Manuscript Critique

Ethan Jacobs—High School Essay Writing Coach

Open to: High school students seeking coaching and editorial support in preparing for or while writing their college entrance essays.

Word Limit: N/A

How It Works:

• Meet with high school students at various levels (Freshmen through incoming Seniors) to prep for and coach through writing of college entrance essays.
• Younger student sessions will focus on getting students comfortable with personal statements. Writing about themselves, working through how to approach different prompts, considering different essay structures, etc.
• Will provide students supplemental works that help them see different ways they can approach prompts and think about how to express themselves.
• Editorial support on written works that goes line-by-line/ paragraph-by-paragraph. Micro to macro; Grammar/spelling, but also big-picture view of what works and what doesn’t, and why.
• Will meet 1hr/ month to discuss edits/ different essay-writing concepts/ ideas but students will receive ongoing support throughout the month via back-and-forth communication, assignments

Offerings afforded to students will depend on the session package purchased. See below for further details.

One session ($160)

Ideal for students who have their statements prepared and want to talk through them for additional guidance. With this option, Ethan will request that the student send a word document of the personal statement response to be edited, and will read and provide comments for that response prior to meeting with the student. During the hour-long session, Ethan and the student will discuss the statement using the comments and revisions provided, as well as any lingering uncertainties the student may have. This option also includes the provision of “moving forward” recommendations and one (1) follow-up round of edits (crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s) before the student’s personal statement is sent off.

Three sessions ($450)

Ideal for students who know their college lists and the questions their applications will be asking but haven’t started on them. The first session would be introductory in nature, including a brief get-to-know-you conversation in the interest of casting essay responses as authentically as possible, and the formation of a plan of attack together. The second session would involve reviewing initial drafts to look at progress and lingering issues that need addressing. The third session would focus on polishing and ironing out lingering issues. Students will be expected to provide Ethan with a draft of all personal statements to be revised between first and second meetings. This option permits students to submit multiple personal statement responses, understanding that time restrictions (one-hour session) may limit the depth into which each response can be reviewed.

Six sessions ($850)

Ideal for younger students who may not yet be in the college application phase but are interested in getting a more general feel for how this process should be approached. Ethan would request writing samples beforehand to get a feel for their voice, and would then spend the first session as a time to get to know the student and understand their approach to responding to prompts that involve them talking about themselves. From there, Ethan and the student would zero in on strengths and weaknesses while also looking at what’s going to be required for various admissions statements. Light homework would be assigned, which would be addressed in the following session, though sessions would largely be about discussing new skills (structure, word choice, etc.) based on what Ethan identifies as areas for improvement. Successful college personal statements will be used to give student a better understanding of what works and why. 

Nine sessions ($1200)

Ideal for students at lower end of HS range (9th-10th grade). Structurally aligned with six-session option, though with more one-on-one time built in and better per-class value. This option is much more longitudinal in nature, with the idea being to work with students from an early point so that once the time comes to write their statements, they know the process forward and back. 

Turnaround: 48 hours