What It’s Like to Work with a College Essay Tutor
If you’ve landed here, you may be looking for help with the college essay writing process. Maybe you’ve heard of college essay tutors, or know of a friend who has a college essay coach, yet aren’t quite sure what that means. If you’re a little lost, you’re not alone. The college application process is complex enough without a whole marketplace of support services that make you wonder if you’re missing something.
We’re here to explain what a college essay tutor can do, how a great tutor works, what it feels like to have our support. We’re also here to help you consider whether this sort of support is right for you before you take the plunge into hiring a college essay tutor.
What is a college essay tutor?
A college essay tutor is an expert in personal essay writing and deeply knowledgeable about the college admissions process. A great essay tutor is someone who knows a compelling story when they hear it and can help draw out your most interesting and unique stories by listening closely to your experiences, ideas, and ambitions. College essay tutors are coaches, advisors, and writing experts who can keep you on top of deadlines, bring a sharp and supportive eye to your work, and ensure that you reach a polished final draft.
College essay tutors are not your parents, school teachers, or admissions officers — so they can bring a unique perspective to your work and your college application. Writing a great college essay requires you to embark on a process of self reflection about the experiences who’ve made you who you are. It’s a unique moment, and one that often comes with quite a bit of pressure. Working with someone who doesn’t already know you well can be extremely helpful in gaining perspective on your life and what is unique and compelling about your story. This can be harder to do with family and friends who will inevitably have a harder time seeing you with fresh eyes.
What are the mechanics of working with a tutor like?
The process of working with a college essay tutor will be different for every student depending on the stage of the process and on their individual strengths and weaknesses. But most students will go through a process that looks like this. First, you will meet with your college essay tutor to discuss your goals and progress. Second, you will brainstorm college essay ideas and work together to hone in on the most important stories for you to tell. Third, you will draft your essays and engage in a back-and-forth dialogue involving feedback, revising, and editing. This will begin with general feedback on themes and ideas, and end when the last comma is in the perfect place. Finally, you’ll work together to identify a finished draft. Generally students meet with their tutor once a week during the college admissions season, but this is something you can decide together with your tutor and reassess as you go.
A great college essay coach will never write for you. They will never suggest there is a single right way to write a great essay. And they will never dismiss your ideas. Instead, they will help you reflect on your experience, find your authentic voice, and tell the most powerful stories possible to support your application. They will also make sure that whatever you submit is something you feel just as good about as they do.
What can a college essay tutor really offer?
One of the most powerful things a great college essay tutor can offer is this key message: everyone can write an excellent college essay. It’s so easy to feel like you don’t have anything unique to say, and the whole system of school and college admissions can compound the feeling for even the most confident high schooler. But this just isn’t the case. Every student is unique and has something brilliant to say. We see it immediately, from our very first conversations with students we work with. And we can help you feel it, too, so that you can write from your most confident place.
As much as we are writing experts, a fundamental aspect of our work is getting to know you. By learning what makes you tick, we can then help you express this clearly in compelling stories. Over the years we've read thousands of essays and can spot an authentic voice when we hear it. Finally, we know when an essay is ready to go. It can be hard to feel “done” with something as important as a college application essay, but we’re great at knowing when you’ve hit the mark.
Is a college essay tutor right for me?
A great college essay tutor can be a tremendous asset in the college admissions process. As experienced college essay tutors, we’re a little biased. But we truly think that every student can benefit from a great tutor to support them in their college essay writing process. Sometimes students with the best grades and test scores really struggle when it comes to the more open ended process of essay writing. Sometimes students who have a hard time writing analytical essays for English class have incredible instincts when it comes to personal essays. In any case, we’ve never met a student who hasn’t benefited from our support.
At Real College Essays we work with students face-to-face and read and edit drafts together. We believe that this allows us to make the greatest progress in the least time, and teaches lasting skills that will serve you way beyond the college application process. If you’re interested in learning more about working with one of our experienced tutors, please reach out and let us know what questions we can answer.