A college essay is a chance to show admissions something they can't find anywhere else in your application. College Essay Studio helps you find that story — and tell it in your own words.
Grades, courses, activities and honors tell colleges a lot about what a student has done. The essay gives them something different: a chance to hear directly from the student and understand more about how they think, what they notice, what they value and who they are becoming.
College Board says the essay can help distinguish a student from other applicants and make a difference at decision time. That makes a student's own voice and the authenticity of their story especially important in the age of AI. Common App considers submitting substantive AI-generated content as a student's own work application fraud. Colleges including Yale, Cornell, Tufts and Princeton have also emphasized the importance of the student's own thinking, writing and voice.
Original thinking matters more than ever.
AI can generate polished writing in seconds. College Essay Studio gives students something different: the time, questions and individualized guidance to discover what they want to say and develop the confidence to say it in their own words.
At Originate Stud.io, young writers are encouraged to think deeply, trust their own ideas and develop a voice that sounds like them. Through one-on-one discovery and mentoring, students explore the experiences, interests, relationships, talents and everyday details that hold the greatest potential for an essay.
For more than two decades, I’ve worked with organizations and leaders to uncover the ideas, experiences and stories that define who they are and how they communicate. I bring that same depth of discovery to my work with students — along with the perspective of an MFA-trained writer whose fiction is represented by a literary agent. I know how to listen closely, ask questions that go deeper and recognize the details and connections that can become the heart of a story. I help students see those possibilities in their own experiences and find the story that is uniquely theirs to tell.
Together, we look beneath the surface:
What do I notice that someone else might overlook?
What experiences have shaped the way I think?
What am I good at — and what has it taken to become good at it?
What do I care about that might not appear anywhere else in my application?
What experiences have shaped the way I think?
What am I good at — and what has it taken to become good at it?
What do I care about that might not appear anywhere else in my application?
Sometimes the strongest story is hiding in an experience a student initially considers too ordinary to write about. And in looking more closely, students often begin to see their own experiences, interests and strengths in a new light.
The student finds the story. The student decides what it means. The student writes every word.
I provide questions, perspective, strategic feedback and writing guidance along the way.
The result is an essay that is thoughtful, specific and entirely their own — and a student who has learned something about themselves in the process.
College Essay Discovery
Students don't need to arrive knowing what they want to write about. Discovery gives them a place to begin. A short pre-session exercise followed by a 75–90 minute one-on-one conversation helps students uncover possible stories, unexpected connections and details worth exploring.
Includes:
Pre-Discovery questionnaire
75–90 minute one-on-one Discovery Session
Exploration of experiences, interests and possible narratives
Approximately 3–5 promising story directions
Personalized Story Map following the session
$275
Students who want continued support can apply the full $275 toward College Essay Mentoring. Schedule a Discovery session
College Essay Mentoring
For students who want guidance throughout the writing process, mentoring continues from discovery through drafting and revision. Students choose their own direction and write every word themselves. I provide questions, perspective, strategic feedback and writing guidance to help them develop the idea, strengthen the draft and make purposeful revisions while preserving their individual voice.
Includes:
Complete Discovery experience and Story Map
Guidance choosing and developing the strongest essay direction
Three private mentoring sessions following Discovery to talk through the student's writing and revisions
Final review of the completed essay
$950
Students who begin with College Essay Discovery can apply the full $275 toward mentoring.
Reach out to discuss session options and current availability.
