Guide for parents

How to choose a college essay coach (or counselor): 8 questions to ask

By Elizabeth Shepard, college essay coach and former admissions reader · October 14, 2026

Families looking for essay help find college essay coaches, college essay counselors, editors, big companies, and AI tools, all promising a better essay. Here's how to tell what your student actually needs, and what to ask before you hire anyone.

Coach, counselor, or editor: what's the difference?

The titles overlap, and people use them loosely. A college counselor usually helps with the whole application: the college list, timelines, and strategy. A college essay coach or essay counselor focuses on the writing itself: finding the story, drafting, and revising. An editor mostly corrects and tightens a draft that already exists.

For the personal essay, what matters most isn't the title. It's whether the person helps the student find their own story and write it in their own voice.

8 questions to ask before you hire

1. Who writes the essay? The only right answer is: the student, every word. Anyone who offers to write, rewrite, or “polish” the essay into their own voice is putting the application at risk. Admissions readers can tell.
2. Have you read admissions files yourself? Someone who has screened applications knows what a reader notices in the few minutes they spend on an essay, and what makes them move on.
3. Who will my student actually work with? Some companies sell a well-known name and then assign a junior staffer. Ask whether the person you meet is the person who coaches.
4. Is it one-on-one? Group workshops can help with basics, but the personal essay is personal. The breakthroughs usually come from conversation.
5. How do you help students find a topic? Good coaching starts with questions about the student, not with a list of “winning” topics. Be wary of anyone who steers every student toward the same kinds of stories.
6. What does feedback look like? Ask to see an example. Useful feedback is specific and honest, and it explains why something works or doesn't so the student can fix it themselves.
7. What's your position on AI? Many colleges are wary of AI-written essays, and AI-smoothed writing tends to sound generic. A good coach keeps the essay in the student's own words.
8. What happens if my student hates writing? Plenty of strong essays come from reluctant writers. Ask how the coach works with students who struggle, because that's where coaching matters most.

Red flags

• Guarantees of admission. No one can promise an acceptance.
• Templates and formulas. If essays from a company all sound alike, readers notice that too.
• Heavy rewriting. If the student no longer recognizes their own essay, it's no longer their essay.
• Pressure to buy a big package before you've met. A free consultation is the norm, and it's the best way to tell whether a coach fits your student.

Questions to ask yourself

• What does my student need help with? Getting started, finding a topic, revising a draft, supplemental essays, or all of it?
• How does my student work best? Some students want structure and deadlines, and others need someone to help them talk through ideas first.
• What's the timeline? Starting in the spring or summer before senior year leaves room to explore. Starting in the fall is still workable, but it calls for a clear plan.

How I work

I'm Elizabeth Shepard. I've screened admissions applications for Columbia University and Vassar College, taught English and writing as an associate professor at Fordham University and Marymount Manhattan College, and written and edited professionally for my whole career. I coach one-on-one, over video, and I never write a word of a student's essay. Read more about Common App essay coaching and supplemental essays.

Questions families ask