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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, what makes a great counselor recommendation letter.

I'm asking my school counselor for a recommendation letter for college applications and I want to give her some pointers. Do you guys have any examples or advice on what should be included in a counselor recommendation letter? Your input would be super helpful!

A great counselor recommendation letter provides a comprehensive picture of the student, highlighting their strengths, personal qualities, and academic achievements. Here's a general overview of what a strong recommendation letter should include:

1. An engaging introduction: A strong opening sets the tone for the letter, as it should immediately grab the reader's attention and demonstrate the counselor's enthusiasm for recommending the student.

2. Context and personal connection: A meaningful assessment of the student's character and abilities is made possible by the relationship built between the student and counselor. The letter should briefly explain the context in which the counselor knows the student (how long they've worked together and in what capacity, for example) to establish credibility.

3. Academic achievements and strengths: Highlight the student's academic performance, emphasizing any significant improvements or particular areas of excellence. Acknowledge the rigor of their coursework and how the student has risen to meet the challenge - a big reason why colleges ask for a counselor rec letter is to get a better sense of the overall context of a student's academic achievements, so they should discuss how your achievements stack up within your high school as a whole.

4. Extracurricular involvement and leadership: Mention the student's extracurricular activities, focusing on those with leadership roles or significant impact. Discuss the qualities that these activities demonstrate, such as commitment, teamwork, or initiative. Like with academics, they can also provide additional context for the activities you've been involved with through your school.

5. Personal qualities and growth: A vital aspect of the recommendation letter is conveying the student's personal qualities that will contribute to their success in college and beyond. These qualities may include resilience, empathy, creativity, or dedication to their community. Any instances of personal growth or overcoming challenges should also be noted.

6. Specific anecdotes: Including concrete examples or personal anecdotes that showcase the student's qualities makes the letter more engaging and memorable. These stories should be chosen to illustrate the student's character and achievements.

7. Comparison to peers: To provide perspective on the student's accomplishments, the counselor can compare the applicant to their peers or past students, highlighting what sets the student apart from others.

8. Conclusion and endorsement: A strong closing statement should reaffirm the counselor's confidence in the student's potential and express their belief that the student will thrive at the college level.

To ensure your counselor has ample information to create a well-rounded recommendation letter, consider providing them with a comprehensive resume outlining your achievements, activities, and any personal experiences that have shaped your character. Open communication on your goals and aspirations can also be helpful in aiding your counselor to portray you in the best possible light.

Best of luck with your college applications!

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How to Write a Counselor Rec Letter + Example

What’s covered:, how important are counselor rec letters in admissions, how to write a counselor rec letter for college, example of a good counselor rec letter.

An important part of any student’s college application is their letters of recommendation, which includes a letter from their school counselor. Although counselor rec letters normally won’t make or break a student’s admissions chances, they do provide admissions officers with important insight into a student’s character, accomplishments, and personality.

So, it’s important for counselors to take writing rec letters seriously and try to make them as detailed as possible to help their students get a leg up in the admissions process.

Want to save time writing letters this fall? Use our free AI Rec Letter Assistant to cut down on the time you spend drafting letters. You’ll get a first draft in minutes that you can then edit and polish.

In all honesty, recommendation letters are nowhere near the most important aspect of a student’s college application. Other factors—most namely a student’s academics, extracurricular activities, and essays—play a much larger role in determining whether a student is accepted or not.

That being said, letters of recommendation shouldn’t be overlooked. According to a survey from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling , 15% of colleges say counselor letters have “considerable importance”, while 46% say they have “moderate importance.” 

The main goal of counselor rec letters are to convey personal qualities or background/context about a student to help admissions officers better understand who this student is. These letters aren’t intended to recite a student’s achievements already highlighted on other portions of the application, but rather to explain how they were able to accomplish what they did and why it was impressive given the skills of the student or the larger context of the school.

It is also important to note that, in recent years, recommendation letters have been placed under more scrutiny for being biased and a bit arbitrary . The quality of a letter normally has more to do with the writing skills of the counselor or teacher than the achievements of the student. Given that, what is said about a student could vary widely depending on who writes their letter. Unfortunately, there are instances where racial bias is reflected in rec letters, and white students are described more favorably than students of color.

1. Gather Information

A generic rec letter isn’t doing anyone any good. Without thorough details and specific stories about your student, the admissions officers reading the letter won’t feel compelled to accept that student. That’s why it is so important you do your due diligence up front and collect detailed information about the student before you start writing.

There are a variety of sources you can turn to for information:

• Personal interactions with the student
• Brag sheets from parents or students
• The student’s teachers or faculty members who know the student
• Academic records and comments on report cards
• Extracurricular advisors

When you are gathering information from these various sources, you want to think specifically about the student’s strengths, achievements, and personal qualities that shine through. The more sources you have to speak on different aspects of the student’s character, the better prepared you will be to write a strong letter.

2. Outline the Letter

Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to outline your thoughts according to the general structure of recommendation letters. This should look like an introduction, discussion of the student’s character, highlights of their academics, examples of their extracurriculars, and a conclusion that ties it all together.

Starting with the introduction, this should be a cordial greeting to the admissions committee where you provide an overview of the student’s best qualities and why they should be considered for admission. 

A strong rec letter will contribute to a student’s overall application theme . This is a common thread woven through all aspects of the application to make students easily identifiable and memorable to admissions committees. The introduction should shed light on the student’s theme. For example, if their theme was a passion for medicine, your introduction should hint that what’s to come will include discussions of their biology classes and time spent volunteering at a local hospital.

The body of the rec letter is where the details and specific stories you collected in the first step will come to life. A good flow to follow with your body is to begin with academics, then discuss extracurricular involvement, and then highlight specific traits the student possesses or important background details about their home or school environment.

The academic paragraph should include details like their GPA or class rank, the challenging courses the student has taken, subjects the student is particularly passionate about, and testimonials to their work ethic. 

