Question 1

Where do you hold your teaching sessions?

Accepted Answer

All sessions are conducted remotely using Google Meet. And we will collaborate through Google Docs for writing, reading and reviewing essays. We will also be using an online essay management platform called Prompt. This will help organize all your essays and prompts in one place and facilitate a smooth collaboration between us.

Question 2

How will this coaching process work?

Accepted Answer

Depending on what kind of support you need, we will meet once a week (or more) in 1 hour sessions online. We will begin by brainstorming on essay topics and narrowing down some ideas. You will then write your first draft offline and submit this to me on Google Docs through PROMPT before our next session. I will review the writing and provide the first round of feedback and suggestions. 
 
Our online time will be spent going over those feedback points in more detail, discussing examples on how to refine it and using some of that time to rewrite more, and so on. We will go through several such rounds of feedback, where each round will focus on specific parts of the essay and specific aspects of your writing. The final stage will be that of proof-reading and pruning to keep to the word count. I have covered this process in more detail here.

Our order of priorities if you were to coach on all written parts of your application with me would be:

Common App Personal Statement
Common App Activities List
College Supplemental Essays
UC PIQ's 
UC Activities section
Any scholarship essays (if you're applying)

Question 3

How long will a typical start-to-end course run for?

Accepted Answer

Assuming we start the process right at the start of the summer (end of May/beginning of June), and depending on the number of colleges you are applying for and whether through Early Action or Regular Decision, we can look at collaborating anywhere from 3-6 months.

All other sessions will be of shorter duration as per your needs. A brainstorming session will take about 1-2 sessions , with some homework based assignment. Review of pre-written essays (depending on the number) will take us anywhere from 3-6 sessions if only 1 round of feedback is required. Consulting on Activities List of Common App will take about 1-3 sessions, and so on.

Please contact me for any further questions on your customized plan.

Question 4

What is the price of these sessions?

Accepted Answer

Payment will be based on a reasonable per-hourly-rate, factoring the following:
 
- The the time I spend with students in our live online sessions
 
- The time I spend offline, devoted to reading student essays and formulating feedback points to address gaps in the student's writing
 
- The time I spend researching on colleges on my students' list, to gain background insight, to better serve me in the mentoring process
 
- Weekly email/text touchpoints to help students stay on track and be accountable
 
Please contact me for an exact quote on this.

And just to give added perspective,  the Independent Education Consultants latest pricing survey has published an average hourly rate of $212 per hour. My goal every year is to make my price point more accessible to families. If you need any price accommodations based on your personal financial situation, please do let me know.

Question 5

What kind of prior teaching experience do you have?

Accepted Answer

I have experienced 3 very unpredictable application seasons so far starting with Class of 2021. The 2020-21 application cycle especially, right on the heels of Covid, was a time of great confusion for many with the oft canceled SATs and ACTs, canceled extra curriculars and higher than average applicant pool per college. This was a great learning experience for me guiding my students to navigate these uncharted waters and think on their feet.

If you are willing to read further....
 
My journey as a writer began on my personal blog platform which I wrote for and maintained for 10 years. Each of those 600+ posts are styled as non-ficton, memoir style pieces, full of personal insights and reflections. You can find some samples of my writing here.  This puts me in a unique place to mentor my students through their college essays, which are in essence, personal reflections written in a spirit of engaging truth and authenticity. This is the first key ingredient which I bring to the spectrum of my experience.
 
Add to this: the 2 years of my experience as a content creator, devising curriculum literally from scratch in various creative and fun genres of writing such as fables, fan-fiction, monster fiction, types of poetry, recipe writing, travelogues & experiences, greeting card verses, traditional letter writing and more. This will help me to connect to the creative spirit within each of my students and together, we will collaborate to explore a slice of their life story that is truly worth telling!
 
A 3rd key component would be the 2 years of my experience in actively coaching my students (from K-8) in live weekly interactive sessions, both in-person and through remote online sessions. This has introduced me to the joy of working with young minds which are full of both ideas and innate wisdom. This has also taught me how to relate to my students, how to talk to them and moreover, how to make learning and writing fun. 
 
Finally, I also look to the summer where I conducted a mini workshop for teens addressing the all-important aspects of self esteem and self confidence. This was an invaluable learning for me when I became a strong advocator for the teen voice. They are at that slip of an age when they are truly shedding their childhood and donning the mantle of an adult, though not yet fully formed. It is a place of great confusion, yet great discovery. And writing can become an invaluable tool for this discovery. In a way, I hope that the college essay writing process will be one of self discovery for all my students, and that they will walk away from this just a bit more in tune with who they resplendently are. You can read through some of my students' reflections from their journey here.

Looking back I can see how these varied and seemingly disparate aspects of my life have actually come together, one building on top of the other in a weave, bringing me to this juncture where I am now a writing mentor and essays specialist. This is yet another part of my tool belt, which will help me guide my students to connect the dots of their own life, and tell the story as a whole.
 
I am ready and truly looking forward to working with all my students.

Question 6

Will you write my essay for me?

Accepted Answer

The simple answer is no. The essays you write through our collaboration are going to be real and authentic and you are going to have the pride of owning this process from start to end. I will be your biggest cheerleader, your soundboard, your resource center. But the writer is going to be wholly and completely YOU. The essays you write are going to sound like a 17 year old (and that's a good thing!) and not like they've been manufactured by an adult ghostwriter. I have yet to meet a student who could not find topics to write about, or write them in his/her own ever-so-preciously-unique voice.

Question 7

What are college essays actually about?

Accepted Answer

College essays are primarily about reflection. It offers a lens through which you look at your life and what is important to you and reveal that to the admissions officer reading your application. It is about showing the qualitative aspects of your personality, the person beyond the numbers of your GPA, standardized testing scores and letter grades. It is about one or a few chapters of your life woven together to showcase some aspect of yourself that is important to know. And each one of us has that within us.

