The Admission Essay - Why it Matters
The student’s essay is the single best way for schools to see past the numbers and to learn who the student really is. The job of the essay is to connect with the reader / admission officer and help them visualize the student as part of the fabric of their school. That connection can mean the difference between acceptance or rejection.
To do that, the essay needs to be personal and in the voice of the student - this is where Convey-U.com Essays excels.
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“Admissions officers are running out of calibration devices,” says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. “All else being the same or similar, the essay suddenly becomes meaningful because it becomes a tie breaker.”
The Process
The Intake, Writing, and Completion process generally follows the below path:
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INTAKE:
The process usually starts out with a short conversation with parents and/or student to help them understand the approach, the fee structure, and to answer any questions they might have. This is usually done over the phone, over video call or over email if necessary. Afterwards a basic questionnaire is sent to both parents and student to help gather information that will be used to help craft the best essay possible. Any early essay drafts already written by the student (and comments by reviewers) can be submitted as well. Once submitted and reviewed, another meeting is set up, in or remote, where we would review the questionnaires together as needed, strategize on an approach, and put together the work schedule. An initial fee associated with intake would be due at this point, which would be applied to the overall costs if we decided to move forward.
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ESSAY WRITING:
Once a schedule of activities is laid out, the student and I begin the process of selecting the essay prompts to respond to, brainstorming ideas and constructing an outline for each essay. From there, we have regular checkpoints using an iterative process providing updates to the parents on where we are along the milestones. Convey-U.com's philosophy is that the student is the client and the parent (usually) is their benefactor. The best essays come from the 1:1 rapport that I build with the student. Students can share our interim or completed work with anyone on their side, and all feedback comes back through them.
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COMPLETION:
Essays are not done until the student and I are both satisfied with them. If there is a college advisor that needs to review, her/his input is welcome at the family’s discretion - as above, all feedback is funneled through the student.
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EXTRAS:
In addition to helping students write great essays that tell their story, I have worked with students on the end-to-end application process. If this is something you believe your student needs assistance with, please mention this when we talk.
Success Stories
Some of the schools that Convey-U.com Essays has helped students get into:
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
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Baruch College / Zicklin School of Business
Binghamton University
Brandeis University *
University of Chicago
Cornell University
University of Delaware
Drexel University
Fashion Institute of Technology
Hunter College
Macaulay Honors College
University of Maryland
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) *
Ohio State University
University of Pittsburgh
Queens College
Rutgers University *
Temple University
Vanderbilt University
Yeshiva University & Stern College (Honors) *
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(* includes students who were previously rejected and re-applied with Convey-U.com Essay's help)
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GRADUATE PROGRAMS
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​Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Ben Gurion Medical School – Israel
European University Medical School (Cyprus)
Hofstra Graduate School
Jacoby Medical Center (medical residency in internal medicine)
LECOM - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Long Island University Graduate School
University of Miami Health System (medical residency in dermatology)
New York Medical College
Pace University / Lenox Hill
Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School
Technion American Medical School
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In the words of the students:
M.I.T.
Med School
Brandeis
Vanderbilt
P.A. School
Nursing School
In the words of the parents:
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Thank you so much for working with [our daughter]. You have impacted her life in such a special way, both academically and emotionally. I feel that she has gotten so much out of this experience learning about herself and the world around her. Her essays were amazing and and for sure she will let you know what schools she gets into and where she ends up. I will definitely refer your services to other families as I come across them.
- Lori - Essex County, NJ
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Our son is strong in math and science, but needed some assistance in organizing his thoughts and in figuring out ‘his story’ for his personal statements and supplemental essays for colleges. Howard made him feel comfortable from their first in-person meeting, helped him work through options and approaches, and through their partnership, drove him towards creating essays that really reflected who he was – all on a really tight schedule. He was admitted to all the schools he applied to and is really excited for his freshman year!
- S.K. (Parent) – Teaneck, NJ
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My child is a good student, but found the college essay a bit daunting because it asks you to speak about yourself somewhat personally. That is not something that he wanted to share in draft form with myself or my husband nor something he was comfortable completing on his own and so we found ourselves in bind. In a few short days after working with Howard, they had crafted an essay so on the money to who he was that he was proud to share it with us and all the schools he was interested in. We are grateful that he got into his first choice school and would recommend Convey-U and Howard to anyone who wants to help smooth the path for their child to write an essay that shows off who they really are. For the stress it took off our relationship, it would have been worth it alone.
- M.S. (Parent) – Bergen County, NJ
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My student needed help putting together an essay that reflected her strengths. She met with Howard a few times over video, and together they were able to build something that really made our child feel good about herself. The best part was that I did not have to nag her to work on it (I guess Howard did that). We know how Howard works with children from the youth sports league he runs, and are not surprised how that translated to working with our ‘young adult’.
- Anonymous (Parent) – Bergen County, NJ
- Erica - Montvale, NJ
About Howard
As the ‘go to’ resource for family and friends seeking college and graduate school essay help, Howard started Convey-U.com Essays after successfully spending a summer working with a student on the many essays required for a medical school application. Both very good at helping students find their stories and excellent at working with young adults, Howard helps bring out the creativity and structure in his students – all while removing the stress in the parent/child relationship. Howard has helped both private and public high school students and graduate applicants gain admission to the programs they wanted most, from Maryland to medical school and everything in between.
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Additionally, Howard has spent the last 14 years running a youth sports league (grades K-8) in the spring. He holds an MBA from New York University and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Rutgers University.
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You can contact him at ConveyUEssays@gmail.com
Fees
While each student requires a different amount of help (and time) to complete the essays that we work on, it’s important that fees are predictable for all involved. With that in mind, once we clarify what the needs of your student are, we can work a fee schedule up front.
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Please contact ConveyUEssays@gmail.com for more information.
Getting Started
College Applications are generally due by:
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Early Action: November 1st of senior year
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Early Decision: November 1st of senior year
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Regular Action: December 1st of senior year (but varies)
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Many high school college guidance offices seek final application (including essays) in early October.
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The best way towards stress free success is to think about the application activities with your student and plan sufficiently before applications are due.
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Find out if Convey-U.com is a good fit for your family by sending a note to ConveyUEssays@gmail.com
and we'll set up a conversation.
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Regardless of your family's approach to the application and essay process, wishing you the best of luck during this frequently stressful process.
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