Common App essay coaching
A Common App essay coach who has read the other side of the file.
One 650-word essay goes to every school on a student's list. It has to tell a meaningful story in the student's own voice. I help students find that story and write it themselves, from first brainstorm to final polish.
Why the Common App essay matters so much
Grades and test scores show what a student has done. The personal essay is the one place an admissions reader hears who the student is. Seniors now apply to many more colleges than they used to, and readers move through enormous stacks of applications, so an essay has only a few minutes to make an impression.
I spent years screening admissions applications for Columbia University and Vassar College, among others. I know what a reader notices in those few minutes, and what makes them move on.
How Common App essay coaching works
- Discover. We start with conversation, not a prompt. Guided questions surface the moments, habits, and quirks that make a student who they are. The best story is usually one they'd never have thought to tell.
- Find the angle. Together we identify the strongest narrative angle and steer clear of the traps and clichés that make an essay forgettable. The goal is to reveal who the student is, not to list what they've done.
- Draft & revise. The student writes. I coach with honest, specific feedback, pushing for vivid detail and their own voice. Draft by draft, the writing gets sharper and more personal.
- Polish. Revise, refine, proof, perfect, until every word counts.
What's included
- Brainstorm through final draft
- Typically 4–6 one-on-one sessions
- Detailed feedback between sessions
- Final polish and proofread
- Sessions over video, so students anywhere in the world can participate
Coach, counselor, or editor?
Families looking for help often search for a college essay coach, a college essay counselor, or an essay editor. What matters is the approach: I never write essays for students. Every word in the final essay is the student's. I ask questions, push back, point out what's working, and show where the writing can go further. That's what makes the essay authentic, and it's why students come out as better writers.
About your coach
I'm Elizabeth Shepard: a former admissions application screener for Columbia and Vassar, MFA in Writing from Columbia (Graduate Fellow), Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vassar, former visiting scholar at Harvard, and I taught English and writing as an associate professor at Fordham University and Marymount Manhattan College. I'm also the author of the novel H (Viking/Penguin) and numerous other fiction and nonfiction books, and a published journalist and editor. More about me.
Students I've coached have been accepted to schools including Duke, Yale, Brown, UPenn, UC Berkeley, the University of Michigan, Amherst, Tufts, Emory, and many more. See what families say.
Dreading the blank page? Read college essay help for students who hate writing.
Questions families ask
How many sessions does the Common App essay take?
Typically 4–6 one-on-one sessions, with detailed feedback between sessions. We'll talk through your timeline in the free consultation.
When should students start their Common App essay?
Anytime from junior year through senior year. Starting in the spring or summer before senior year gives students room to explore ideas without deadline pressure, but it's rarely too late to make a meaningful difference.
Do you write or rewrite the essay?
Never. Every word in the final essay is the student's. My job is to ask the right questions, give honest feedback, and help the student's own voice come through.