First of all, thanks for being here. If you or someone you know is in the midst of the college application process, you know that it can be stressful! The decision fatigue, the deadlines, the desire to get accepted into your dream school. The college application process can be a recipe for overwhelm, but I am here to tell you: it doesn’t have to be.
The Backstory
As a college essay coach, I have worked with countless students, providing college application essay help. My coaching experience runs the gamut from students who have no clue what to write about, to students who have a solid idea for their topic but need help telling their stories, to students who are finished with their college essays but want to refine them and take them to the next level.
My belief?
All students have a story to tell. They just need to figure out how to tell it.
Over the years as a college essay coach, I began to realize the importance of giving students a systematic way to story tell in their personal statements. I learned that while narrative writing flows out for some, it remains stuck for others.
What if I could design a self-guided course that walks prospective college students through the process of writing strong personal statements? What if I could bridge the gap between student experience and the stories they tell? What if I could teach students how to write a personal statement by making the writing process accessible and digestible to all students? Maybe I could…
Enter: Crush the College Essay
This online self-guided course is designed for every college applicant no matter where he or she is in the writing process. Wondering about what topic to choose for the common app essay? This course is for you. Wondering what colleges are looking for in an essay? This course is for you. Want to refine your essay? This course is for you.
Crush the College Essay is composed of three main modules with step-by-step lessons inside of each. In this blog post, I am going to break down each module of the course so you know exactly what to expect.
Module 1: The Brainstorm
In this module, students engage in step-by-step lessons that teach them how to brainstorm compelling ideas for their college essay and ultimately, experiment with various topics. Lesson #1 is all about identifying defining qualities. We ask the question: who are you? In Lesson #2 students create mini-stories that connect to each defining quality. Module 1 closes with Lesson #3: What’s your problem? In this section, students identify the problem or conflict within their essays. After all, all good stories have something worth fighting for.
Module 2: The Writing
In this module, students dive into the heart of the writing process and begin drafting their college essays. The module is composed of four lessons and serves as the “meat and potatoes” of the entire course. Lesson #4 has students experiment with freewriting on various topics. In Lesson #5, students learn concrete, proven strategies to strengthen their writing. Lesson #6 is all about common college essay mistakes to avoid at all costs. Module 2 concludes with writers committing to a topic and creating a first draft of the personal statement.
Module 3: The Revision
The grand finale! Module 3 teaches students writing crafts and editing tools that take their writing to the next level. Lesson #9 provides tools to revise, while Lesson #10 gets into the fun part: editing and finalizing. We wrap up the course with Lesson #10 which gives students some “next steps” and ultimately, concludes the course.
What else does this course include?
Crush the College Essay also includes a “Crush the College Essay Guide” which is a printable workbook that coincides with every lesson in the course. It provides a way for students to keep track of their work in an organized way.
Additionally, students who enroll in the online course have the opportunity to work one-on-one with me to gain access to more personalized, specific guidance on their college essays.
My number one goal is to make the college essay writing process the least stressful part of applying to college. If that sounds like something you or your child could benefit from, you are just one click away from writing a strong personal statement and landing the school of your dreams. Are you ready to crush the college essay?
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