WHY DOES A
GREAT
ESSAY
MATTER
SO MUCH?
With college essays, sometimes you just get a few seconds to make an impression. To produce an emotional connection. To make the reader care.
If not, they move on.
That moment of connection can be the difference between Yes and No.
For the past decade, I have worked with hundreds of kids on their college essays. Many of them were accepted at the most competitive schools in the country.
Like any other top performers, they did not start out doing great things. But with hard - and more importantly, smart - work, they got there.
Their essays were great.
WHAT I DO
One-on-One Essay Coaching
Every student brings a unique set of skills and insights to the writing process. I help students assess their readiness to write and respond with the instruction that best serves their needs.
Guided Brainstorming
Using exercises that I and others have proven to be best-in-practice, I help students focus on the critical elements of a great essay and identify powerful, meaningful topics that illustrate their truth.
Structuring the Essay
Great essays require mindful preparation. I encourage students to test their topics for maximum interest and impact before they begin writing, a process that results in greater creativity.
Weekly Check-ins
Teenagers have busy lives. Weekly check-ins provide milestones to keep work progressing toward deadlines, and help students identify small issues before they become larger problems.
Editorial Rigor
Once a rough draft is on the page, things get real. I maintain exacting standards for the quality of the finished product - while carefully protecting the student's voice. A bad editor - or God forbid, A.I. - can destroy an essay. I help them sing.
Polish and Submit
Good writing emerges from re-writing, and rarely from a first draft or even a first edit. I challenge students to raise their essays to the highest quality possible before submitting them to colleges.
WHO I AM
My name is Mike Demilio. I am a dad, a Princeton grad and an elite college essay coach. I was a novelist, a professional writer and an entrepreneur. I'm based in New York City, and I work with students from all over the US.
The perspective I gained as a college football player, a software inventor and a creative artist has helped me relate to a wide range of young people.
Raising two daughters has taught me to put my heart into every conversation I have with students - and to really, actively, motivationally, listen to them.
Over the years, I have refined a process that allows me to quickly find the most valuable and connective stories that kids can tell in their college essays, and to coax writing from them that will blow your doors off.
And, most importantly, that will help them get into the college of their dreams.
Member of:
TESTIMONIALS
WHAT I CHARGE
When you hire me, you get me. Not a consultant who will hand your kid off to a team of junior editors.
I help with all aspects of college application-related writing; personal statement, supplemental essays, activity list, scholarship essays and anything else you need.
My rates:
$250/hour
$5,000/15-college package