The extracurricular paragraph (or paragraphs, depending on how involved they are) shouldn’t go over all of their activities—rather, highlight two or three particularly meaningful activities this student is a part of. Discuss qualities the student exhibits as a result of participating, for example, leadership, determination, creativity, compassion, etc. When you are picking what extracurriculars to highlight from the student’s resume, go for ones that best relate to their theme or where the student has accomplished the most (leadership position, award recognition, etc.).

Another important aspect of the body is the discussion of a student’s character. While it’s a good idea to mention admirable qualities when writing about their academics and extracurriculars, dedicating a paragraph to their positive characteristics will drive your point home. This can be more overarching than the other paragraphs, but if you have good examples to demonstrate their character outside of what you’ve already mentioned, go ahead and include that!

You might also want to take space in the body of your letter to address extenuating circumstances, or simply provide background context, to help admissions officers better understand the student’s situation. It’s up to you how much you wish to include, but sometimes a counselor explaining the context for certain trends in a student’s application is enough for admissions officers to not penalize the student for things outside of their control.

Once you’ve included everything in the body, you can end your glowing review with a recap of what makes your student special and a few sentences about why you believe they would be a good fit at that university. If the student is applying to a school-specific program, it can’t hurt to throw in the name of the school/program. However, if the student is asking for the overall Common App rec letter, then you should simply address the schools as “your institution” or “your college”.

3. Write the Letter

If you do the heavy lifting of creating a thorough outline, full of details about the student, then writing it should be a breeze. However, here are a few tips to keep in mind as you write:

• Maintain a professional, positive tone throughout the letter.
• Tailor the letter to the student however you can. Include their name throughout the letter, the school they are applying to, and make sure your examples relate back to their application theme.
• Use the STAR method when providing specific examples. This tried-and-true interview method involves describing the Situation or challenge a student was presented with, the Task or role they played in that situation, the Action they took to address the situation, and the Result from their actions.
• Keep it concise. Try and limit your letter to a page so you only focus on the most important details and don’t overload your readers.

If you need help structuring your rec letter or creating a first draft, our AI Rec Letter Assistant will generate a letter perfectly tailored to your students with minimal effort from you!

4. Review and Finalize the Letter

The importance of proofreading can’t be understated. After you finish writing, make sure you go back and check for grammatical errors, incorrect facts, or poorly-worded phrases. Especially if you are using a tool like AI to help you draft a letter, make sure you read through and correct any mistakes. AI can include biases or incorrect information, so don’t submit anything until you’ve read through it and edited it.

The final steps of a rec letter are signing and sending it out. While you used to have to seal and mail physical copies, most universities will accept digital rec letters now. You’ll likely upload your letter to a digital portal, like the Common App, and it will automatically be sent to whatever school your student is applying to.

I am writing to give my highest recommendation to Jessie for your undergraduate program. Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of knowing Jessie as her school counselor, and have witnessed her incredible growth as a student, a community leader, and an aspiring math educator. Jessie’s great passion for mathematics is paralleled by her commitment to fostering inclusivity and giving back to her community, making her an exceptional candidate for your college.

Jessie’s dedication to her academic pursuits has led her to exhaust the highest level of mathematics offered at our school by her sophomore year. Undeterred by this limitation, she enrolled in multivariable calculus and linear algebra through a dual enrollment program, exemplifying her drive to constantly challenge herself. Jessie’s love for math has inspired her to pursue a career as a math teacher or professor, and I have no doubt that she will inspire the next generation of students.

Jessie is a star student and is high-achieving in all her endeavors. She is ranked third in the class of 500 students, has a 4.32 weighted GPA, and a 35 ACT score. Outside of the classroom, she is the student body vice president and captain of the track team, where she has earned three varsity letters and placed second in regionals in the 800m event.

However, what sets Jessie apart is her innate desire to help others. Realizing the need for accessible tutoring in our school, Jessie founded Math on a Mission, a free math tutoring program aimed at assisting low-income students. Her initiative has grown from a simple idea to a team of 10 dedicated tutors who offer both in-school and after-hours support. This program not only showcases Jessie’s resourcefulness and leadership skills but also her deep-rooted empathy for her fellow students.

As student body vice president, Jessie has been instrumental in implementing measures to make our school more inclusive and welcoming. She’s established a free pantry where students can give and take food, as well as a free closet where students can give and take gently-used clothing. These resources have made a significant impact on the lives of her fellow students, as the majority of our district is low-income and receives free or reduced lunch.

In all my years as a counselor, I have seldom come across a student as passionate, driven, and committed as Jessie. Her unique combination of academic excellence, leadership, and a genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others make her an ideal candidate for your institution. I wholeheartedly endorse Jessie for your college, and I am confident that she will not only thrive in your academic environment, but also make a lasting impact on your campus community.

Thank you for considering my recommendation. Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

What Worked Well

This is a great example of writing a letter that contributes to and supports a student’s application theme. In the introduction, the counselor pointed out the student’s passion for mathematics and her commitment to giving back to the community, and the rest of the letter honed in on those two qualities.

By following a coherent structure, the letter flows nicely from academics to extracurriculars. The counselor did a nice job of weaving Jessie’s personal traits into the academic and extracurricular paragraphs, which makes the examples more poignant.

This letter doesn’t read like a summary of the student’s resume; it genuinely captures the essence of Jessie, revealing exactly what type of student she is and will continue to be.

What Could Be Improved

This is a pretty solid example of a counselor rec letter, but there are two small things to be aware of. 

The first is the third paragraph which lists out the student’s accolades without providing further detail. While it’s okay in this letter because of how detailed and focused the rest of it is, in general, you should avoid simply listing out achievements like GPA, ACT scores, and medals or honors because admissions counselors will find that information in other parts of the application. Unless you can connect it to something about their personality, save your limited space to expand on things that aren’t front-and-center in the application.

The other thing this letter didn’t do was provide us any context about the student’s home or school environment. Sometimes there might be nothing to say, which could have been the case here, but it’s always important to consider what background might be helpful to admissions committees to better understand this student before you begin writing.

