Any Questions?
Do you work with transfer students?
Yes! We love working with transfer students. Please see our services page for more information.
Do you work with clients other than college applicants?
Yes! We work with high school underclassmen applying to summer programs as well as grad school, fellowship and scholarship applicants. Tina also coaches counselor colleagues. Please see our services page for more.
My child is a junior and we want to get a jump on things. Should they start writing their college essays now?
Although it’s terrific that you’re thinking ahead, juniors are best served focusing on their schoolwork, activities and standardized testing.
When is the best time to work on college essays?
The best time to start college application essays is the summer before senior year. Your child will have a full three years of high school under their belt and with that experience comes a level of perspective and maturity that will inform their writing. Additionally, colleges sometimes change their essay prompts from year-to-year, so you want to make sure they’ve released their updated requirements before diving in.
While college essays don’t need to be the sole focus of one’s summer, it’s a time when students have more bandwidth to do the “hard work” of brainstorming and drafting. While there’s usually writing left to do when school starts, the writing coasts more smoothly in the fall if a student has started over the summer. Read about our process.
My child doesn’t write “personal essays” in school. Will they be prepared?
Most high school writing assignments focus on mastering expository writing. This is an extremely important skill to learn: how to make a case and back up a point using evidence and analysis. College applications simply ask students to shift their point of view and look inward to tell stories about themselves. Everyone has stories to tell. We can help bring out those stories.
What can my child do on their own to prepare for their college essays?
While by no means required, one exercise your child may find helpful is to journal. Journaling is simply writing down one’s experiences, thoughts and reflections. Journaling can be an awesome stress reliever.
Once your child has a list of prospective colleges, they’ll want to start researching each school to learn more. While researching, it will be helpful for them to take notes on each school to better consider why the school would be a good fit for them. Same deal for campus visits: they should take notes. These notes will be helpful when it’s time to write their “Why Us” essays.
As a parent, how can I help?
When it comes to college essays, parents want to be helpful and supportive, but aren’t always sure what to do. Parents can be extremely helpful when it comes to supporting their child’s time management and they are often terrific brainstorming partners. However, beyond that, here at Boyer Coaching we ask parents to step aside while the essays are in progress because it’s very important that students are the sole authors and main editors of their work. Our experience as professional coaches enables us to provide guidance without becoming a “co-author.”
We need assistance with other aspects of the admissions process beyond essays – can you help?
While our practice specializes in the writing portion of the application process, we maintain partnerships with trusted colleagues who provide guidance on all other aspects of college applications. We are happy to connect interested families with our colleagues.
