Write Well Academy, LLC

09/07/2026

The hummingbirds are storming our feeders this morning.

They know something is changing.

All morning, they have been darting in and out, drinking, chasing one another away, coming right back, and drinking some more. They are fueling up for the long journey south.

I could sit here and watch them for hours.

Maybe I am noticing them a little differently this year because I spend so much of my fall working with high school seniors who are preparing for a journey of their own. Right now, many of them are doing their own version of fueling up. Finishing applications. Revising essays. Asking enormous questions about who they are, what matters to them, and where they might belong next year.

And underneath all of that work is something bigger: They are getting ready to leave.

That is one of the things I love most about college essay season. Yes, we are writing essays, but we are also pausing for a moment before everything changes and asking students to notice what they carry with them. The people who shaped them. The experiences that changed them. The strange little interests they cannot quite explain.

The failures, discoveries, inside jokes, obsessions, questions, and ordinary moments that have quietly made them who they are. A good college essay does not have to prove that a student is extraordinary.

It simply has to help us see them.

So this morning, I am watching these tiny travelers prepare for what comes next and thinking about all of my seniors doing much the same thing.

Different migration. Slightly more paperwork.

There is still time at the feeder.

But the journey is coming.

For those who have already made this journey, what do you remember most about the fall of senior year?

07/27/2026

Pull out a journal, set a timer for ten minutes and think on paper.

07/27/2026

You do not need to wait until August 1 to begin your Common App essay.

In fact, students can make meaningful progress before the application portal opens without trying to write a polished essay in one sitting.

Start here:

✓ Read the Common App essay prompts.
✓ List five stories you might tell.
✓ Choose one story and draft it imperfectly.
✓ Ask, “What does this story show about me?”
✓ Get thoughtful feedback before polishing every sentence.

The strongest essays rarely begin with a perfect opening line. Begin with discovery, specific memories, and a willingness to explore what a story might reveal.

Do not worry yet about making the essay impressive.

First, make sure it is genuinely about you.

Already have a draft?

College Essay Review is now open for students who want detailed, human feedback that protects their ideas, ownership, and authentic voice.

Receive thoughtful, personalized feedback on your college essay from an experienced writing professor. Strengthen your personal statement with expert guidance on voice, storytelling, clarity, organization, and revision while preserving your authentic writing.

07/21/2026

A student should not need a perfect college essay to qualify for help improving it.

The Every Essay Deserves a Reader Scholarship is not a “best essay” contest.

Students submit a draft, but that draft can still be unfinished, uncertain, or a little tangled. That is the point. Feedback is most useful when there is still room to discover, rethink, and revise.

Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on:

- readiness to engage in the revision process

- the potential benefit of thoughtful, professional feedback

- openness to asking questions and making meaningful changes

I am not looking for the most polished writer.

I am looking for students who are ready to keep working and who would benefit from having a thoughtful reader beside them.

Apply for the Every Essay Deserves a Reader Scholarship:

https://www.writewellacademy.com/college-essay-review-scholarship

07/17/2026

College essays often begin with ordinary moments. The trick is learning what the moment reveals.

07/16/2026

College Essay Review is officially open.

A student does not need a polished essay before asking for help. In fact, a messy draft often gives us the best place to begin.

A thoughtful review can help a student see:

• what is already working
• what feels generic or predictable
• where the story needs more reflection
• where the structure is helping or getting in the way

The goal is not to rewrite the essay for the student. The goal is to help the student understand the draft, strengthen the story, and make thoughtful revision choices while keeping their own voice intact.

If your student has a draft, even a messy one, College Essay Review is open.

Scholarships available! Deadline: September 13, 2026, midnight

https://www.writewellacademy.com/college-essay-review-scholarship

07/16/2026

College essay season is beginning, and I know what many parents are already wondering:

What if my student needs help with the essay, but full one-on-one coaching is not realistic right now?

That concern is valid. College essay coaching can be incredibly helpful, but it can also be financially out of reach for many families. That does not mean students should have to figure out one of the most personal pieces of the application completely alone.

Most students do not need someone to take over their essay.

They need:

A thoughtful reader who can help them see what is working.

Clear feedback about where the essay feels vague, rushed, or too surface-level.

Guidance that protects their voice instead of replacing it.

That is why I created College Essay Review.

It is designed for students who have a draft and need expert, human feedback without committing to a full coaching package.

The service opens this week, and I will also be sharing details about the Every College Essay Deserves a Thoughtful Reader Scholarship for rising seniors.

Details coming this week.

College Essay Review: https://www.writewellacademy.com/post/college-essay-review

07/15/2026

Wait for it...

07/13/2026

Fewer college essays may make the application process easier. They may also make acceptance significantly harder.

The Wall Street Journal reports that several colleges are reducing or eliminating supplemental essays, citing student stress, limited usefulness, and concerns about AI-polished responses.

I understand the decision.

If a “Why Us?” essay produces hundreds of carefully engineered versions of the same answer, it may no longer provide admissions readers with meaningful information. But there is another consequence we need to discuss.

Removing supplemental essays lowers the barrier to applying.

Students who might once have removed a college from their list because of three additional essays may now submit the application. Colleges could receive even larger applicant pools without increasing the number of available seats.

The result may be lower acceptance rates and a more difficult admissions process for many students.

A student may be just as qualified as applicants in previous years and still face worse odds because the pool has grown larger, more competitive, and harder to differentiate.

Meanwhile, admissions offices still need ways to understand:

_how a student thinks

_what the student values

_what experiences have shaped the student

__what the transcript cannot explain

_why the student belongs in a particular academic community

When supplemental essays disappear, those questions do not disappear with them. More weight may fall on the personal statement, recommendations, interviews, activities, grades, and test scores.

This makes student ownership of the personal statement even MORE IMPORTANT.

The answer is not to make every seventeen-year-old sound flawlessly polished. It is to help students notice the stories already present in their lives, reflect deeply, and communicate in language that still belongs to them.

Good coaching should not manufacture a voice.

It should help the student hear it.

If your student needs thoughtful college essay support but the cost of private coaching feels out of reach, applications are now open for the Write Well Academy College Essay Scholarship.

The scholarship is designed to give a rising senior access to expert, human feedback while protecting the student’s ideas, language, and ownership of the essay.

Because every student deserves the chance to be heard, not rewritten.

Learn more and apply here: https://www.writewellacademy.com/college-essay-review-scholarship