Want More Example Rec Letters?

Just as we advise students to read example essays to inform their writing, looking at example counselor recommendation letters will help you get a grasp on what to write. You can also use our AI Rec Letter Assistant to generate examples for you to work of off. 

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write a great peer recommendation.

Letters of Recommendation

So your friend/sibling/classmate wants you to write her a peer recommendation. Being the awesome friend/sibling/classmate that you are, you've not only agreed to write the letter, but you plan to write the BEST recommendation letter of all time. 

Apart from good intentions (check!), what else do you need to write an outstanding peer recommendation? This guide will break down the content and structure of peer reference letters so you can help get your bestie into the college of her dreams (which is probably Dartmouth or Davidson, the only colleges I currently know of that require peer evaluations).

First, here is your mission, since you've chosen to accept it.

The Purpose of the Peer Recommendation

So far, only Dartmouth and Davidson ask for a peer evaluation as part of their applications. Some students choose to send one as a supplementary letter of recommendation. This can be a good idea if it adds an important dimension to their application or makes up for lackluster letters from teachers and counselors who don't know them well. In most circumstances, extra material tends to be discouraged, or admissions officers might prefer that the additional letter come from a coach, boss, or other supervisory person.

For Dartmouth and Davidson, though, the peer letter of recommendation is an important part of the application. A mediocre one probably won't destroy an application, but a truly outstanding one can give it a serious boost. What a truly outstanding letter can do is give deep insight into a student's character and personality , beyond what a teacher or counselor can communicate in their evaluation.

Obviously Dartmouth, as an Ivy League school, is incredibly selective and has high academic expectations. Davidson is also quite selective and chooses highly academically driven students. However, the peer recommendation isn't really meant to rave about a peer's academic abilities. Instead, it can speak to the applicant's character and personality, as well as to how she'll interact socially on a college campus.

According to Dartmouth, it doesn't " want another letter from a teacher, coach, or other supervisory presence in your life; we have enough of those. Ask a peer who can provide fresh insight into our interests and your character . "

Davidson , similarly, says, " You, as a close friend or classmate, know the applicant in a different way than do teachers, counselors, principals, and advisors. Your insights will help us to understand the nature and extent of the respect accorded to the applicant by peers ." In addition to a statement of support, Davidson asks peer recommenders to rate their friends on qualities like self-confidence, leadership, concern for others, reaction to criticism, and energy and initiative. 

As a peer recommender, you can give another dimension to and perspective on your friend's personality and help the admissions committee get to know him/her more deeply. This may sound like a tall order, because it is! But before you start worrying about getting writer's block, read on for suggestions on how to start. 

How do I help my friend get into college?!

How to Write a Strong Peer Recommendation

The best rec letters aren't written in a day, and it's definitely a good idea to consult a guide like this, rather than just winging it. Let's break down the steps to writing a great peer recommendation, starting with brainstorming.

Step 1: Brainstorm

Ah brainstorming, that oft suggested but little used first step. While perhaps you can afford to skip this step in other pieces of writing, I strongly recommend taking the time to do some mental mapping before writing your peer recommendation. The reason for this is that the best recommendation letters are focused and specific.

They highlight the most important strengths and impressive qualities in the applicants. Rather than presenting someone as well-rounded in everything, the most memorable reference letters zero in on particular areas. Then they tell specific stories that illustrate and, in a sense, provide evidence for these qualities. There are three main questions you should ask yourself before you start outlining and drafting:

• What qualities most impress me about my peer?
• What specific examples and anecdotes can I provide to demonstrate these qualities?
• What tone should I use to best express my recommendation?

Let's consider each of these questions individually. First, what qualities do you want to highlight?

I plan to highlight your exceptional fuzziness.

Personal Qualities and Traits

As you start brainstorming, try to come up with a list of the qualities that most impress you and others about your friend. Is s(he) exceptionally loyal? Supportive? Confident? Adventurous? How about encouraging, mature, energetic, insightful, or brilliant? 

This is a great stage to consult with your friend and get a sense of what she's writing about in his/her application or if she's applying to any particular program. If she's highlighting her passion for world events and multicultural exchange, for example, you could talk about that time you both went on the school trip to Europe and she conversed with all the people you met. If she's applying to be pre-med, you could talk about her passion for helping people and somewhat annoying tendency to pick science documentaries on movie nights.

In other words, find out what your friend is saying in other parts of her application, as well as what's missing. Then figure out how you can both complement and add further dimension to her story. 

Once you have your list, try to narrow it down to the three or four qualities that best characterize your friend. Consider whether they're the type of qualities that will impress admissions officers (though don't worry too much about this; you don't want your letter to read as if you're just saying what you think they'd like to hear). What I mean is stating that your friend is always the life of the party might come off as immature, whereas saying she takes on a role of leadership in group situations and has a great talent for mobilizing and energizing people might be interpreted more favorably.

Once you've narrowed down the traits you'd like to focus on in your letter, you can move onto the second phase of brainstorming: thinking of specific stories and examples.

That time you saved Timmy from the well is a perfect example of your bravery and selflessness.

Anecdotes and Examples

Which of these excerpts is more effective:

1. Anna is a kind person who loves to help others. She is a caring friend and student. 2. When Anna realized our school didn't provide any orientation for new students, she organized a club called  New Kids on the Block , where new and established students get together to have lunch and share their experiences. This is just one example of her kind and loving spirit and drive to make everyone feel connected and included.

The first is fine, but it doesn't do much to differentiate Anna from other applicants whose friends speak of their kind and caring nature. The second, though, proves that Anna cares about others and paints a picture of her organizing a club and bringing students together in the school.

Just like you use examples to support your points in a persuasive essay for English class, you can use meaningful stories to illuminate your friend's character. This will sound more powerful and effective, plus it will help your letter stand out among the rest. This approach will make it a more interesting piece of writing overall, rather than a list of positive adjectives that blend together before a tired admission officer's eyes. 

