Admission Ignition is proud to offer school presentations. One of our favorite parts of the job is working with school administrators, teachers, and students directly (in person and on Zoom). 

We recently created a new, comprehensive four-phase program and upleveled individualized plans, using an interactive PowerPoint and a set of thematic handouts to meet the needs of our collaborators. As part of the program, we have also included one-on-one conferences with students to offer real-time feedback on topic selection and help outline concepts. 

This phase has proved crucial to the process in terms of developing (and sometimes discarding) essay topics. Picking the right topic is the seed from which the rest of a successful essay grows, and this phase helps us ensure students have a strong crop to harvest. 

Why is this important?

Working with students in the spring of their junior year is essential to setting them on the right path. 

Often, teachers assign an essay draft in the final months of the academic year. It is a great idea, but students often feel rushed. Without knowing where to start or what standards they need to meet, many students don’t take advantage of this opportunity and simply write something to get the assignment “done.” The number of students we’ve worked with who communicate this sentiment is too many to count!

Admission Ignition’s brainstorming presentations and conferences can help students brainstorm and execute more thoughtful drafts that prove useful long after the assignment is due. Our revision presentations can then help students improve their first drafts, all before finals. This helps ensure that students won’t be bogged down with extra work in the fall of senior year, aka crunch time.

So, what do these phases look like?

PHASE 1: Unlike the traditional English essay, the personal statement requires a different skill set. In this workshop, through an interactive and engaging presentation, participants will learn the purpose of the personal statement and cliché topics to avoid. After reviewing the key ingredients of successful college essays, participants will read sample college essays and evaluate them using these criteria in a group discussion. Then, the facilitator will guide students through brainstorming exercises to help them determine a topic, making a daunting first step feel more approachable. 

PHASE 2: Students will engage in conferences with Admission Ignition essay coaches. Teachers or counselors can observe the conferences.

PHASE 3: After students have written a rough draft of their essays, this workshop will help them take their drafts to the next level by encouraging them to revise their essays through specific descriptive writing techniques, transition tips, and word-cutting strategies. It also includes a revision checklist to help students assess their revision process and the readiness of a draft.

PHASE 4: These sessions will introduce common supplemental essay topics (Activity, Identity, and Why Us)  and techniques to master them.

Do schools need to use all phases to work with Admission Ignition?

No! We can and will customize our presentations regarding duration and subject matter, focusing on the goals each school sets for its students.

Are you a school counselor looking to work with essay coaching experts? Contact us to discuss details!