College Essays That Set You Apart
With applications at record highs and intense competition from around the globe, college admissions reps now have to sift through hundreds if not thousands of applications every year. Getting into college has never been tougher and a memorable Common App Essay is now often the deciding factor in admissions results.
Through my experience as a professional writer and parent of college-aged children, I have found that the process of writing journalistically lends itself to the best college essays. My specialty is writing the headline-grabbing, high-impact stories you need to WOW your application reader. The essays I help you create will not look like the sleepy analyses you learned to write in English class. They will jump off the page with attention-getting leads, heartfelt and humorous anecdotes, and sometimes, even quotes to make your story come to life. I also help strategize on how to write concise and impactful supplemental essays now required by many colleges, and how to tweak them for different schools.
The Journalistic Approach
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It all begins with an idea. We will brainstorm topics and the traits you want to highlight for the common app and all the supplementals. I use my skills as a journalist to interview students to help them find interesting stories to tell, just as I have interviewed profile subjects for over 20 years.
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We will develop the key points and anecdotes used in your essay the same way reporters do before writing their stories. After this process, words just fall into place.
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Many admissions reps report that if the first few sentences of the common app essay don’t grab them, they move on to the next. If your “Why (insert college name here)” supplemental essay doesn’t have specific details about professors and courses that interest you and fit with your major, they move on to the next. It is tough out there. I will help you endear yourself to the reader, make them laugh or tear up, and sell yourself without bragging, in less than 650 words.
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Together we will strategize the key points you want to make throughout your entire application, and where they best fit. That means teasing out essay ideas that aren’t on your Activity List and vice versa. We will also work on writing the Activity List and Short Answer essays—which are just as important as the Common App—and are often harder to finesse because of the tight word count. For the Activity List for example, you have just 150 characters to make your activities stand out. Simply explaining them is not enough.
International Expertise
In addition to my U.S. practice, I have considerable experience helping students from overseas who want to attend college in the United States. I have lived in and worked in a number of countries, and understand the vast differences in applying to college in America. I am available by Zoom to help applicants anywhere in the world, and will be willing to travel internationally for workshops or large client groups.
Pro Bono Services
I am not just a journalist, but also a parent who recently went through the application process with my own daughter. In two years I will go through it again! It is time-consuming, anxiety-provoking, and can be grueling for the student and their family. I truly care about the students applying to college in such a cutthroat environment. To that end, if you are a teacher or know someone who needs help but cannot afford an essay counselor, please reach out. I am taking on a small number of pro bono students each admissions season.
Miriam Souccar
M.A. Journalism, NYU
Miriam Souccar is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience as a writer and editor. The bulk of her career was spent as a Senior Reporter and Contributing Editor for Crain’s New York Business, where she covered numerous beats including Higher Education, honing her knowledge of the application and admissions process. During that time she was a frequent guest on National Public Radio. She also has worked as a contributing writer and editor for publications including Worth Magazine, The Real Deal, CNBC, and Quartz; and as a foreign correspondent for USA Today, Associated Press, and The Jerusalem Post.
“Miriam’s understanding of what the admission officers are looking for makes students’ essays lively and full of character. My students’ profiles have been transformed with her help.”
“I felt really comfortable working with Miriam. She totally gets teenagers and understands what we are going through. I didn’t feel like I was working with a teacher, more like a coach or friend.”
“My son was very anxious about the application process, especially the essays. Miriam helped him develop ideas and gain confidence in the stories he had to tell. She really cared about his success and was a sympathetic and calming presence for me as well.”