In other words, don't just tell the college how great your friend is. Show them.

Think About Tone

Finally, I would suggest considering tone and style. Your recommendation doesn't have to sound especially formal, like most teachers and counselors' letters would. As a peer, you can write more intimately and personally, as well as inject humor into your writing.

At the same time, don't try to be funny if comical writing isn't your strong suit. Instead, choose the tone that's most authentic for you and can most powerfully communicate a vision of your friend. Perhaps most important is to sound earnest, sincere, and heartfelt.

After you've brainstormed and determined the focus of your letter, it's time to start outlining and drafting. The following structure is a helpful guide for most peer recommendation letters. 

Structure is very important. Those sticks aren't going to pile themselves.

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Step 2: Outline and Draft 

Letters of recommendation are typically one page. It may go onto a second page, but I wouldn't advise making it much longer than that. While you can be creative in your presentation, there are a few key elements that all rec letters should include. Let's start with what should go into the introduction.

Introduction

At the beginning of your evaluation, you should state your support for your friend's application to the school. You should also say who you are , what your relationship to the applicant is, and how long you've known her. This gives weight to your qualifications to assess the applicant. If there are any other special circumstances that make you an especially good person to evaluate her, then you can include those as well. 

All of these elements - your statement of support, introduction of yourself, and qualifier of your relationship - could be wrapped into one, or stated separately, like in these few examples.

I'm so excited to picture Allie on Dartmouth's campus. I have no doubt that she will bring the same infectious energy, silly humor, and deep friendship with her that she's shown to me and our peers all through high school. I'm honored and excited to provide this statement of support for David, who I recommend without reservation for Davidson College. When I was the nervous new kid in 6th grade, Sam didn't hesitate to invite me to sit next to her at lunch and show me around the school. Her caring and compassion for others, combined with her fearlessness in making new friends, makes me completely certain that she'll have no trouble adjusting to college campus life. From study groups to sleepovers, track meets to a tour bus on our school trip to Italy, I've gotten to know Jess as a student, athlete, explorer, and, most importantly, best friend.

Again, it's up to you to decide how exactly you want to start your recommendation, but your introductory paragraph should include an actual statement of recommendation, along with the context of your relationship to the applicant and hint as to why it makes you qualified to assess him/her. Which brings us to the next part of the letter, the actual evaluation of your friend.

Let's wrap this up...I have a very important nap to take.

In the conclusion to your peer recommendation, it's a good idea to restate your support for your friend, much as you did in the introduction, as well as describe how you envision her at college. Just like pieces of writing can grab a reader's attention with a strong hook at the beginning, they can leave a memorable impression with a strong statement at the end.

Think of the main impression you want to leave in admissions officers' minds after they finish reading. Why is it in their and the college's best interest to accept your friend?

Brian is the most talented, motivated, and well-spoken person I know. I recommend him enthusiastically for admission to Dartmouth. Sam has always aspired to study medicine and help make the world a healthier and more equitable place. I truly can't think of anyone better suited for this role. Who's that person I see in the bustling newsroom, writing groundbreaking stories as lead editor of The Dartmouth one year from today? Oh right, that's Sam. She's doing an amazing job, just as we all knew she would.

After drafting your letter of recommendation, go ahead and hit submit. Just kidding. You should definitely take the time to revise this important piece of writing.

Not just yet, carrier pigeon...there's still some revising to do.

Step 3: Revision

Hurray! You have your first draft of your peer recommendation complete. Now how can you make it even better? First off, I would again encourage you to check that you've given explicit examples and stories. Make sure it doesn't sound too abstract and uses anecdotes to demonstrate, rather than simply describe. As they say (whoever "they" is), actions speak louder than words. 

Additionally, consider your word choice . Did you use "nice" when "generous" or "compassionate" might have been more appropriate? I'm not saying to use a thesaurus and add long synonyms where plain words work just as well, but check that you're using accurate and powerful words that express exactly what you want to say about your friend. It's also good to avoid cliches and consider how you can phrase your sentences in a fresh and creative way.

In a similar sense, pay close attention to your phrasing and consider whether it could come off in the wrong way. You might want to ask someone else to read it and give you feedback. For instance, you might want to express how close your friendship is by saying, " My friend is so loyal that we've done everything together since elementary school ." While this sounds great to you, it might come off as if your friend is disinterested in connecting with other people. Make sure that your phrasing is on point and won't be taken as a negative when you mean it to be positive.

You may even show the letter to your friend for feedback and comments. This is up to you, as recommendation letters are generally thought to be confidential and you're not obligated to show her. 

Once you've made sure the spelling, grammar, and sentence structure is flawless and it reads as a powerful statement of support for your friend, you can go ahead and submit the letter to the college.

Step 4: Submit Your Letter

As peer recommender, you absolutely must get your recommendation in by the stated deadline. Make sure you know when that deadline is and exactly how to submit (no frantic midnight phone calls about the Common App website being down or your internet not working).

Your friend will invite you as the " Other Recommender " on the Common App for Dartmouth, and you'll likely upload your Davidson recommendation here . Once everything's done and submitted, you can give yourself a pat  on the back. You're an awesome friend!

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Rebecca graduated with her Master's in Adolescent Counseling from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT.

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Best College Application Essay Services in 2024

#1 – prepmaven.

Our Verdict — Best College Essay Assistance Overall Price: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package) PrepMaven’s one-on-one college essay assistance is the best option overall. Founded by brothers and Princeton grads Greg and Kevin, almost all of PrepMaven’s essay coaches have Ivy-League experience, primarily from Princeton and Harvard. All essay coaches also undergo a thorough training program in PrepMaven’s methods, developed by professional writers with deep understanding of the college admissions process, for helping students to discover the most compelling stories for their essays. Unlike other services, PrepMaven offers college essay assistance at several different price points. At the most accessible rate, students can work with current Ivy-League undergraduates who specialize in writing and have recently aced the college application process. At higher rates, students can work with coaches who are both Ivy-League grads and professional writers (screenwriters, journalists, editors) with many years of experience helping students to craft compelling essays. Interested students can even work directly with founders Greg and Kevin, who have over 15 years of experience helping students through the entire essay-writing process. PrepMaven’s services combine many of the best features of other good options into one, and it’s hard to beat their experience.

