“I was learning the craft of poetry, which really was an intensive version of what my mother had taught me all those years ago — the craft of writing as the art of thinking.”

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

  • Just as I tailor my support to meet the individual needs of my students, I offer my services on an à la carte basis or as a complete package. What follows, including the hours/application and hours/section, are based on averages and meant only as estimates.

  • PRICING

    Some students work on an as needed basis, contracting my services as they go. Some choose an à la carte approach, seeking my services for some but not all sections of the application. More often than not, students sign on for the complete package. On average, the amount of time spent working with me on a complete application, supplements included, is 20 hours.

    My rate is $400/hour.

  • PLANNING

  • Personal Essay

    Some students arrive to a first session with a draft ready for review. Others need time to discover their story and how to tell it. Some use sessions as sacred time for writing. Others prefer using our time together to receive feedback which they integrate as they continue working on their own.

    3-10 hours

  • Activities List

    This part of the application is often assumed to be quick and easy, just a few drop-downs and a total of 200 characters/entry. Don’t be fooled. This section, when handled with intention and focus, can become a lynchpin of the application. Taking time to weave in details adds dimension to an applicant’s profile. When elements of this list are picked up in one essay or another, the parts work to complement each other and the application begins to sing.

    2-3 hours

  • Additional Information Section

    The Common App’s Additional Information section offers two optional opportunities to say more. It is the one place in the application where “optional” truly means optional. When choosing to provide material for either one or both of these questions, remember it is essential that care be taken to provide new and substantive information, avoiding any gratuitousness or redundancy.

    1-2 hours/essay

  • Supplemental Essays

    Writing the college application continues beyond the Common Application. Different schools have different supplemental requirements. While a few ask for no additional writing, most have at least one school-specific question to be answered. Some have several short and/or long answer questions. It is critical that ample attention is paid in order that these essays exhibit a consistency of voice and a continued commitment to substance and detail.

    2 hours/essay

  • Interview Prep

    Interviews are required by some schools and optional at others. Some schools conduct interviews by appointment in the fall. Others interview by invitation after applications are submitted. Being prepared with well-considered answers and informed questions of your own can surely enhance your application.

    1 hour/school

  • Resumes

    Resumes are requested by some schools and not by others. Either way, it is an ideal time to polish an existing one or draw one up, if you haven’t already done so. Think of it as a way to keep a record of all you have done and a work-in-progress that, long after college, you will continue refining and revising.

    1-2 hours

  • NOTES

    This overview is based on the most widely used Common Application. Support is revised accordingly for schools using the Universal Application, the Coalition Application, the SUNY Application, the UC Application, or an individual school application.

    Support for other applications — middle school, high school, graduate school — follows similar guidelines, modified accordingly.