Question 8

I have good grades from English class at school. Why do I need help writing college essays?

Accepted Answer

That's great! Writing for school coursework is indeed skill building in many ways. Yet, I find that first-person writing is rarely taught in high school English. School writing curriculum focuses intensely on academic styles of writing, including the mechanics & grammar, and not nearly enough on the simple narrative and informal aspects of storytelling that is most appealing in college application essays.  Students spend more time analyzing the writings of others than in telling their own story. Moreover, school writing is prescriptive with rubrics and a defined structure. College essays are much more descriptive and open-ended. There are so many ways it can be approached. And that's where the fun and sometimes confusion (for students) begins.

Question 9

Do these sessions help me in any other ways besides college applications?

Accepted Answer

Yes! If you are looking for opportunities to fund your own education through private scholarships, many of them call for essays.  This kind of writing lends itself very well to writing for scholarships. And I also like to think that it gives you skills to do some personal journaling, which can be incredibly therapeutic and cathartic.

Question 10

How long will I spend on writing per week?

Accepted Answer

It depends. If you opt for the once-a-week session, you can plan on spending anywhere between 2-4 hours per week, sometimes longer. On a twice-a-week session, you will spend anywhere from 4-6 hours writing per week. Please note that these numbers are mere estimates and writing is a process and it is hard to quantify it.

Question 11

Are you available for any help during the week between sessions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can send me an email or text if you are stuck at any point and I will do my best to help keep you going. I believe very much in being available to my students and holding your hands through this process. I invest myself deeply into each of my students. It is very personal for me. I wouldn't be able to do it any other way. So I am your new best friend during the time we spend in your applications.

Question 12

When is a good time to begin working on college essays?

Accepted Answer

The most ideal time is in June, right after your AP exams are done. By this time, the Common App essay prompts have already been released, and we can begin with the detailed brainstorming exercises and the personal statement. We can also start working on your Activities List (the resume portion of the Common App).
 
By July, we can start looking at the supplemental essays from the colleges on your list and come up with a plan. Prompts do change from year to year but not by much. 
 
Then by Aug 1, when the Common App officially opens, you will have completed the main essay and gotten a start on the supplemental essays. At this point, we can concretize your plan and work out a timeline to be done well ahead of deadline dates of Nov 1, Nov 15 and so on.

Question 13

Do you offer counseling on any other aspects of college admissions. Will you be able to help me with my college list?

Accepted Answer

No. I can provide some generalized guidance on how to research into colleges. But beyond that, I believe that the best advocates for that would be your parents, your school counselor, teachers who know your student history and your own college research. For this same reason, I do not offer advice on the college list. That is a very personal decision made by you and your family in the best interests of your future.

Question 14

What if I miss a session?

Accepted Answer

Please give me a 24 hour notice on any planned absences. In case of unplanned absence due to sickness, please let me know as soon as you can. Every effort will be made to make up sessions. In the event we are not able to make up due to restrictions of time, the session fees can be adjusted towards the next payment. I only ask that you offer me the courtesy of respecting my time, before canceling a session.

Question 15

Why would I need help on filling up the Activities section of the Common App?

Accepted Answer

In addition to the personal statement and supplemental essays, the Activities Section of the Common App is a crucial place to showcase all your accomplishments outside of the classroom and one of the places you can distinguish yourself from the crowd.  Describing your activities is limited to 150 characters on the Common App. So real estate is a big factor.  You have to write clearly and concisely, economizing on words, avoiding repetitions, yet not undersell your achievements in the process. There are also ways to list activities in a certain order and narrative. It is all a fine balance, and you will need help doing it.

Question 16

What student is ideal for CollaboWrite Now?

Accepted Answer

Are you a student who is having trouble starting your college essays?
 
Are you wondering what to write about and how to make it memorable?
 
Do you need a scheduled timeline and a coach to help you stay on track?
 
If yes, then that ideal student is you, no matter your current writing ability. Just bring a strong work ethic, a sense of open curiosity for the process and make time to write and discover yourself. And we will accomplish a lot together.
 
In addition, have a good resume / CV handy, be prepared with your college list and at least some level of preliminary research out of the way. Then we can hit the ground running and start collabo-writing!

Question 17

What can you guarantee?

Accepted Answer

Good question! CollaboWrite Now can guarantee you:
 
- a friendly, collaborative and confidential space where you feel comfortable talking about your life, in our brainstorming sessions
- one on one instruction that is tailored to your particular strengths and designed to address the gaps in your writing
- detailed and honest feedback on all aspects of your writing
- enough rounds of feedback to take your writing to the next level
- timely and regular communication
 
CollaboWrite Now cannot guarantee you:
 
- admissions into any college on your list, due to the inherent vagaries of the admissions process and the subjective review 
- completion of your writing assignments, since that is your responsibility

Question 18

How much do parents need to be involved in this process?

Accepted Answer

I am a parent and I know how invested I am in my child. So I understand your investment as a parent too. That said, this process can be a beautiful one of discovery for your student, and this is the one place that we need to get out of their way and let them lead the effort.

You will get periodic updates on where we are at IF and only IF I deem that it is necessary from my end to ensure your student's continued progress. Else please check in with your student on a regular basis.

Please don’t insist on reading the essays while they are in progress. Set up a date with your student to read them after they are fully done. In the meantime, offer support and encouragement, be their cheerleader and take them out for ice cream! :)

Question 19

Great. I am ready to sign up. What next?

Accepted Answer

Welcome aboard! Please fill out the contact form and submit. I will be in touch with you very soon to let you know of next steps and registration.
 
Alternatively, you can also email me at collabowritenow@gmail.com.

Frequently asked questions