Looking for writing help?

College Application Essay Coaching

Since 2010, I’ve worked with students from around the world to negotiate the thicket of the college application essay — from brainstorming ideas to development and restructuring to sentence wrangling — to get their own particular stories on the page.

Keep in mind, I’m not here to build you into a brand (you’re a human, after all) or to get you into college (honestly, it’s an unfun crapshoot out there). Rather, I’m here to support you in the process as you work to articulate the truest version of yourself, in approximately 650 words or less.

Writing is an act of discovery. It can be messy, grueling, delightful, strange, and rewarding. Though the personal statement might seem intimidating, it needn’t be a lonely or agonizing process.

Developmental Editing
I take on a small number of developmental editing clients working on personal essays and memoirs. (I no longer comment on poetry manuscripts.)

Interested? Please inquire for rates: elyse.r.fenton at gmail.com

Testimonials:

“Thank you so much for all of your help and encouragement over the application process! […] Your insightful and thought-provoking comments on every essay I wrote shaped every aspect of my application and helped me develop a writing style I wasn’t comfortable with before. I even find myself using techniques I learned from you in my school essays!”

-Sunjum S. (USC)

“Your editing advice was invaluable (seriously—you might be the best editor I’ve ever worked with) and I was very proud of the final product. Thanks for all your help!”

-Mara S. (UC Berkeley)

“I cannot thank you enough for the mountains of help that you gave me throughout this process. This acceptance truly wouldn’t have been possible without your amazing writing recommendations and revisions, and how much better each essay I wrote got with each additional revision.”

-Anshul R. (Emory ED)

“I want to let you know that your help has been monumental in decreasing my stress and increasing the strength of my application. I really appreciate all you are doing for me here.”

-Sam S.