ALEXIS PREP COLLEGE ESSAY PACKAGES

you have a story to tell

College essays may seem daunting, but they are simply exercises in storytelling (it is okay if you do not currently find that sentence reassuring). Regardless of whether you believe you are a natural storyteller or not, we are confident that you have a story to tell. We are here to help you find your voice and share that story.

STEP 1: YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT

Your personal statement is your most important (and usually, your longest) college essay. It should quickly capture the reader’s interest and reveal something about you that isn’t obvious from your resume or the rest of your application. The personal statement should be packed with details and should tell an interesting story. Above all, the personal statement needs to be written in your voice (not only because that really will yield the best product, but also because we can promise you that applications committees can easily identify essays that were NOT written by the applicant).

STEP 2: YOUR SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS

Many colleges will require one or more supplemental essays in addition to your personal statement. These essays can vary in length—some will be ultra-short (50 words or less) and some will be almost as long as your personal statement. Regardless of their length (or perhaps because of their length), supplemental essays require just as much thought and editing as your personal statement. You still need to tell a detail-filled story that directly responds to the prompt and that highlights new information about you!

PERSONAL STATEMENT PACKAGES

We help you find your voice and write your own amazing essay through a customized series of brainstorming sessions, interview sessions (where we interview you to find your best stories and details), and regular feedback on your writing. We help ensure your essay is well-organized and grammatically correct, and we also ensure you have actually responded to the prompt (it is surprisingly easy for students to accidentally go off track here!).

The below packages were designed simply because most students seem to sign up for 3-7 hours of tutoring when working on their personal statements (so do not feel distraught if you were hoping to spend a bit more or a bit less time working through this together). We do typically recommend that students complete 30-90 minutes of writing homework between sessions to keep our sessions as efficient as possible, but we can easily customize our packages for students who cannot make that kind of homework commitment. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

Your essay package will be entirely customized to you and your progress (we firmly believe that one-size-fits-all approaches rarely work well). Most students use their first session with Alexis to brainstorm ideas (and/or evaluate ideas they are already considering) and to begin mapping/outlining the most promising of those ideas. Alexis will suggest an essay tutor assignment based on this first session—we look to match our students with tutors who will best complement the student’s natural voice while also drawing out the best aspects of the student’s story.

Your hours with your Alexis Prep tutor can then be divided into 30- or 60-minute meetings (all via Zoom), according to your evolving needs and preferences. You will also have an allotted number of editing rounds, where you can submit versions of your draft to Alexis for her written edits and comments. You can use these editing rounds at any time in your package, according to what makes the most sense for you as your essay progresses.

SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY PACKAGE BLOCKS

Students applying to different schools will have vastly different supplemental essay requirements. (The supplements for The University of Chicago, for example, are typically considered to be more challenging and more time-consuming than most, while the supplements for UMass Amherst would likely be considered a bit more straightforward and a bit less time-intensive.)

Although student needs can vary significantly with the supplemental essays, we have found that most students average somewhere between 2 and 6 tutoring hours per school. We therefore offer our supplemental essay help in 2-hour blocks, so that you may sign up for as many (or as few) as you think you might need. Both hours will be with your previously-assigned Alexis Prep tutor, and can again be divided into 30- or 60-minute meetings (all via Zoom), according to your evolving needs and preferences. Every 2-hour block will also include one round of written edits/comments from Alexis.

Our 2-Hour Supplemental Essay Package Block includes:

2 hours with your Alexis Prep Essay tutor via Zoom

1 round of edits/comments from Alexis

$220

(You may add a 2-Hour Supplemental Essay Package Block to any of the packages above upon registration, or you may email alexis@alexisprep.com at any time to add one or more Supplemental Essay Package Blocks to your account.)

A la Carte Sessions with Alexis

Some students will prefer to work exclusively with Alexis, or to supplement the above packages with extra Zoom meetings with Alexis. You may book individual sessions with Alexis at any time (Alexis’s remote rate is $185/hour). Check out Alexis’s bio here and read about her college essays here.