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help now

Any student wanting college essay help, at any point in the process, with a range of budgets.

At a glance:

• Cost: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package)
• Writing coach qualifications: Princeton graduates and professional writers (or current Princeton students); all trained

What we like:

• Ivy League experience —most of their writing coaches are Princeton grads or current students, with some from Harvard and other Ivies
• Different pricing options to meet different families’ circumstances
• More flexible and greater capacity to take on new students compared to individual consultants

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help

#2 – College Essay Mentor

Our Verdict — Best of the Individual Consultants Price: unknown but high Some college essay consulting services consist of just one expert. Of these individual essay consultants, Chris Hunt at College Essay Mentor is our favorite. He combines writing experience as a journalist for the Economist and the Wall Street Journal with personal experience as a graduate of Dartmouth. However, he only works with a small number of students each year, and students need to apply to work with him — he only accepts students with top grades and test scores who are already strong applicants for top schools. Chris offers the option for one-time written feedback, but this only gives big-picture generalizations. (And written-only feedback is always limited.) In order for help with the essay process, students need to purchase a complete essay package.

Students with top grades and test scores who want to work with a one-person business, who have a sizable budget, and who are ready to get started early.

• Cost: $210 for a one-time written essay feedback (big picture only), then $110 per draft feedback; pricing for essay process packages unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: professional journalist, Dartmouth grad
• Professional writing experience as a journalist
• Extensive experience working with college applicants
• Partners with Debra Felix, former Director of Admissions at Columbia, for full application review

What we don’t like:

• One-on-one work is limited to very high-achieving students, who need to apply with a resume : “I limit my one-on-one work to students who I believe will be strong applicants to elite universities. As a rule, this means having high grades in challenging classes, a test score of ACT 34+ or SAT 1500+, and substantial activities outside of the classroom.”
• Works with a limited number of students (60 per year), so often no availability
• All-or-nothing packages don’t allow students to work with Chris for just a few hours or for part of the essay-writing process
• Secretive about pricing (he’ll only give pricing details once he’s reviewed the student’s resume and agreed to work with them), but we expect the minimum cost of working one-on-one to be several thousand dollars

#3 – The College Essay Guy

Our Verdict — Best for Unlimited Essay Assistance Price: $4900 for application to 3 schools, $8050 for application for 10 schools We’re fans of Ethan Sawyer, the original “college essay guy”— his book, College Essay Essentials , is a great guide to the essay-writing process. Ethan doesn’t work directly with many students these days, but he now has a team of consultants who help students follow his principles. Their assistance is really all-or-nothing — they prefer to work with students from the very beginning of the process, and their minimum package is $4900, which includes assistance with essays for three schools. If students are applying to ten schools (a more realistic number for students aiming at competitive colleges), the fee is a hefty $7400.

Students who want unlimited help through the entire process, who have a sizable budget.

• Cost: $4900 (supplemental essays for 3 schools) – $7400 (supplemental essays for 10 schools)
• Essay coach qualifications: mix of Ivy grads and former teachers, some writers/screenwriters; all trained
• Great free resources about the essay-writing process
• Their Matchlighters Scholars Program gives back to the community by providing admissions consulting for select qualifying students
• All-or-nothing packages have a high minimum fee and don’t work for students who want just a few hours of feedback or help with just part of the process

#4 – College Vine

Our Verdict — Best of the Big Platforms Price: $140–180/hour There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Of these big platforms, we think CollegeVine has the best offerings. Compared to other large companies, CollegeVine provides more information about their tutors, and students can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster. However, this model is really just a way of finding individual tutors to hire. Tutors don’t receive any training and don’t share a common approach, so it’s a mixed bag. Their rates are fairly high for part-time tutors who don’t have specific expertise and training in college essay consulting. Because CollegeVine is really just a marketplace where individual tutors can find students, the quality and price will vary widely.

Students who want to work with a big company, or those who want a quick session or two to go over their essays.

• Cost: Typically $140–180/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: no specific qualifications, but a few are Ivy League graduates
• Possible to select individual editors to work with from their roster.
• Easy to schedule ad-hoc sessions with a tutor through the website.
• No training or common approach for tutors
• Editors are part-time , with no option to work with full-time college admissions experts
• Relatively expensive for this level of expertise

College Essay Editing Alternatives (that Didn’t Make the Cut)

Individual essay consultants, #5 – college essay editor.

Our Verdict — Small Editing Team Price: Roughly $5,950 for applications to 10 schools College Essay Editor comprises two graduates of Stanford. This means that they have personal experience applying to highly competitive schools. One member of the team also has a college counseling certification, which is a good background for college essays. Based on their website, they appear to focus on the editing and proofreading phase of the essay-writing process. This can be helpful to students, but we recommend working with a service who can help students to uncover their values and brainstorm really great material that allows them to really shine—and if this doesn’t happen at the beginning of the process, it’s much harder to add in later on.

• Cost: $195/1000 words for proofreading, $495/1000 words for 3 rounds of editing and proofreading, or $595/1000 words for unlimited rounds of editing and proofreading; for the purposes of comparison, complete applications to 10 competitive colleges would be around 9,650 words, or $5950.
• Writing coach qualifications: Stanford graduates, one of whom has college counseling certification
• Editors are graduates of Stanford University , and one is a member of NACAC, the national association of college counselors
• They focus on editing and proofreading only , not on the crucial earlier steps of brainstorming and strategy
• Small team with very limited availability
• All asynchronous editing so you won’t be able to cultivate a real relationship with your essay coach.

