Structured support for college-bound students

growing + exploring

~ grades 8-12

Through one-on-one meetings, I help students begin to carve a path that reflects who they are and who they want to become. With years of experiences working with teenagers, and well-versed in a variety of creative ways to explore interests, my role is to facilitate growing self-knowledge through thoughtful exploration, intentional choices, and honest reflection.

Our sessions cover a wide range of topics including, but not limited to:

  • exploring ways to expand or dig further into academic subjects through course selection and other learning opportunities

  • finding ways to serve others or connect with community through an interest or skill

  • researching and discussing summer opportunities for growth and development

  • reviewing weekly schedules and study habits

  • beginning to draft a resume

  • honing time management skills

  • creating a preliminary list of colleges to explore

College List Building

~ grades 10-12

How do you get past the buzz of college rankings and marketing materials and figure out where you will most likely thrive?

My process begins with conversational and writing activities that help a student first look inward to clarify their geographic, academic, co-curricular, and financial priorities. From there, with data-backed suggestions based on personalized research, I support students in finding multiple options for the next steps of their educational paths.

Depending on when we start and student priorities, we may:

  • Construct a list of needs vs. wants (academic programs, extracurriculars, size)

  • Discuss ways to prepare for and utilize the chance to take college visits

  • Explore majors and requirements

  • Learn about the ins and outs of demonstrated interest

  • Review how to make good use of college fairs

  • Establish systems for tracking college research and deadlines

  • Establish a plan for early decision (ED), early action (EA), or regular deadlines

reflecting + writing

~ grades 11-12

Transforming your unique, evolving life into compelling essays is no easy task. It’s messy, often confounding, and usually time-consuming!

My process for helping students navigate the writing required by the college application process emphasizes:

  • starting early to eliminate stress around fall deadlines and allow for time to revise and edit

  • brainstorming activities that are designed to help students work through what they want to say, and how

  • discussing different essay structures (and how to land on one that works for them)

  • outlining (and re-outlining) exercises

  • multiple reviews of drafts

By the end of the process, it’s a joy to see the satisfaction students get from being able to say something true and important about who they are, and say it well.

Learning + Launching

~ grades 9 +

If you’d like comprehensive support for the college application process, I combine all my offerings (Growing + Exploring, College List Building, and Writing + Reflecting) into a single package. It is designed to be responsive to a student’s needs while also providing a structured, plan for getting to the finish line (or, the “submit” button on the Common App!)

By working with a student over a longer stretch of time, I’m especially equipped to help navigate and provide guidance on questions about significant opportunities for growth, coursework, academic challenge, summers programs, college list building, and finally essay writing.

My goal is always to lend the kind of support that helps students see and write about themselves in positive, reflective ways so that this rite of passage is meaningful and encouraging.

The Dive

~ rising 12th graders

This workshop provides students with support, knowledge, and focused time to write compelling personal essays for their college applications. It begins with three hours of group instruction during which my objectives are to:

  • Define what exactly the personal essay is (and what it is not)

  • Explain the role the essay plays in the larger application

  • Review various sample essays with an eye for the four main organizing structures 

  • Provide multiple exercises (and time within the workshop) to generate your own essay ideas with these structures in mind

  • Share common pitfalls and cliches

  • Discuss useful mental frameworks and approaches to the writing process 

  • Explore helpful ways to review and revise your drafts with the mind of a reader

In the week following the group class, I meet with each student one-on-one for focused sessions to work through topic generation, outlining, drafting, and revising. These sessions, scheduled over just a few days, encourage the kind of focused attention that tends to yield positive results. For more info, please see the FAQ page.

Interested in learning more?

Get in touch here!