• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Success Story Essay Consulting

Write Your Future Now

  • Home
  • Services
  • FAQs
  • Request More Info
  • About Lyn Hawks

Main Content

Expert college essay coaching to help students write their best for the admissions audience.

“The essays can be the most important components of your application.”

—Johns Hopkins University Admissions

In a highly-competitive field, Success Story offers coaching and a personalized writing workshop to help students

  • Write outstanding essays sharing their authentic self
  • Share best qualities that match what schools want
  • Find the right stories to tell
  • Structure their time to finish essays
  • Master techniques for future college writing

Here’s what students accomplish with Success Story

  • Work on a weekly schedule with tasks designed to their writing needs. I set students up on an efficient schedule with individualized exercises. These are designed to help a student generate ideas and also revise with purpose and audience in mind. Deadlines are twice a week so work doesn’t haunt them daily. The once-weekly coaching sessions teach writing strategies and help students do revisions.
  • Pick unique incidents that colleges want to know. I help students select stories that best represent them, showcase skill sets that set them apart, and share future plans. We discuss accomplishments and qualities that match the school profile while also showing the multifaceted interests and experiences of each student.
  • Write compelling, convincing essays. I help students create a narrative arc and/or montage of stories that engage a reader. We find striking details that resonate with readers. I ask questions that help a student explain to schools why these details matter. During our conversations, students discover the themes and values that direct their lives and find ways to name them. We discuss how to make a reader forget they’re reading–and then make it happen.
  • Implement meaningful feedback. My detailed line edits address everything: evidence, claims, storytelling strategies, grammar and mechanics. I help students wherever they are take their writing to the next level.

Learn more about Services

Read Testimonials


From the blog

Young woman on a beach at sunset

Hang in There

It's the most wonderful and most horrible time of year. From all over the U.S,. I'm getting emails and texts, spanning the range of every emotion … [Read More...] about Hang in There

Futurecasting: Go Ahead, Speculate!

I get it. You see a college essay prompt asking you about a future you haven't lived yet, and it feels like a lie to say you already know what it will … [Read More...] about Futurecasting: Go Ahead, Speculate!

Primary Sidebar

About Lyn Hawks,owner of Success Story

LynAs a Stanford graduate, as an experienced English teacher who has coached students from competitive public and private schools with their essays, as an expert in gifted education, and as an award-winning young adult fiction author, I know what stories get the attention of universities. I help talented students use powerful storytelling strategies to share their accomplishments, personality, and character to colleges. [READ MORE...]

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Testimonials from Clients

“Mrs. Hawks' coaching highlights the individual story and encourages applicants to be authentic in their essays.”
—Rachel, Elon University


“Lyn offers rich wisdom and honesty. After working with her on my essays, I gained a greater sense of self and belief in my capabilities. Lyn was an integral part of my admission to college.”
—Henry, DePaul University graduate


"Lyn did an amazing job helping my daughter choose the best prompts that drew out her true self. Lyn was so encouraging and knew how to inspire my 17-year-old."
—Amy, parent

[READ MORE...]

Copyright © 2021 · Lyn Fairchild Hawks