College Essay FAQs

General FAQs

When should I start meeting with a college essay coach?

The ideal time is the summer before you plan to apply to college. If you start earlier, you’ll probably be swamped with other responsibilities; if you start later, you risk rushing your essays and writing them at the last minute. Having said that, we take on students year-round, and many students write outstanding essays when working against the time crunch at the end.

So if you’re the type of person who plans ahead, we recommend starting in June or July in the year you plan to apply. But you can really get in touch with us whenever you’re ready to get started.

Do you know what college admissions officers want to hear?

We’re sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but no one knows what college admissions officers want to hear. College admissions officers are individuals like you and me, and when you submit an application, you never know who’s going to read it or what they’re going to think.

We’re aware that some college counselors claim to know what individual schools are looking for, but this is just sales talk and we’d advise you to stay away from anyone who thinks they can get inside admissions officers’ minds.

Having said that, we’ve graded enough papers in our time to distinguish good writing from bad, and we’re experts at helping you write the best essay you possibly can. Do we guarantee that every single admissions officer will gush over your words? Of course not. But we’ll help you tell your story in a way that makes it compelling to the vast majority of readers — and that’s the only way to stand out in this part of the admissions process.

What’s the problem with using ChatGPT to write a college essay?

The whole point of the college essay is to distinguish yourself from other applicants. But that’s the one thing AI cannot do. AI does a great job at making you sound like other people, but it can’t tell a story that captures what makes you unique, because only you can get to your deepest ideas and memories.

Yes, ChatGPT can write essays that seem entirely appropriate on first glance. But seasoned admissions officers can usually tell in a few seconds if your essay was written with AI — and even if they can’t, ChatGPT will never help you write an essay that makes you stand out or makes a school want to admit you.

Think of it this way: in the best case scenario, AI can help you write a college essay that’s essentially a B or B-. Will a B or B- get you into a good college? Definitely not.

What qualifications do your tutors have?

This is an important question that you should always ask before paying for college essay help.

Most companies hire recent college grads who have very little professional writing (or teaching) experience. They may be happy to suggest edits on Google Docs, but you’d be taking a leap of faith by accepting their suggestions.

By contrast, all our tutors are published authors with PhDs from top schools who have at least a decade of experience helping students with their writing. We’ve graded thousands of student essays at the college level, and we know what it takes help students write essays that stand out.

Do I need a college counselor or a college essay tutor?

It depends. If you’re a high school freshman, you might want to seek out a college counselor to plan out your classes and extracurriculars. Or if you’re a rising senior and you don’t know what colleges you should apply to, a college counselor can help you come up with a list.

But if you know where you’re applying, then you don’t need a college counselor — you need a college essay tutor. Why? Because college counselors aren’t particularly qualified to help with students’ writing, and they usually pawn off this work to college grads for a cheap hourly rate. If you want expert help with your college essays, you’d be much better off working with someone who specializes in college essay writing.

Where are you located?

We’re based in Los Angeles, and we meet with many of our students in person here. However, we also work with students across the US and around the world via Zoom.

One-On-One FAQs

What’s the process like working with one of your tutors?

In the early sessions, we’ll ask you all sorts of questions about your life experiences, and when we pick up on an interesting connection, we’ll take note and ask you more questions. Usually we’ll get a sense of your topic within a session or two, and after a fair amount of back-and-forth, we’ll help you come up with an effective structure for your essay.

At this point, we’ll shift to focus more on the mechanics of writing, and we’ll help you by breaking the writing process into smaller tasks and assigning you homework. We’ll review what you write at the beginning of each session, and when you have a complete draft, we’ll provide you with minor edits so your essay is submittable.

You can read a more detailed description of the process here.

Will you work with me if I already have a draft of my college essay?

Absolutely. If you come to us with an draft, we’ll take a few minutes to read it at the beginning of the first session, and we’ll give you immediate live feedback. This will probably be a highly motivating experience, because you’ll see our reactions in real time (almost like an admissions officer telling you what they really think of your essay). In the vast majority of cases, you’ll still have a lot of work to do.

Having said that, you’ll probably save time if you come to us at the beginning of the process because we’ll help you come up with your essay topic (which is the hardest part).

Will a college essay coach write my essay for me?

No. Not only is this deeply unethical, but it’s also ineffective; college admissions officers can detect when an adult tries to write a high school student’s college essay. If anyone offers to write your essay for you, our recommendation is that you run.

Will you ever tell a student that their essay is bad?

Maybe not in so many words, but we don’t believe we do you any favors by pretending your essay is good when it isn’t. This will only come back to bite you when admissions decisions come out. As a result, we are completely honest with our clients. We often find ourselves saying something like this to top students: “You have great grades, a near-perfect SAT, and tons of extracurriculars, but this essay is the equivalent of a B. Here’s what you need to do to make it an A.”

Writing an effective college essay is hard work, and most candidates underestimate the amount of effort required to succeed. But this can be a benefit, because if you take the college essay seriously, you will certainly capture the attention of admissions officers.

Do you delegate any work to team members without PhDs?

No. If you sign up for our one-on-one service, you will be working exclusively with your qualified college essay coach.

Do you work with students in real time or asynchronously?

Everything happens in real time. If you work with us, there will be no comments or edits appearing mysteriously on your document when you’re not present. We’ll do everything in front of you, because the whole point is to teach you to become a better writer.

We’re often surprised at how students allow people they’ve never met to edit their essays. Why would you trust them? How do you not know they’re not making your essays worse? We pride ourselves on our teaching skills, and we’ll meet with you as long as you need help with your essays.

How much do your services cost?

Unlike other college consulting companies, we don’t force you into packages that include unnecessary services. We work on an hourly basis, and our tutors’ rates are commensurate with their experience. So if you sign up for our services, and you aren’t completely satisfied, you won’t be out thousands of dollars. It’s always up to you whether you want to set up another session. For our most up-to-date rates, please get in touch.

DIDN’T FIND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION?

Email us at info@realcollegeessays.com.