get a taste of it—which usually means unlearning a lot of the expository writing you’ve been taught—you’ll never want to let it go.
Here’s how the process works:
Step One: Get rid of Mom and Dad. Mom, Dad, if you’re reading this, please understand. We love you, really and truly. But if you want me to pull the best out of your son and daughter, we’re going to have to get you gone. Trust me; the process works better if we do it without a parent looking over a kid’s shoulder. College is life with training wheels; your child is going to have to make it work without you. Here’s a great opportunity to practice letting go and trusting another adult. I promise you’ll see the end result. If you make the initial contact, please know that the first thing I’ll do is get your kid on the line. Then it’s just the two of us.
Step Two: I call this the chalk talk. Don’t be afraid. We’re not going to do any writing here, not really, unless the spirit moves you. If you’re nearby, you’ll come to my kitchen, sit at my table, and we’ll talk. (Petting the cats is optional.) Bring a notebook. If you’re long distance, we’ll chat by phone. The idea is for me to get to know you, hear your voice, calm you down (could there be anything more stressful than the whole admissions process?), and get you interested. Warning: During the chalk talk session, I am very likely to start vibrating and say things like, “Ooh! Ooh! Write that down!” We’ll tool around on www.commonapp.org, register you if you’re not already registered, and get the lay of the land.
Here’s how it usually begins:
Me: Have you thought about what you want to write about?
You: I dunno.
Me: What kind of things do you like to do?
You: I dunno.
Me: What kind of colleges are you thinking about?
You: I dunno. My parents want me to apply to ____, but I know I’ll never get in there.
Here’s how it usually ends:
Me: So, are you happy with your essay?
You: Yeah, it’s so cool. It sounds just like me!
Me: That’s because it is you. That’s what you said! I just made you write it down!
You: Oh, yeah, you’re right!
Me: I know! I know!
(I really like the “I know! I know!” part.)
In between are Steps Three through Whatever, depending on how much help you need. We’ll zero in on the topics you’re actually excited to write about, then I’ll help you choose lively, interesting examples to make your points (I’m all about “showing, not telling”) and make sure your essay gets across how great you are.
Along the way, I’ll give you my best advice on navigating the entire college admissions process, based on everything I’ve learned from shepherding my first-born through it, helping dozens and dozens of kids do the same in the past five years (including many who’ve gotten into the Ivies or other highly selective colleges), consoling and advising double that number of parents, and co-writing Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads with Rosalind Wiseman, which included a chapter on college admissions. I’ll help you avoid the common pitfalls I’ve learned from some of the country’s leading admissions officers. Most importantly, I’ll help you calm down about the whole thing.
There’s more love on the Testimonials page, but here are some kind words from some college students with whom I worked on submissions.
"It was after I finished my personal statement, polished and edited for submission (or so I thought,) that I met with Betsy for the first time. With Betsy’s help, I realized the importance of writing a piece that broke the mold of a structured, academic paper and instead focused on expressing who I was in a clear way. Betsy helped me write an exceptional statement that gave me confidence in my application and made me proud to apply to each university."
-Rachel Johnson, Cornell University, Class of 2012
"For essay writing—the REAL kind of essay writing, not the formulaic, book report kind that even Betsy’s cats could excel at—procrastination will undoubtedly diminish the end product.
“And it will be much easier to avoid procrastinating if you have someone who knows how to get you started in whatever way best reflects you. Once Betsy got me in the right mindset and helped me figure out what I wanted to convey, the essay writing came naturally. I couldn't believe how different the end result was from what I'd begun with. It read like something I might actually say; anyone who knows me would agree that it epitomized me.
“There’s no doubt that it was unnerving initially to talk to someone who wasn’t going to be impressed just because I had a good vocabulary. But Betsy knows what sounds real and what sounds contrived, and she'll figure out your personality and writing style very quickly."
-Scott, Washington University in St. Louis, Class of 2013
Fee: $300/hour with a two-hour minimum, plus the following:
A charitable contribution (I’ll suggest a few favorites).
Proof that you’ve written (not emailed; we’re talking snail mail) a thank-you note to everyone involved in helping you get into college. That includes, but is not limited to, your guidance counselor, everyone who wrote you a letter of recommendation, and every admissions officer and information session leader of every campus you visit. Expressing your gratitude to the people who help you is an art and skill I hope you’ll take with you into college, your first job and internship interviews, and beyond.