<p>My older son left for college a month ago. Since this coincided with my losing my job, I'm thinking of trying to channel the knowledge I gained during his college search into a college essay consultation/review business. I've got extensive writing and editing experience as a newspaper reporter, magazine essayist, copyeditor, and writing teacher at two law schools, and I enjoy (and think I'm good at) helping people improve their writing.</p>
<p>My questions:</p>
<p>1) Is this a service you'd hire someone to perform?
2) What would you consider a fair way for the provider to charge for it?
3) I live in the South, so for clients outside my local area obviously I'd have to work online. Would you be willing to hire someone your child could not meet with face to face?</p>
<p>I would really appreciate any and all thoughts you might have. Thanks!</p>
<p>Interesting idea, and I don’t think you’re the first battle-scarred parent to have that thought. I wouldn’t hire someone to do this, but I’m sure there are many people who would. Michelle Hernandez - famous college admissions consultant - has a young writer on her website whose essay consulting services are sold for $2500 for a 5-hour package. Probably far more than you’ve ever made as a legal writing teacher, huh? It sounds like he does most of it remotely - by email and phone, so that answers question 3. So the key is how to market yourself. Do you have connections with any groups or schools that would match the demographic of people who would buy your services? Good luck!</p>
<p>I think it’s great that you are willing to give this a shot.</p>
<p>I know some people who edit college essays, who do it as a sideline to other freelance editing., so I guess it’s possible to do but I don’t think it’s a big part of their business. In my experience, most parents will hire an SAT tutor and a college counselor, but won’t hire someone specifically dedicated to the essay. I might positiion myself more as a counselor with expertise in editing.</p>
<p>The on-line thing is more problematic. I really think you’re going to have to look at your local market. Again, in my experience everyone I know who hired a college counselor hired someone who could actually meet with their kid–even though a lot of the actual work was conducted on-line.</p>
<p>I’d be more likely to hire someone to teach my kid to write those dreadful SAT essays than a college essay. That might be a good way to develop clients though.</p>
<p>I’d never hire someone to do this even at no cost since I think the student should be responsible for writing and editing their own essays but perhaps I’m in the minority in this philosophy. There’s a slippery slope between performing minor grammatical pointers and essentially doing the thinking and part (or in severe cases - all) of the writing for the student.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I think you could actually be hurting some of the kids you want to help. I checked fishing licenses as my first job out of college. By the time I looked at a thousand or so, the ones that were “hinky” started to leap out at me. Any doc or nurse who has looked at a thousand ear drums or heard a thousand heart beats will also tell you the “funky” ones jump out.</p>
<p>So, essays that are NOT the voice of a 17 to 18 year old start to leap out at readers. I have read that in several places. Your voice (at whatever age you are) will pop in with word choice and sophistication that is just not typical of a 17 year old. Sure, there are some exceptional 17 year old writers (SE Hinton comes to mind) – but such an applicant would surely have a teacher recommendation that gushes over that writing talent. Or the EC’s would list short stories published and the like. </p>
<p>I’d rather see a parent as a general writing tutor. Basic grammar for ninth graders sort of thing. Can you teach for Kaplan? In my town there is also an expensive SAT prep course offered – $700 for six Saturdays of test prep plus practice in essay writing. So the tutor is offering education and training in writing but NOT writing/editing something that is being submitted. </p>
<p>Frankly, given the current economy and the trend for families to look at state colleges instead of Ivy league, I think you’d starve unless you are in NYC or Boston. People just don’t have the money in my town for such services. The kids that are super sharp don’t need your help and the ones that are struggling a bit don’t have parents with their eyes on Ivy league.
How about writing the next Great American Novel? or a Dummies Guide to College Admissions? While you work at a day job with health benefits . . .</p>
<p>Have you heard of essay edge? On on-line service for editing essays. Perhaps instead of starting your own business you could become one of their editors.</p>
<p>I hired someone to do this with excellent results and my friends and family now do it regularly. The thing is I think you’ll find a crowded field with people with heavy credentials in the field who have been doing this for a long time. </p>
<p>The value is not in the actual writing and editing, it’s in truly knowing what the colleges want to hear. Hernandez is a former Dartmouth adcom, for example.</p>
<p>I’ll also note it must be tough times as on Hernandez’s web site she’s offering a major discount on the taped video of the application writing camp she does. Never understood why that was worth much because this should be a one-on-one business, yet clearly people were paying in the past.</p>
<p>Though on second thought, the best such business I know just doing applications was turning away students last month…so, who knows, but you probably want to get some credential like the UCLA certificate in counseling which several have.</p>
<p>It’s through the extension school. It’s comprised of 6 classes and some field work. I’ve taken a couple to compliment my volunteer work. I’ve actually learned much more on CC, but it give those wanting to make money at this a credential. You will find a lot of ladies there who feel the same way you do–they learned so much going through this process with their kids that they now want to be private counselors.</p>
<p>I would not hire someone to help with college essays, period, let alone someone I did not know and/or who would be working long-distance. More to the point, to my mind there is a very fine line between proofing, which a parent or teacher would routinely do; editing, which becomes an iffy situation; and sending in an essay that does not accurately represent a kid’s own work. I don’t want to call it cheating, but it strikes me as inappropriate, even though I am sure there are many people how do it–as some of the references on this thread make clear. The point of the essay is to give adcoms insight into how the student thinks and writes.</p>
<p>I agree with other posters, however, that using tutors to teach kids how to write the SAT essays is okay --because in that instance you are teaching them to use a formula, just as you would in math or physics–there is no real creative original thought involved in those essays and they are writing them on their own once the test date arrives.</p>
I agree. I have seen counselors write how they make so many revisions to a student’s essay (to explain how busy they are!) that I feel they are essentially writing it for them. I was also struck by a parent who last year described a panel of 10 or 12 teachers/counselors who dissected each college application essay in a private school. I will also say that even those who are sliding down the slippery slope will vehemently deny that it is occurring!</p>
<p>Put me in the absolutely “never” column. Our high school English teachers work hard with the juniors and seniors on developing their college essays. They are always willing to work with students and they have broad experience with the process from years of working with hundreds of students.</p>
<p>Sorry about the job, though. With your credentials, I’m sure you’ll find a great opportunity soon.</p>