Write Your College Application Personal Essay
In this course, students will select a topic, develop, write, and edit their college admissions essay! This course is taught by an award-winning published author and college counselor, who was also a homeschooler herself!
Jackson Pearce Classes: Love Writing
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4.9
Number of reviews:(1,834)
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What's included
8 live meetings
6 hrs 40 mins in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students must turn in a first and second draft of their essay for feedback from the teacher.Grading
Grades, write-ups, or certificates of completion are available upon request.Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Beginner - Advanced Level
🎓 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆-- 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹! 🎓 College admissions essays can feel overwhelming-- the stakes are so high, and yet the format is so unique! This 8-week, comprehensive course is here to help. Your learner will conceive, develop, edit, and receive feedback on their college admissions essay and, by week eight, be ready to send it out to admissions offices worldwide! ✏️ WEEK 1 - Pick a Topic! In our first class we'll cover what colleges are looking for in admissions essays, how to choose a topic to write about, and how to select the prompt you're going to tackle. We'll cover topics that work as well as those that feel overdone, and what admissions readers are thinking as they read your essay. We'll also do a quick brainstorming activity! ✏️ WEEK 2 - Be Specific! We'll discuss basic storytelling techniques to make our essays stand out, as well as the power of using literary devices like imagery, metaphor, and symbolism in our essays. We'll also cover why avoiding general statements is crucial! ✏️ WEEK 3 - Think Structure We'll discuss the structure of an essay, the power of a thesis statement, and how creative you can get with a college admissions essay. We'll look at a few examples of essays that play with structure, and examine why they work! ✏️ WEEK 4 - Find Your Voice We'll discuss the importance of finding your voice as a writer, and why voice is so essential in a college essay. We'll look at a few different voices in examples, and complete a short activity on developing your writing voice. For homework, students will turn in their first draft of their essay for feedback! ✏️ WEEK 5 - Introductions are more important than ever! This week we'll discuss the power of a good introduction, and how to take an average introduction and make it shine. ✏️ WEEK 6 - Writing is Rewriting! We'll talk about large-scale editing strategies-- and how to edit without becoming frustrated about the whole thing! ✏️ WEEK 7 - Writing is Rewriting (part two!) More specific edits! Copyediting, reading it backwards, having friends and family read it. Students will also submit their second draft for feedback the following week. ✏️ WEEK 8 - Supplemental Essays This week we'll wrap up by discussing some of the common additional essay or short answer questions college may ask for-- like "why did you select this major" or "why do you want to attend this specific college?"
Learning Goals
Students will conceive, develop, write, and edit their college admissions essay under the guidance of a private college counselor.Students will receive feedback on their admissions essay.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
Pick a Topic!
In our first class we'll cover what colleges are looking for in admissions essays, how to choose a topic to write about, and how to select the prompt you're going to tackle. We'll cover topics that work as well as those that feel overdone, and what admissions readers are thinking as they read your essay. We'll also do a quick brainstorming activity! 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Be Specific
We'll discuss basic storytelling techniques to make our essays stand out, as well as the power of using literary devices like imagery, metaphor, and symbolism in our essays. We'll also cover why avoiding general statements is crucial! 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Think Structure
We'll discuss the structure of an essay, the power of a thesis statement, and how creative you can get with a college admissions essay. We'll look at a few examples of essays that play with structure, and examine why they work! 50 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Find Your Voice
We'll discuss the importance of finding your voice as a writer, and why voice is so essential in a college essay. We'll look at a few different voices in examples, and complete a short activity on developing your writing voice. For homework, students will turn in their first draft of their essay for feedback! 50 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined November, 2018
4.9
1834reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
1 teacher has a teaching certificate
Georgia Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
1 teacher has a Graduate degree
Master's Degree in Education from Lehigh University
3 teachers have a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature from Davidson College
Bachelor's Degree in English from The University of Georgia
Bachelor's Degree in English from Agnes Scott College
Emma K. Ohland has been telling stories since before she knew how to write them down. She grew up in the middle of a cornfield in Indiana, but her imagination often carried her away to other worlds. When she’s not writing, reading, or smelling books, she enjoys traveling, crocheting, D&D, and snuggling with her rescue greyhound. She is the award-winning author of Funeral Girl as well as her upcoming novel Here Goes Nothing, and her work is featured in the short story anthology Out There.
Before publishing, she was an admissions officer of a top 50 university where she read and made decisions on over 5,000 student applications. In addition to writing books, she is also a private college counselor where she helps students gain admission by crafting strong personal narratives utilizing storytelling techniques. Her students have been accepted into top schools such as the UCs, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, UT Austin, Northeastern, and more.Reviews
Live Group Course
$31
weekly or $247 for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
50 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-18
2-6 learners per class
