The Work

It’s best to know what you’re getting yourself into.

Methodology

Please note that I don’t do something like this: 

Session 1: Blah, Session 2: Blah blah, Session 3: Blah blah blah, Session 4: You’re done. Yay! 

This common model doesn’t work for my students. My students are uncommon so plans are always customized based on their individual needs and only as determined well into the process (at stage 4 of the Pilgrimage, ‘Slate’).

How I Work

There is no pre-defined package, no predetermined set number of hours, no linear path. There is, however, an underlining methodology. Like human development, personal essay writing is an iterative, complex process. As we write the essay, we are, in the present moment, redefining the student based on a present recreation of their past narrative. What we see when we look back at a childhood memory at age 18 is markedly different from our view at age 50. The thing that happened hasn’t changed but our experience of this event and relationship to it certainly has. The present reshapes the past. In this case, we are engaging in this process explicitly, every time we get together to work on the student’s essay. We are reshaping the past into a narrative so compelling that, after the final draft is submitted, the admissions officer will wish there were more. They will want to know what’s next for the student. They will want to be a part of that future. I call this process ‘The Pilgrimage’.

Scroll down to learn about the process of working with me on common-app, supplemental, and portfolio essays.

The Pilgrimage

  • Question Everything Graffiti on wall

    1. Question

    You’ll fill out a questionnaire. It has questions you won’t anticipate. It will ask you some seemingly strange things. It’s brief. It’s basic data. If you express an interest in any topic over the course of this process, I won’t just encourage you to pursue it in your essay. I will learn about it myself to know which questions to ask that might connect us and guide us toward the next steps. Learning about what interests you is another amazing part of my job!

  • Dousing rod in sand with spirals

    2. Dousing

    This is the deep information collection. We’re searching for underground water sources. You’ll send me a few things. Yes, this will include what you’ve already written, if anything at all! (It’s not easy is it? This is why you are here). It will also include many other things that will help me learn about you. You’ll be surprised by what I ask for but it’s super important.

  • Fire in background with notebook and fruit bowl on white table

    3. Fireside Chat

    We’ll meet for a couple of hours to chat about all kinds of things. I’ll ask you follow up questions based on what you have sent me. This is where the magic lies. Anyone with an education in writing can write a decent essay. Only someone who gets into your head and tries to understand the world as you do, who tries to feel what you feel, to learn as much about you as possible, will be able to help you write the essay of you.

  • Schedule in chalk on slate board

    4. Slate

    We’ll set a schedule to work together. This totally depends on who you are, what you need and your timeline. Whatever your situation, we can work with it. I’ve spent 12 hours per day with a student over the course of 4 days and written a common app essay and 8 long supplemental essays. If it’s due tomorrow that might be hard. Otherwise, we can make it work.

  • Ink pen writing in cursive on paper

    5. Write

    We’ll work on the essays. How will we do this? The amount of time we devote to each ‘step’ in the essay divination process will depend entirely on scheduling, timing, and your specific needs. You might be a junior and planning to apply to 5 schools with rolling deadlines. You might be a senior applying to 10 schools early action. It might already be early October. We’ll need to meet several times per week and near full days on the weekends.

The Writing Process

  • Antique Mirror

    1. The Mirror

    I will reflect back to you what I have heard from you and what I understand about you. You will tell me what I have gotten correctly and where I’m totally off (both of these types of feedback are crucial for the next steps).

  • Crucible pouring molten metal

    2. The Crucible

    We will put all of these traits and experiences and preferences into a pot. We will heat the pot. A few new and essential things will emerge.

  • Chinese Painting with man looking at path into the distance

    3. The Choice

    We will look at the things that have emerged from the crucible. Can they be combined into a compelling essay? Is one of them powerful enough to be the defining carrier of the narrative?

  • Medieval book with colored images

    4. The Guidebook

    Once the choice has been made, we will make a draft outline of the essay.

  • Ellipse with words The Journey at the center. Around the Ellipse Show and Not Tell - Review and Destroy - Needle and Thread - Sharing is Caring.

    6. The Journey

    An iterative process where we go through each of these steps again and again until we get to the last step: Cut & Iron.

  • Man in apron ironing clothing

    7. Cut & Iron

    Word choice, grammar, word count. DONE AND DONE. Sigh of relief. And then, where applicable, onto supplemental essays.

Supplemental and School Specific Essays

Supplemental essays vary by college. Some colleges still don’t use the common app. Some of these essays are more onerous than the common app. Some are simple lists of things like extracurriculars and why you enjoy them. Here’s how we’ll tackle them:

  • Seal of the north Shanxi autonomous region

    1. The Master Doc

    We’ll make a one document to capture all of the supplemental essay prompts.

  • Matrix Code Green on Black

    2. The Matrix

    There is likely significant overlap among these supplemental essays. We’ll put them into groups for efficiency.

  • Fingers with puzzle piece and background flare

    3. The Match

    We’ve collected so much information about the student already. We’ll analyze what we already have and how it can be used for each essay.

  • Al Idrisi 12th Century World Map blue and yellow with Arabic script

    4. The Map

    We’ll make a timeline based on application deadlines for each college. We’ll decide where we will go and the route to get there.

  • Vertical ellipse with words The Journey in the middle and Show and Not Tell Review and Destroy Needle and Sew Sharing is Caring in different colors around the ellipse

    5. The Journey

    An iterative process where we go through each of these steps again and again until we get to the last step: Cut & Iron (see above).

Portfolios and Their Essays

I love portfolio essays. I get to see my students’ work, to learn why they make it, where they make it, the artists that inspire them, and the meaning of the sensorial elements they encounter in their lives. I have studied art history and have written about art with many students. I may see some things in their art that they have never identified. I may see connections with artists that they have never heard of. We’ll use the same process as the supplemental and common-app essays with a few major differences.

  • People in gallery of three dimensional Vincent Van Gogh exhibit.

    1. Reviewing

    I will review the student’s art and help them choose what to put in their portfolio based on the other essays they have written and our agreed sense of who they are and how to best present themselves for each school.

  • Photograph of two cameras

    2. Choosing

    We will look at each piece or group of pieces and decide together which are the most inspiring to write about.

  • Metal statue of main sewing in urban setting.

    3. Tailoring

    We will tailor our choices to the specific school in question and based on the prompts they use to gather information about the student and their artistic choices.

  • Trompe l'oeil three-dimensional pencil drawing of swing hanging from branch.

    4. Creating

    I may give art homework, depending on the student’s current portfolio and how well it matches the school’s essay prompts and requirements for the targeted programs. Homework might include: Look up these 3 artists; read this article; go take pictures of these things; do three pencil drawings of your room from different perspectives (without using vanishing points!)

Additional Types of Support

  • person sprinting

    Sprint

    Students can get help at any time between sessions. They can schedule short sprints (15 minutes) to help them move forward efficiently. I make myself available for these sprints as much as possible.

  • Traditional alarm clock. Red on blue background

    Power Hour

    If a sprint isn’t enough, students can schedule additional adhoc impromptu hours with me anytime they need them.

  • Pixelated word OFFLINE. White on black background.

    Offline Review

    In some circumstances I may keep working on a student’s essay offline. I will go back through it, nip and tuck, and make suggestions. I carry my students with me throughout the day so as I engage with the world, new connections may emerge. I will add those to the document.