#6 – Allison Karpf

Our Verdict — Former English Teacher Helping Students Price: $385/hour or $3850 package for application to one school Another option for students looking to hire an individual consultant is Allison Karpf. Allison is a former high school English teacher and a graduate of UC Berkeley who also holds a Masters of Education from Stanford. Her rates are definitely on the higher side, especially for someone who doesn’t have a professional writing background, but she does have extensive experience working with students to craft their essays.

• Cost:  $385/hour or $3850 unlimited counseling (includes supplemental essays for one college)
• Essay coach qualifications: former high school English teacher; Berkeley grad, Stanford MEd
• Lots of experience helping students improve their college essays
• Very quick to respond to client requests
• No professional writing experience or Ivy-Plus undergraduate experience
• High rates relative to other options
• Limited availability , since she works alone

#7 – Your College Vision

Our Verdict: Former Journalist with More Affordable Rates Price: $180/hour, or packages starting from $3500 Laurie Lande is another individual consultant who helps students through the essay-writing process. She comes recommended by other consultants like Chris from College Essay Mentor . Laurie did not herself attend a highly competitive school, so she doesn’t have that personal experience of going through the selective admissions process, but she does have a professional writing background as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.

• Cost: $180/hour or packages starting at $3500
• Essay coach qualifications: journalism background
• Affordable pricing , relative to other options
• Not a graduate of a highly selective school

#8 – The College Guru

Our Verdict — Good on Paper but Unresponsive Price: unknown Yet another individual essay consultant is Geanine Thompson from The College Guru. Geanine attended Dartmouth as an undergraduate and also holds an MBA from Duke. She also has a professional writing background as an assistant book editor at Berkley Publishing Group. Like Greg and Kevin at PrepMaven , she combines experience in the business world and at Wall Street firms with experience in education.

• Cost: unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: former assistant book editor; Dartmouth grad, Duke MBA
• Dartmouth graduate and former book editor
• Not responsive to emails and client requests

#9 – Sofia Zapiola

Our Verdict — A budget-friendly, personal essay editor. Price: $80/hour Yet another individual essay consultant is Sofia Zapiola, who offers a mix of essay editing and college application counseling services.

• Cost: $80/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: M.A. from Harvard; certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego.
• Individual approach, budget-friendly rates, commitment to working within families’ budgets.
• Very few testimonials, so it’s difficult to evaluate how effective she is.

Mid-size Teams

#10 – lotus learning.

Our Verdict — Expensive for Tutor Background Price: $165/hour Founded by a Harvard grad who is a former teacher and veteran of the publishing industry, Lotus learning offers college essay help in the Boston area. They have a small team of tutors, mostly recent grads from good but not Ivy-Plus colleges, and mostly with focus in health sciences.

• Cost: $165/hour (minimum 8 hours)
• Essay coach qualifications: tutors are recent grads, but not Ivy-Plus schools
• Reasonable pricing with flexible packages
• Essay editors aren’t graduates of Ivy-Plus schools and don’t have professional writing experience

Large platforms

#11 – study point.

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: Rates Between $60 and $120/hr Study Point is a larger essay editing service. They claim to have several decades of experience helping students to craft their college essays, but they do not give information about who their essay coaches are and what qualifications they might have.

• Cost: $60-120/hr, depending on tutor experience
• Essay coach qualifications: unknown
• Larger company with several decades of experience
• Unclear who the essay coaches are
• Lack of statistics about their results

#12 – Ivy Select

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: unknown Ivy Select makes a lot of big promises on their website about having the best college essay consultants in the business, but they offer no information on who these consultants are, or on their backgrounds. They also brag that each consultant “only” works 20 students in one application cycle, but in our experience, that’s quite high.

• Long list of impressive (but anonymous) testimonials
• Only work with “top students”
• No information on their website about who the editors are
• Each essay coach works with up to 20 students at one time

#13 – Empowerly

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: High, from $6000/year Empowerly has over 60 college counselors who each work with an average of 5 students per year, in order to have more time to devote to each student. Their counselors come from “different educational backgrounds,” and while they do not provide specific biographical details we can assume that most of their essay coaches did not attend highly selective schools.

• Cost: typically from $6000/year
• Essay coach qualifications: college counselors
• Counselors work with just a few students per year
• You have to upgrade to “Empowerly Elite” to guarantee a counselor with a more selective educational background
• No professional writing experience

#14 – Prepory

Our Verdict — Expensive but with Good Expertise Price: $325/hr Prepory is a college application and career counseling service that offers a comprehensive program for college applications at any stage of the process (including as early as 9th grade). They make a lot of impressive claims about the expertise of their coaches, but it’s quite difficult to actual find much information about their essay coach qualifications.

• Cost: $325/hr
• They have a comprehensive college application program that begins as early as 9th grade.
• Limited information about essay coaches
• High prices

Top 40 College Essay Services Considered

• College Essay Editor
• The College Essay Guy
• College Vine
• College Essay Mentor
• Study Point
• Allison Karpf
• The College Guru
• Lotus Learning
• Summit Prep
• Sofia Zapiola
• Ivy Global / New Summits
• College Essay Solutions
• Your College Vision
• Essay Edge*
• ServicEscape*
• PapersForge*
• QuickWriter*
• JustEditMyEssay*
• JustDoMyEsssay*
• ExpertWriting*
• SpeedyPaper*
• GradeMiners*

* A number of services will edit essays directly for students, or even write portions of the essay for students. We do not condone this. Admissions officers can tell when essays have been written or edited by adults and this can have severe consequences. We have excluded these services from our reviews.

Why are college application essays important?

Can a great college essay alone get you into Harvard?

No. You’ll need your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities (as well as letters of recommendation and interview) to be outstanding.

But can a mediocre essay be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard?

Yes. There are thousands of amazingly-qualified students who graduate from high school each year. Great grades and test scores might be a prerequisite for admission to a competitive college, but they alone aren’t enough.

College essays are a key component of a student’s application . When done well, they transform a collection of numbers—GPA, class rank, SAT or ACT scores , number of AP classes taken, AP scores—into a glimpse of a real, individual person.

