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You may think that your application is mundane or that because you did not win at an international level that you cannot write a great personal statement, but that is so far from the truth! To make an essay stand out, you need a unique layout, theme, or experiences. Lucky for you, there is only one of you! You can expand on personal anecdotes and memories to help tie in who you are to what you want to do. This is truly how to make a personal statement or admission essay stand out. Your authenticity needs to pull through and showcase the best of your abilities. As a personal statement expert and having written one to successfully get into medical school, I can turn your seemingly mundane stories into eye-capturing and heartwarming anecdotes.
College admission essays are very stressful for both the student and the parent. Jamie Keller helped my daughter write the two essays that are required for the UC application. She made the process so smooth and stress free for both my daughter and I. Jamie and my daughter met once, discussed topics and then they met via Skype to continue the conversation and within a few weeks, two wonderful essays were written. My daughter was concerned about ensuring the essays represented her individuality and Jamie was able to help her succeed in attaining that goal. I would definitely recommend Jamie Keller to anyone who is looking for help and guidance for their teen in this process. mm.c If you are going to do to anything to help your child get into their desired college, I would highly suggest using Sarah Shankman to help with the college essay process. We have 3 sons, now all starting/going to college. We talked to/worked with various college counselors, and we are all in total agreement that our best time and money spent was working with Sarah Shankman for our son's college essays. We approached Sarah last Summer, before Senior year, because we wanted to get a basic UC application and Common Application essay completed for our twin sons before school and all of their activities started. Even though the official questions were not out yet for the colleges for the Fall, we were able with Sarah's help to have general ideas on what to expect and find topics that would fit many questions asked by the colleges. This ended up being a great plan so that we were able to do early admission applications at most schools and be done with the essays before school started. This really helped relieve the stress of the college application process. Sarah met with each son talked through thier ideas and helped them flesh them out and give them a framework for how to proceed. This was incredibly helpful. All of us had an immediate connection with Sarah, which was not true with others we met. She is very nice and easy to work with and just immediately makes you feel at ease. From there, the boys were able to create 4 essays (2 topic) that fit the mold for almost all of the college applications that we did. They applied widely for colleges- UC's, out of state Universities and private colleges, and the boys were able to use these essays in almost all situations. During the application process though, my sons came to me with concerns about a couple of questions for private Catholic colleges that they did not even understand. My husband and I (both with advanced degress) were also not clear on what they were asking and were truly at a loss. We called Sarah again and asked her to help us figure it out. She was able to explain what the question meant and knowing my boys, suggested directions to be taken for them and again helped them with a framework on how to proceed. This was very kind of her, because at this point she was busy helping others and really went out of her way to accomodate our last minute question (you know how boys can procastinate). Both sons were accepted at many colleges and were fortunate enough to have great college choices. They are convinced that Sarah is part of the reason that they got into great schools. Other consultants have people that read over the essays, edit them, etc. Sarah really takes the time to understand your child and your family. Her focus is on the essays as this is her expertise, and she is great at it! We were all very happy with the boy's essays and thought they truly reflected the boys individuality and talents in a great way. We have no hesitation in recommending her. KristiM My experience as a journalist (Yahoo!) helps set me apart from other tutors in helping you write an application essay for college. Consider how most essays are bland and common. I can make any student's life pop in the eyes of admissions officers. As I did for myriad subjects (many of whom were celebrities), I dive deep into what makes you tick as a person and what elements of your life and background will sing. By the end of the process, you will feel like the celebrity, able to submit your essays with confidence. I find that college application essays stand out when they blend narrative style with very clear organization. College application essays need to have clear selling points and be easy to read, but they also need to be very engaging to a reader pouring through tons and tons of application essays. Be clear and personable. Promote what makes you unique. My son is entering his senior year of High School. Does anyone have a recommendation for an essay tutor who could help him navigate the college essay murky waters? Thanks a lot. Marie I highly recommend Sarah Shankman as College Admission Essay Coach. We were very fortunate to find Sarah through BPN, as we frantically searched for guidance in the midst of the college application season. My son had too many ideas, yet no clear direction on what to write in his essay. His SAT score was a mixed bag, so he was really counting on his college essay to make a difference.

Elizabeth A. BinderFounder, Essay Help for Colleges

I cannot praise tutor Lesley Quinn more! Lesley worked wonders for my son, when he was confronted with the daunting task of writing his college essay. He was stumped as to what subject to write about, had some thoughts, but had no clear idea which topics would help reveal who he was, and what was important to him. Using skilled probing and insightful questions, Lesley helped Sam evolve subjects to determine his best material for the essay. She helped him take his very rough written ideas, through multiple drafts so he would offer a final polished essay (skills that served him well in college). Lesley is friendly, warm collaborative, and was a master at activating his own motivation and helping him work in a timely fashion to meet deadlines. As stressed out parents, we were not helpful in this department (understatement!) Lesley encouraged, and carefully helped Sam discover his own strengths. She did not write any part of his essay -- it all came from him, inspired by her calm and thoughtful support. VB

College application essays can seem really freaky and daunting.

"As an international student, the essay grammar feedback was very useful and helped me improve my essays and even upgrade the applications of my friends. I was also able to overcome my essay block by using the brainstorming feature, thank you so much!“

Here's an example from a real student's college essay:

I'd like to recommend Heather MacLeod (). She used to work as a recruiter at UC Berkeley's grad school of education, helping students improve their admissions essays. My 13-yr-old son worked with her for 5 or 6 1-hr sessions (mostly 1x/wk) for an essay he needed to write for acceptance to an educational opportunity program. Very similar to HS application essays. And to college application essays, I think, though we're not there yet. I was skeptical that my son would be able to work with anyone, but I needed to try something because he certainly wasn't able to work with me and he wasn't getting it done on his own. I was very pleasantly surprised that with no resistance from my son, Heather had him writing, editing, etc. She has a very easygoing way that accomplishes what needs to get done. She also has a lovely personality and is pleasant to work with. If you have specific questions I haven't addressed, please feel free to contact me directly. Best of luck. klc

College Writing/Eng./Lit. Tutor/Proofreader; Application Essay Review

"As an international student, the essay grammar feedback was very useful and helped me improve my essays and even upgrade the applications of my friends. I was also able to overcome my essay block by using the brainstorming feature, thank you so much!“