College Essay Coaching

 

Ahhh, the dreaded and highly intimidating college essay. For most people, even thinking about it brings up feelings of anxiety, dread, and the fear of rejection and not being deemed ‘good enough.’ So if you’re staring at your blank word doc, feeling crushed by the pressure of what to write and how to convey who you are in such a short (yet important) amount of space, take solace in the fact that you are definitely not alone in feeling that way.

AND, that’s where I come in! As a certified Life Coach, I help people reflect more deeply on their lives and on parts of themselves that may not be visible from the surface. And as a writer, while I of course nerd out around sentence structure, tone, and grammar rules, my real job is to make people feel something.

Even if you’re not the strongest writer in the world, you have a unique story and perspective to share. My job is to help you dig a little deeper to uncover what that actually is - and to express it in a coherent and impactful way that’ll make those college admissions officers stop in their tracks and stamp a big ole ‘ADMITTED’ sticker on your application.

If you’re ready to get started working together, schedule a free consultation with me below where we can discuss your goals, your deadlines, and package options for how we can best work together.

“To write what is true, you must abandon the statistical mentality as a point of beginning.

You must begin with something deeper in the self. You must begin with the part of you that feels.”

— Stephen Harrod Buhner —

Hi, I’m Chelsea ~

I’m a Furman University grad with a decade-plus-long career in marketing, content creation, writing, and life coaching.

You may see the rest of my website and wonder why you should work with a "woo-woo" spiritual coach and astrologer for something as important as your college essay…and that's valid. I'm definitely not for everyone!

But throughout my winding career path through corporate marketing, coaching, entrepreneurship, and writing, the consistent golden thread for me has always been a knack for finding and telling the story.

And that's what I'm here to help you do.

So if you're looking for someone to help you reflect on the deeper meanings and golden threads running throughout your own life and to express your story in a compelling way to college admissions officers, let's schedule a chat to get to know each other.

Choose A Coaching Package

Editor Package

  • Students who already have their essay topic selected and may even have an initial draft started. You need more editing and fine-tuning support than anything else.

  • 2-4 weeks, depending on your deadlines

    • Two 30-min feedback & coaching sessions

    • Up to 4 weeks of editing support and writing coaching via google docs, email, and voxer voice notes.

  • $295

Mentor Package

  • Students who feel confident in their writing skills but need guidance and structure to help them through the process. My coaching sessions will help you reflect more deeply on your life experiences and lessons - from there, you feel confident in being able to write a killer essay with my feedback and editing support.

  • 2 months

    *Additional rates apply if you require a shorter timeframe.

    • Two 60-min coaching sessions

    • Up to 6 weeks of editing support and writing coaching via google docs, email, and voxer voice notes.

  • $495

Advisor Package

  • Students who feel completely overwhelmed by the college essay process and need a high level of guidance and support to tackle their essay. From coaching to reflect more deeply on yourself and your life experiences, to helping guide the outlining and drafting processes, to facilitating the final polishing touches for your essay, this package includes the highest level of support from me.

  • 3 months

    *Additional rates apply if you require a shorter timeframe.

    • Two 60-min coaching sessions

    • Two 30-minute live calls for writing coaching and feedback

    • 3 months of editing support and writing coaching via google docs, email, and voxer voice notes.

  • $895

FAQs

  • Since I'm not writing your essay for you, no, working with me as your writing coach is not unethical. I will prompt you to reflect more deeply, make edits for clarity and structure, and potentially add suggested elements, but I will never do the work for you! How would you actually learn to prepare for college, otherwise?

  • The college essay is a very important part of your application, especially if you're applying to a top school. It's where you get to really stand out as more than just a collection of test scores and extracurricular activities on a resume.

    According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) 2023 Fall survey, 19% of colleges surveyed view the essay as considerably important, 37% consider it to be of moderate importance, 27% consider it to be of limited importance, and 17% don’t consider essays at all.

    With more and more schools adopting test-optional or test-free admission policies, the college essay continues to hold more weight for many schools when deciding who to admit.

  • You can...and to that, I'd say, 'good luck with that.'

    While AI is certainly posing a tricky issue of discernment for teachers and college admissions officers alike, as the technology is more widely used, our AI-radars also get more and more fine-tuned.

    Plus, while I could go on about how I don't think that's the best option if you really want to get into a school, there's also the component of what you lose on a personal level when a bot writes your story for you.

    While it can be daunting and intimidating to write the college admissions essay, I've always viewed writing as one of the most helpful tools we have as humans to get us to reflect, to know ourselves more deeply, and to express what's within us. Ethical issues aside on the AI topic, I think students lose a lot more than a potential college rejection when they choose to let a bot write their story for them.

  • I am happy to help you write and edit additional supplemental essays. If that's the case, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page and provide details on how many essays (including the questions or topics and required word count) you'll need coaching and support for so that I can have a better idea of how to price a custom package for you.

  • Sure, just fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page and include details of your specific goals and needs. I'll reach out to schedule a free consultation if I think I can support you.

  • It happens! I have space to support 2 students on rush deadlines at a time. If this is you, go ahead and book your free consult with me and add a note in the scheduling details about your timeline needs. I'll be open and transparent with you about my schedule capacity and whether I can take you on within your desired timeframe.

  • This is where my coaching expertise comes in. As a life coach, I help people reflect on their lives and the impact that certain events, relationships, and situations have had on them.

    In a recent US News article, Jennifer Gayles, director of admission and coordinator of multicultural recruitment at Sarah Lawrence College in New York shared, "It's not just about the topic, but why it's important to you and how you can showcase who you are as a student and an individual through that topic."

    By asking questions to prompt you into deeper reflection and by reflecting back to you what I'm hearing and sensing as you share, I help you uncover parts of yourself that you may not have realized were there and that can be ripe for showcasing your unique story in your college essay.

chelsea jewel at furman university - college essay coaching

Throwback to my own college visit days.

Need Something Else?

Need a package that’s custom designed (like adding in reiki sessions for stress management and intuitive guidance in the college application process!)? Have questions that I haven’t answered?

Drop me a note!