College Essays

Sessions Available

For students struggling with where and how to begin their college essays, a five-session package with our essay expert will guide them through all of the necessary steps to identify, draft, and polish unique and personal responses to the Common Application personal statement and well as supplemental essays.

Writing Your College Essay

In these unprecedented times, some colleges are going test-optional and some schools are providing pass/fail grades, so the college essay is more important than ever in showing colleges who you are and what you have already accomplished!

Time: Thu 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Dates: TBD
Instructor: Helen Cespedes

This class will include:

  • Exercises and prompts to help students start getting their ideas out
  • High-level guidance on choosing a topic and crafting an essay that will allow the student to standout
  • Breakout sessions in which students get one-on-one guidance from instructor
  • Weekly assignments and deadlines to breakdown the process from generative journaling to rough drafts to final drafts

Revising & Polishing Your College Essay

You’ve chosen a topic, you’ve written a draft…now what? You need to do the intensive work of revising and polishing that essay so that it shows schools how dazzling you really are!

Time: Sun 3pm – 4:30pm
Dates: Oct 4, 11, 18
Instructor: Helen Cespedes

This class will include:

  • High-level guidance on choosing a topic and crafting an essay that will allow the student to standout
  • Breakout sessions in which students get one-on-one guidance from instructor
  • Weekly assignments and deadlines to breakdown the process from rough drafts to final drafts

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Session One:

Brainstorm ideas and focal points for possible responses. Identify the most appropriate questions to address. Begin drafting the main portions of essays using a series of tailored prompts.

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Session Two:

Evaluate drafts or written exercises generated during the previous session. Identify and collate the strongest responses into a complete framework for the final essay. Assess the writing for descriptive and analytical depth.

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Session Three:

Begin to hone the draft for contextual, rhetorical, and analytical completeness. Identify where vividness, logic, and/or transitions need to be strengthened. Scan the completed draft for possible alternative connections or conclusions.

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Session Four:

Fine-tune exposition and linkages, word-by-word, and line-by-line. Consider word limits, and cut all superfluous information, and making sure all “best fit” information and explanation is thoroughly and appropriately expressed.

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Session Five:

Review and polish the final draft. Check one final time to be sure vocabulary and sentence structure has been achieved for maximum effectiveness. Proofread for concision and flawlessness.

* For students who have independently drafted parts of, or all of an essay prior to the first session, a series of 2-3 sessions with our expert should be sufficient to complete and perfect their material for submission.

Ready to take the next step with Zoffness College Prep?

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Ida Rothschild

Helen is an experienced private tutor who grew up in Boston in an academic household. After graduating from Barnard College magna cum laude with a BA in Comparative Literature, Helen went on to receive her MFA in acting from the Juilliard School. She is currently a teacher, working actor, and writer. For more than 6 years, Helen has enjoyed guiding her students from New York’s top high schools and middle schools to build the skills they need to achieve their goals in the classroom and on college readiness assessments. She teaches all sections of the SAT and ACT, as well as the SSAT, ISEE, SHSAT, AP French and several SAT subject tests. Helen curates her practice material and curricula to fit the needs of the individual student, and she helps her students cultivate critical thinking skills that will serve them beyond the exam and through their college careers.

Enroll Now!