Nick was already an incredible writer when he reached out to me for help with his transfer application essays.

Most importantly, I focused on treating his trauma subject matter with dignity, respect, and sensitivity. I approached the draft from a place of non-judgment and made sure he felt comfortable discussing any of my questions with frequent check-ins.

At first, we focused on brainstorming strategic topics for the UC application since the four different essays should each teach us something new with each response. In other words, you don’t want any content to overlap between the essays - each essay should be on a unique topic that enriches who you are. I also provided journaling questions for him to work on to add greater depth to his answers.

For his Common App essay, I had him submit all of his drafts that he was working on so I could objectively analyze which parts of each to use, which ended up taking his final essay to the next level.

After we finished our edits, he wrote: “I wanted to share my gratitude for the guidance and support you gave me those months ago. Your feedback was immeasurably valuable, and I truly appreciated your accommodation of my various constraints. Most of all, I was moved by your words of encouragement during an application process riddled with worry. Thank you again!”

Then, I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful follow-up email he sent when he learned of his impressive acceptances:

“Hope you're doing well! Thank you again for all your help throughout the college application process. I'm thrilled to let you know that I was accepted into Pomona, Columbia, USC, and the three UC's I applied to--Berkeley, LA, and Santa Barbara. I'll be attending my top choice, Pomona, in the fall. :) ”
-Nick, accepted to Pomona, Columbia, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara