My College App Coach

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My Coaching Style

The college essay is a critical part of the application process. Having good grades, strong recommendations and great extracurricular activities is just one part of your application. The essay does far more than showcase your writing skills or tell the admissions officers what you’ve achieved. It is imperative that your essays pull together all this information about you and show your unique story – your goals, your skills, your values, your curiosity, and what you’ll bring to the university you choose to attend. It’s critical that your application shows admissions officers what sets you apart from the thousands of other students with great grades and extracurriculars.

My coaching focuses on finding this unique story – the angle that ‘sells’ you to admissions officers, showcasing your qualities that make you stand out. Discovering and expressing your unique story is the point that most students miss, and at which I excel. Together, we will create a compelling application that stands out amongst all the others. The process is a fun and rewarding challenge that helps you to become a strong, assertive, engaging writer. Throughout this process, you will discover new things about yourself, and you will have an application that makes you stand out to admissions officers.

I offer packages for students who want to complete a specific set of college applications – the UC schools, Common App plus supplemental essays for one school, and additional packages to add more Common App colleges. I also offer individual services for students with more specific needs, such as helping to give the final polish to a Common App essay or proofreading your UC Personal Insight Questions.

Feel free to contact me to discuss your unique goals. I can help you plan your application strategy, and we can come up with a plan that helps you achieve your goals.

Schedule a free 15 minute consultation with Nicola

Scheduling

A close-up, photographic view of a high-quality, navy-blue hardcover planner lying open on a light oak desk, its pages filled with a thoughtfully laid-out college application timeline. Color-coded tabs mark months, while neatly written entries mention “draft essay,” “review activities list,” and “submit applications.” Beside the planner, a silver laptop is partially visible, its screen out of focus, and a slim, matte-black pen rests diagonally across the page. Late-morning natural light from the left casts soft, directional illumination, creating subtle highlights on the pen and a gentle gradient across the paper. Shot from a slightly elevated angle with shallow depth of field, the image feels calm, organized, and reassuring, emphasizing strategic planning and personalized support.

I work with families to create a coaching schedule that works for them. Some students work with me once a week – especially if they start the process early in the spring. Other families prefer a more intense schedule during vacation time. Others work weekends or evenings in the fall semester.

My advice is to not leave it too late, as getting a headstart in the spring and summer is really helpful. I take a select number of students and give each one time and attention.

But…. as a parent myself who has gone through this process several times with my own children, I know that sometimes ‘life happens’ and your student needs more urgent help. I’m here to listen, no pressure, so contact me to chat.

A meticulously organized wooden study desk covered with color-coded college brochures, neatly stacked application folders, and an open laptop displaying a clean college application dashboard. A sharpened mechanical pencil rests across a detailed checklist labeled “Application Timeline,” beside sticky notes with short, encouraging phrases. The desk sits near a large window in a quiet home office, with soft afternoon natural light casting gentle shadows and highlighting the textures of paper and smooth electronics. In the blurred background, a minimalist bookshelf holds reference guides and a small potted plant. Photographic realism at eye level, with a shallow depth of field that keeps the workspace in sharp focus, creating a calm, focused, and optimistic atmosphere that suggests organized, personalized admissions planning.

I meet online regularly with my students to work on their applications. This is the most valuable time, when we get to know each other and craft and polish essays.

However, the process is most effective when the student also takes responsibility outside our face-to-face times. I give students tasks to do between meetings – sometimes responding to my written feedback, at other times, researching the colleges that they are applying to, or maybe drafting six details for a ‘Why Us?’ college essay.

I expect students to communicate with me clearly – to do their best to complete tasks, but, if ‘life happens’, to let me know so that we can keep on target. College applications involve work, but you will see your student grown in confidence and maturity as we tackle this together.