Success Story provides coaching services for college application essays and scholarship essays. A student emerges with takeaway skills: replicable strategies, methods, and tips useful for these essays as well as high school and college writing.
New This Year! Idea Lab
$350
Do you need a few hours of brainstorming to get started?
- This service offers two items: access to the Student Workbook (a wide array of brainstorming activities, self-guided) and a one-hour Zoom brainstorming session.
- This plan works well for students who want to generate a bank of usable ideas for the Personal Statement essay. Students complete Workbook exercises prior to the live session, and come to the Zoom session to work with Lyn on reviewing and choosing content: stories and details, values and themes, and arguments. We discuss which details will offer the best portrait of their authentic identity, skills, and accomplishments to schools.
- Students walk away with the Workbook and several tips and ideas for working on their own to generate first drafts of essays, including a Next Steps strategies handout.
$150 per hour
Do you need a unique plan that doesn’t fit those listed below?
Do you have special requests for specific types of support?
- Whether a modified version of a plan below, to a special service plan customized to a student’s particular needs, Success Story can assist.
- Would you like to do an Idea Lab plus a few more live sessions? Would you like to do a Draft Review plan plus a few Zoom sessions? Customized hours here or there are great add-ons to either plan.
- Would you like to receive additional hours in an average week of service, such as add-on Zoom sessions or specialized approaches for learning differences and special needs?
- Reach out to request more information and service package or hourly rates for special circumstances or particular needs.
$1400 – $2100
Have you already started first drafts and need two or three weeks of support? Do you work well independently? Do you want to move essays from early drafts to polished drafts? Do you need feedback in a short period of time?
- 2- 3 weeks of scheduled assignments, helping students stick to a plan that meets multiple goals per week
- Live and asynchronous support over 2 or 3 weeks: 1-2 hours of live coaching per week and several hours of asynchronous support (feedback on drafts twice a week, email updates and encouragement, edits, etc.)
- Weekly personalized live coaching via Zoom: exercises, lessons, feedback, and mentoring through the writing process
- Weekly deadlines to stay on track
- Detailed developmental feedback (line edits and narrative summary with next steps)
- Grammar and mechanics feedback on any drafts considered close to complete
- Success Story workbook strategy exercises and essay models, personalized to student needs
- Recommended amount of essays to address in 2-3 weeks: 5 to 7. Highly-motivated students may be able to address more. Timeframe can be extended if needed.
$2800 – $5600
Do you need help selecting your essay topics? Do you need help brainstorming and planning an essay? This plan helps you choose topics, build substantive notes and outlines, and begin drafting. It’s a great deal for students who want support with launching the process.
- 4 – 8 weeks of scheduled assignments, helping students stick to a plan that meets multiple goals per week.
- Specialized support for students with learning differences and/or busy schedules
- Live and asynchronous support for 4 – 8 weeks: 1-2 hours of live coaching per week and several hours of asynchronous support (feedback on drafts twice a week, email updates and encouragement, edits, etc.).
- Weekly personalized live coaching via Zoom: exercises, lessons, feedback, and mentoring through the writing process
- Weekly deadlines and reminders to stay on track
- Weekly, detailed feedback on brainstorming, outlines, and first and second drafts
- Weekly detailed feedback (line edits and narrative summary with next steps)
- Success Story workbook brainstorming materials, strategy exercises, and essay models, personalized to student needs
- Recommended amount of essays to address in 4-8 weeks: 3 to 5. Timeframe can be extended if needed.
$500
Need one or more essays looked at quickly in a four-day period while developing valuable revision skills? This package is a great deal for a family with a tight timeline and/or a limited budget, and a self-starter student who already has drafts complete. This package is ideal for students with second or third drafts needing more revision.
- Feedback on draft #3 (or later) of essays. Feedback includes multiple line edits per page and narrative summary.
- Daily review in the four-day period; students receive new comments by the afternoon of each day. Students are recommended to have four days set aside in order to respond with revisions to daily comments. Students receive a total of 5 reviews.
- Notes regarding grammar and proofreading also provided.
- Limited to 5 essays or 2000 words total.
- Success Stories Method strategy handouts and model essays provided as needed.
- Note: this plan doesn’t work for students who need help getting started or who have a first draft.
- More here on the Draft Review process and expectations.
Ask about Success Story fall scholarships.
Ask about how I mentor young writers in the craft of creative writing.
Learn more about editorial work with adult clients here.
Contact Success Story.