Essays do many things. Good college essays can highlight extracurricular achievements which otherwise would be overlooked in a sterile list. Strong essays often indicate the student’s future plans —how they plan to leave a mark on their college campus and on the world. They can shine a light on unique challenges that a student may have had to face on their journey.

College admissions officers only have a few minutes to spend on each application. College essays need to be original, interesting, and memorable . They need to grab the attention of the admissions officer and persuade them that this is the student out of hundreds or thousands of other similarly-qualified applicants who should be admitted.

College admissions essays are usually unlike any other kind of writing that students have done before. They’re a combination of memoir and marketing pitch, and they need to be creative but also highly strategic. That’s a tough assignment!

What’s more, students are left to figure this assignment out on their own. A thoughtful and generous high school English teacher may provide guidance or offer to read essays and give feedback, but these teachers are responsible for many students, and they’re (usually) not experts in admissions strategies.

There’s another reason college essays are especially important from 2024 on. After the recent Supreme Court decision, the application essay has become one of the main ways that you can communicate how your racial identity has affected your life.

In fact, the New York Times published an article about how important it can be for students to discuss race in their college application essays!

Why work with a college essay service?

You may want to consider a college essay service if:

• You have no idea where to start in order to write your college application essays
• You feel overwhelmed by all of the different ideas you have and don’t know what would be the most strategic for college admissions—and what topics to definitely avoid for college essays
• You don’t know how to craft a compelling stor y
• You’re not sure how to edit and refine what you’ve written
• You have a hard time keeping yourself on track and want an external structure to hold you accountable
• You’re tired of conflict between students and parents about college essays
• You’re aiming at a competitive college (not just the Ivy League!) and know that you need your essays to be outstanding
• Your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars aren’t exceptional, so you need your essay to make your essay stand out from the pack
• You’re unfamiliar with the US college admissions process (a common situation for international students and first-generation families in the US)

Any of these are strong reasons to consider working with a college essay service!

It’s also worth remembering that a lot of the free advice on college’s website isn’t always very clear. For example, NYU’s admissions Senior Assistant Director of Admissions says that “There is no right or wrong way to answer as long as your answer is genuine to you.”

While that’s true, that doesn’t offer much guidance on how to actually write the essay!

Though many college applicants might not mention it, more and more students are using professional college application consultants. Research at the University of Chicago has shown that over a quarter of high-achieving seniors employed private specialists to help with the college application process.

In fact, according to NPR , some companies are even offering college admissions counseling to their top employees as an incentive–that’s just how important professional help can be in the current landscape of college admissions.

It’s important to note that a good college essay service will not write your college application essays for you . This is unethical and illegal. That’s not just coming from us: take it from a school like Princeton, whose website insists on the importance of writing your own application essays.

A good college essay service will guide you through each step of the process , teaching you how to self-reflect and write well while sharing insider insight about admissions strategy .

What makes a good college essay service?

We strongly believe that students need to write their own college essays , and we do not condone plagiarism or “buying” a college essay.

However, writing college application essays requires a completely new set of skills that is rarely taught in high school!

Writing a personal essay is much more creative than simply writing a good paper for English class. It requires a compelling narrative and a great deal of writing craft . A good essay service will teach how to do this kind of writing.

There are many college essay services that will provide only written feedback to students, usually in the form of comments added to an essay draft. (Remember, it’s important that students write their own essays, so avoid any college essay service that will make edits directly to an essay document .)

Written comments can be an effective component of good essay coaching. However, writing college essays is a deeply personal process , and it’s incredibly difficult to guide a student through the process of self-reflection, brainstorming, and planning purely through written comments.

In addition, a great college essay coach will teach students how to do this entire process of brainstorming, planning, outlining, writing, and revising . It’s difficult to learn why an essay coach is advising certain changes through written comments alone.

For these reasons, look for a college essay service with live, one-on-one services , not just written feedback. These days, it’s easy to work with the best college essay consultants in the country over Zoom!

Students need to reflect on their goals, their passions, and what drives them to be the person they are. This requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-analysis . An experienced college essay coach can help draw these ideas out of students through tested introspection techniques and brainstorming exercises .

On top of all of that, students need to be cognizant of which traits and accomplishments will be most appealing to colleges , and which stories will be cliche and boring. Personal statements and supplementary essays need to fit together to tell a cohesive story, and they need to work together with the rest of the student’s application (extracurriculars, grades, and other accomplishments).

In other words, there’s a great deal of strategy here! An experienced college essay service can help students decide how to present themselves in the best possible light .

Furthermore, most students don’t know how to edit effectively . A really top-notch college essay service will also teach students how to edit their own writing —how to reorder sections for better flow, cut unnecessary words to meet a word count, eliminate passive verbs, and make their writing vivid and exciting. Our students are routinely amazed by how transformative this step can be, and how much they learn by doing it together with the essay coach.

Finally, the best college essay services can also help students to make a writing plan and keep them on track , so that parents don’t have to be involved directly.

Ready to work on your college essays? Schedule a free 15- to 30-minute consultation with Jessica or one of our founders.

Best overall: PrepMaven’s tutors offer the highest quality at the best price. With three tiers of tutors, they make it easy to work with an Ivy League undergraduate for as little as $79/hr. Or, families can work with education professionals or Ivy League graduates from $150/hr. PrepMaven’s track record means that you can be sure every hour is being spent productively, so that you can expect real results from the work.

Best for individual consultants: College Essay Mentor. In theory, College Essay Mentor would offer an unparalleled level of individual attention and guidance: his website boasts of some very impressive results. You might find it hard to actually schedule with him, however, since he’s very selective about his clients.

Best for unlimited essay assistance: The College Essay Guy might not offer that personalized attention you get from live, face to face essay coaching, but they do offer unlimited essay editing for up to 10 schools (if you’re comfortable paying a hefty package price).

Best of the big platforms: College Vine will always be a bit of a gamble. Because it’s a tutor marketplace, your results (and costs) will really depend on how lucky you get with your consultant. From our research, however, many of their essay coaches look to have solid track records.

