Maddie and I started working together under a time crunch— with a deadline approaching in just two weeks! We worked quickly to make sure she was presenting her most authentic self. First, she had to scrap her original two ideas that she already drafted (that’s super common). Though both drafts were well-written, the first one had a beautiful metaphor about the roads but we didn’t end up learning anything new about her. It wasn’t clear how this experience has shaped her into who she is today. The second set-up centered around items in her room, which felt a little cliche and I suggested focusing on one of the themes she describes rather than all of them.

I asked her reflective questions to get her to a topic that she genuinely loved to talk about and would make her stand out. Her enthusiasm for writing rang through to the admissions officers at UChicago.

Imagine how thrilled I was when Madelyn emailed me this: “I’m very excited for Chicago and feel like it was meant to be. Thank you for all of your help, you really led me to think about what has been important in my life and how to put that into words. In such a stressful time, your advice and strategies pushed me to write a meaningful essay.”

I was so excited to hear about her good news that I had to ask her for a testimonial. Read it below:

“Presented with the daunting challenge of creating an essay that evokes emotion and stands out to an admissions officer with thousands of essays in front of them, I was skeptical I would be able to rise to the challenge. Overwhelmed with a deadline in just two short weeks, Ms. Shuster helped me brainstorm a topic and create a draft in just a few days. She pushed me to find things in my life, things I didn’t even consider that meaningful, that made me unique and represented my story. I am still very proud of the essay we cultivated and I couldn’t have done it without her guidance. I wholeheartedly recommend Ms. Shuster’s services to any high school senior struggling to find essay topics and curate a cohesive, authentic narrative.”

-Maddie, Accepted to the University of Chicago Early Action