It’s senior year, and you haven’t gotten started on your applications. You start to panic, thinking to yourself, “Oh no, oh man, how am I going to get all this work done?? I haven’t even started on my essays??!! I am going to go insane. I am going to become the teenage Joker.” Ok first of all, it’s going to be okay. Calm down. You’re not going to become the teenage Joker, because you’re here and we’re going to help.

Yes, it’s not ideal to wait this long. You haven’t had the time to hone those extracurriculars or had the guidance to develop those passions to the specialist level. You may not even know what you want to study or where you even want to apply. It’s going to be hard to get this all figured out in a few months, but we have a ton of experience helping seniors with their applications and we know it’s doable.

The first thing we tackle is the Common App essay. Almost every school requires it, so it’s important to get done first. We start with the brainstorming session, where we dive into you, your interests and hobbies, and find a story to tell. While other firms suggest writing essays about your greatest accomplishments or your hardest trials and tribulations, we don’t advise this. In order to set yourself apart from the crowd of applicants, we take an outside-the-box approach to the Common App essay. We help our clients tell a story – small stories about moments like cooking or eating a hot dog – that leave admissions officers with a better sense of who you are, your personality, and your values.

Next up are the supplements. Almost every top-tier college will have at least one or two supplemental essays, and we follow the same logic as the Common App essay. Stories! We love stories! Many supplements reuse the same themes, like community, diversity, or the ubiquitous “Why” essay. This allows us to create a few strong base essays that we tailor to fit each college and their prompt.

Here’s a sample timeline of what you can expect if you start working with us as a senior:

It is a ton of work to fit into four months, especially along trying to start your senior year off on the best foot possible. That’s why we recommend our clients start the process in sophomore or junior year to get the full benefits of the program – but it is doable.

One of our past clients, Sam, came to us senior year. Sam had written a lot of their Common App essay and attempted a few supplements but needed help honing in on the right messaging. We took their Common App essay, applied our strategy, and turned a very standard essay into a creative, fun, and engaging piece of writing. They were able to apply the same logic to their supplements and ended up with an incredible application that got them into their top choice Early Decision school.

If you’re looking for a private college counselor to help you stand out from the crowded pool of applicants, we can help. Each of our counselors take the time to get to know you and your goals – even with a short deadline turnaround – to help you craft excellent, eye-catching essays.

Reach out to us today if you’re looking for that extra support on your college applications.