Yes, you need to attend a workshop first so you can learn my approach to the personal statement. Workshops introduce you to what the personal statement is, offers guidelines on what college admissions committees are looking for, and gives suggestions for coming up with structures and topics that could work for you.

The workshop introduces you to how college admissions committees use the personal statement as a way to get to know you and how you think.  I offer you a way to get started thinking about topics and an organizational structure that can work for you.  We’ll discuss some dos and don’ts, talk about the prompts on the Common App, and consider how to navigate diversity in your story.  Then we’ll take a look at some successful student essays and talk about what works well in them and why.

No!  In fact, it’s best if you don’t—because I’ll be showing you how to approach the personal statement in a different way, a way to reframe how colleges use this essay, and how you can approach your first draft.

No, we can start by brainstorming topics.  If you have some ideas about topics, that’s great, but if you’re still not sure, we can brainstorm together and go from there.

Each session generally lasts about an hour.

Most students meet with me 3-5 times, over the course of a few weeks.

You can plan on at least 3 drafts, but many students may need a few more opportunities to brainstorm, freewrite, and perhaps even change their topics before really settling on a path that works for them.  I can help you through this—being open to the ideas that come to you while you’re writing is a really important part of the ReVision process.

Early on, I can help you formulate possible topics and teach you tips for brainstorming and freewriting. Once you have a rough draft, I’ll ask questions that help you dig deeper to find insights and connections along your path towards reflection. As your personal statement evolves, we’ll talk about finding focus, a single direction that you want to go. We’ll consider the specific details that will help catch a reader’s attention. And as your essay takes shape, we’ll move into considering the word count, shifting your writing toward a more streamlined version in order to tell your story within the 650-word limit of the common app essay.

Many schools rely on the Common Application’s personal statement.  But some schools, especially more selective schools which receive many more applicants than they can accept, use supplemental essays to help further narrow the field.  Supplemental essays usually include one question which essentially asks, “Why do you want to attend this school?”  They can also include quirky, specific prompts designed to get you thinking and to reveal different aspects of yourself that aren’t evident elsewhere in your application.

It’s best to finish your personal statement before embarking on the supplementals.  For those additional essays, keep in mind:

1. They are more important than you think.  They matter to admissions committees.
2. An essay with a single focus is more compelling than a list.
3. Try to use each question as an opportunity to showcase a part of yourself that doesn’t appear elsewhere in your application. (This is why it’s important to complete your personal statement first.)

I will only read and give feedback on essays after we’ve had at least one 1:1 session. ReVision is a process, and meeting with me is an essential part of that process—having a conversation is how you and I will learn who you are and what you’re trying to say. Our conversation inspires the questions that will help you reflect on your topic and what it means to you.

After we’ve met and talked 1:1 at least once, I will talk with you about ways you can refine it. I’ll help you learn how to edit your own writing (an important part of college writing), and I’ll give suggestions for how to condense sentences to help you fit your essay within the word count.