College essay advisor

[Anonymous]

Parent of junior with solid SAT scores and high GPA at MCPS. I’m fairly confident we don’t need to hire a college counselor, but I would like someone to look over and make suggestions for her essays. Any suggestions on who could be a good essay tutor? Does MCPS allow English teachers to be hired as private tutors?

[Anonymous]

We are not in MCPS but my kids both worked on essays in their English classes at the end of the year (after the AP exam) with input from their English teacher. I really appreciated this as the essay was finished before they even started filling out applications.

Maybe ask if your school does the same? I had no idea about this until it happened for my first kid.

[Anonymous]

There are many people who do this on a freelance basis. Our local library always has an essay workshop (free), then the person offers his services for a fee. Keep an eye on community bulletin boards.

[Anonymous]

Check out EssayBoosters for affordable prices (tinyurl.com/EssayBoosters)

[Anonymous]

Another one to check out is https://www.theessaycoaches.com.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another one to check out is https://www.theessaycoaches.com.

Trying that link again: https://www.theessaycoaches.com

[Anonymous]

The essays don’t matter much. It’s all gpa and hooks. Even sat don’t matter much b/c of test optional.

Don’t let your kid stress out over these. With the number of apps the colleges receive, our counselor said the essays are skimmed at best. Supposedly, the admissions officers spend approximately 5 min per app.

[Anonymous]

We used Richard Montauk for essays. Richardmontauk.com

[Anonymous]

Julie Garel helped both my DCs get into their top choices (both T30).
https://www.cgwritingcoaches.com/https/julie-garel-xtyesquarespacecom/config/who-we-are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The essays don’t matter much. It’s all gpa and hooks. Even sat don’t matter much b/c of test optional.

Don’t let your kid stress out over these. With the number of apps the colleges receive, our counselor said the essays are skimmed at best. Supposedly, the admissions officers spend approximately 5 min per app.

This is so not true at many schools. Maybe more so at very large state schools.

[Anonymous]

check out Upwork, lots of college essay advisors on there.

[Anonymous]

In a recent Wesleyan admissions session the AO said don't let your student feel pressured about the essay because no one ever got accepted because of a great essay. She said that the essay will never be the deciding factor. I found that interesting --- especially at a school that already was test optional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We used Richard Montauk for essays. Richardmontauk.com

How much did it cost? How many hours? How many colleges?

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

Ask high school counselor or English teacher. Ask neighbors with college-aged children. Ask on neighborhood NextDoor group. Look on Wyzant. Good luck!