Ready to work on college essays with one of our experienced writing coaches? Schedule a free test prep consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

It’s always best to start early and not wait until the last minute to write your college essays! Remember that essays can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of writing now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later. 

We work with students at all stages of the writing process, from I-have-no-idea-what-to-write to final edits. To start working with an Ivy-League writing coach today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

Schedule a free college essay consultation

Top College Essay Posts

• 14 Best College Essay Services for 2023 (40 Services Reviewed)
• Qualities of a Successful College Essay
• 11 College Essays That Worked
• How to Answer the UC Personal Insight Questions
• How Colleges Read your College Applications (A 4-Step Process)
• How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essays
• The Diamond Strategy: How We Help Students Write College Essays that Get Them Into Princeton (And Other Ivy League Schools)
• What is the College Essay? Your Complete Guide for 202 4
• College Essay Brainstorming: Where to Start
• How to Write the Harvard Supplemental Essays
• How to Format Your College Essay

Emily graduated  summa cum laude  from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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Georgia Tech Admission Blog

The basics of college admission: part 3.

It’s good to know your limits. It’s good to understand when the best thing to do is step aside and let someone else handle things. It’s also hard to miss those moments when family members communicate these things gently (but clearly) in statements such as:

• “Just hand me the remote. I’ll show you how to find that.”
• “I think we are good to go on virtual school today. It might be better if you go into the office.”
• “That’s not an aerial. That’s not even a somersault. Watch this!”

This also happens to me at work. I’m fortunate to have an incredibly talented team of colleagues and friends around me. So, when it comes to communication strategy, data analysis, file review training, technology enhancements, and much more, I’ve learned to let the experts lead.

In that spirit, I’m cutting this intro short so you can hear directly from my insightful and experienced colleagues about key elements of your college admission and application experience.

Activities and Contribution to Community

Ellery Kirkconnell (Senior Admission Counselor) helps you understand what admission counselors are really looking for when they read and discuss your involvement, influence, and impact outside of the classroom.

Top Tips: Focus on what you’ve contributed to your school, community, or family. This section is critical, so don’t short sell your involvement or rely on your strong academic background. “Tell us more” is the rule of thumb!

Listen For: Ellery’s crystal ball predictions on how this section will be reviewed in light of Covid-19.

Key Quote: “Impact does not necessarily mean you were a president of an organization… elected official… or the captain of a sports team.”

Further Reading Viewing: Ellery’s YouTube clip on C2C.

Letters of Recommendation

Kathleen Voss (East Coast Admission Director) provides key tips for students as they consider who to ask for letters of recommendation. She also provides helpful insight into what college admission readers are (and are not) looking for when they come to this section of applications.

Top Tips:  Good recommendations showcase your character/compliment your story. Help your recommenders help you by giving them the time/direction/info they need to do their best job.  Only send the number of recs any particular college asks you to submit.

Listen For:  The Starbucks Test (Honorable mention- Jerry McGuire hat tip).

Key Quote: “You are the book. And this is the person reviewing the book.”

Further Reading:    Big Future’s recs on recs. Insight from the Georgia Tech of Boston, aka MIT.

The Additional Information Section

Katie Mattli (Senior Assistant Director) explains what this section is (and what it’s not), as well as what readers are really looking for when they come to this section.

Top Tips: It’s okay to leave this section blank. It’s not an additional essay or continuation of your resume and extra-curriculars. It’s an opportunity to include critical details of your story that you’ve not been able to include elsewhere. Google “the art of brevity.”

Listen For: Katie’s patented “two-part method” for approaching this section.

Key Quote: “I am a human being- and I’m trying to understand you as a human being.”

Further Reading: The Write Life.

That’s it for the real wisdom and helpful advice. In other news, here’s one more.

College Essays and Supplemental Writing

Rick Clark (Director of Undergraduate Admission) walks students through how to get started, possible topics to consider, and what “your voice” really means. He also touches on supplemental essays for colleges and walks you through very tangible tips for making your writing better.

Top Tips:   Voice record your essay and listen back for ways to improve. Your application is a story: how can your essay fill in gaps and round out the most complete picture of you? Have an adult who does not know you very well read your essays to simulate the experience and takeaways of an admission counselor.

Listen For:  Personal secrets and confessions.

Key Quote: “Essays should be personal and detailed. The worst essays are vanilla. They’re broad and have a bunch of multi-syllabic words.”  

Further Reading:  Blogger, coach, author, and overall good person, Ethan Sawyer, aka  The College Essay Guy. Five Practical Tips for Writing for Colleges.

Thanks for reading—and thanks for listening. We will be wrapping up our mini-series, “The Basics of College Admission,” in the next month with episodes including financial aid, interviews, transfer admission, and more.

At this point, we’ve reached about 18,000 listeners on The College Admission Brief podcast. Admittedly, my mom and kids have a few accounts I created which is inflating those stats, but in general we’re pleased and truly appreciative. The annual podcast fee just hit my credit card, so we’ll definitely continue to be around and want to make this as helpful as possible as you navigate your admission experience.

If there is topic you think we missed and want us to cover, please reach out to @clark2college or @gtadmission .

Thanks for subscribing or listening  on  iTunes ,  Spotify , and  Spreaker .

If you would like to subscribe to receive blog entries when they post, please enter your email address in the “subscribe” box at the top of the page. We welcome comments and feedback at @gtadmission on Twitter.

Author: Rick Clark

Rick Clark is the Executive Director of Strategic Student Access at Georgia Tech. He has served on a number of national advisory and governing boards at the state, regional, and national level. Rick travels annually to U.S. embassies through the Department of State to discuss the admission process and landscape of higher education. He is the co-author of the book The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together, and a companion workbook published under the same title. A native of Atlanta, he earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a M.Ed. from Georgia State University. Prior to coming to Tech, Rick was on the admissions staff at Georgia State, The McCallie School and Wake Forest University. @clark2college View all posts by Rick Clark