Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Will you write it for me?
No.
Can I pay you to write it for me?
No.
Do you guarantee I’ll get into my first choice college?
No.
Think about what you are asking here: we are not admissions officers, let alone admissions officers at every college or university in the nation!
There’s a sea of competitive applicants out there, all of whom are vying for a seat. Lots of students have 4.+ GPAs with rigorous AP schedules and 34+ on their ACT. The competition is fierce. How does one applicant separate himself or herself from those who look like them academically?
What we will guarantee: if you do the work, you will see results. You will learn valuable writing skills and communication techniques along the way, guaranteeing that no matter WHERE you matriculate, you will emerge as an educated professional capable of effective communication — a trait many employers are eager to see.
It’s up to you to do the work; we show you how to present your best self in the essay.
I’m not a good writer. I feel like I have a good story & topic, I just don’t know how to make it all come together. Will this help?
YES.
But first, forget about “good” writing and “bad” writing.
Academic writing is a technical skill and technical skills are results driven (think grades and acceptance letters.) It’s about using the tools to follow a formula, and the resulting product produces a result. Academic writing is not subjective (good or bad) — it’s simply effective or ineffective.
“Make it all come together” is the mystical part of the steps in the writing process that most students have yet to master. We have an entire module dedicated to showing you how to use the techniques that undergraduate students and professional writers use to succeed! Students experience their “ah-ha” moment of understanding when we reveal the secret sauce & just the right seasoning. It’s the missing piece of the high school essay writing puzzle that separates effective writers from ineffective writers.
While our students are getting the help they need to write whatever essay they are struggling with, they’re also learning the framework to succeed in writing at the undergraduate level, a practice that will produce effective communicators as graduates.
English is not my first language.
That’s not a question!
Either way, it’s not a problem for us. We speak English, so as long as it’s not a problem for you to understand us, we’ll work with you in the final stages of editing to ensure your best use and understanding of fluid English while preserving the nuances of your first language that shine through.
Can I pay you to write my college application essay?
Since I keep getting the question, I’ll try to answer it in more detail:
No.
Nor do you want me to.
Nobody can articulate in the unique way that you can. Once you learn to use and apply the formulas and techniques inherent to effectively communicate content, you'll forget you ever felt the need to look for such an inferior, quick-fix option.
Plus, we’ve got this thing called “academic integrity.” Check it out.
What if I sign up & it doesn't work for me?
If students do the work, they will learn the process. It’s that simple.
In my experience, the only time the process doesn’t work for a student is when the student doesn’t put in the work yet still expects results.
We're not miracle workers.
We're professional writers, trusted coaches, and effective instructors. Students willing to do the work learn how to succeed in academic writing and communication in general. We show them how.
If you are doing the work and feel you are not learning and/or our instruction has not been helpful, please get in touch with us immediately!
Are the instructors nice?
Yes! And we sincerely appreciate the courage it took to ask that question. :) English teachers are full of big words and rigid rules, and that combination can be downright intimidating.
Not only are we kind, we genuinely love our job! We have yet to meet a student who wants our help who isn’t an interesting, unique kid with so much to offer the world. It is our honor to meet you.
What does a session look like?
Many high school students have expressed post-COVID online learning fatigue. We get it.
The challenge is that we have academic instruction that we need to pass along to students. Academic writing is a technical skill that many of our students haven’t seen before. It needs to be presented and practiced in order to be learned.
We've added in-person workshops to our offerings to supplement the online courses and individual coaching sessions and help offset screen fatigue. An in-person workshop accommodates small groups of students, working through the entire process in one day with follow-up online coaching. Students can also access online instruction to review concepts presented in the in-person workshop as needed.
The online course is for students who are unable to attend our live workshops. Students are onboarded either in an online workshop or individually. The videos are designed to walk students through the academic writing process in a private online setting at the student's individualized pace.
Individual coaching sessions are done online for the convenience of students and coaches. We use this time to evaluate the student’s recent work and give students individual feedback. We do the bulk of our work in Google Docs, which most students are familiar with using.
“RIGHT My College Application Essay” is another resource for students to receive our instruction.
How long does this college application essay writing process take, start to finish?
That's up to each student and the student's schedule. Once students learn the steps, they may complete them individually in a single day if they like that kind of intensity. Or, students can set a goal to complete one step per day or one step per week. Whatever works.
Our students learn that academic writing is not about writing per see — it's about thinking and doing. The most important thing is that students learn and take action on each step and save enough time at the end of the process to go back and look at the essay objectively before the deadline for submission.
Students can expect their senior year to be jam-packed with activities, so we recommend starting the application process in their sophomore or junior year with “The Weekenders 10-Step Guide to Navigating College Applications.” Students who enroll in our summer workshops will be expected to have this information completed before we begin working on the essays.
We recommend students start working on the essays and personal statements somewhere around the Fourth of July and complete as many as possible before Labor Day. This gives students plenty of time for final polishing before submission.
Do you offer discounts on workshops or products?
ESSAY CURE typically offers significant early-bird pricing for students who sign up before May 1. These discount codes are always prominently displayed on our website. Our aim is to be as accessible as possible to any student who wants our help.
How often will my student be communicating with you?
Our “business hours” are wonky — we are flexible and available on weekends and evenings for one-to-one scheduling to accommodate a student’s free hours, including our remote students from the West Coast and students in MST and CST.
All students have access to “book a quick question” in order to get the answers they need easily.
Students in coaching packages schedule in 30-minute blocks that can be rescheduled as needed as long as students are responsible for doing so within the allowed time frames. Again, we're showing students how the undergraduate game is played.
Because we work Saturdays and Sundays when students are free, we don’t typically work Thursdays and Fridays.
We ask that students always give us 72 hours to turn around comments on an essay.
Halloween is the 11th hour. It's not that ESSAY CURE doesn't like Halloween — it's that we're working! We're working because our students are working. We are ridiculously available.
Students have access to weekly, live office hours for Q&As. Can't make office hours? Submit questions in advance, and then watch the replay later to get the answer.
I already know where I’m going to college (I’m a D1 athlete or my art portfolio was accepted or I took a summer session that granted me fast-track admission.) Can I take the Maxwell DISC Student/Career Report Assessment separately from the workshop?
Absolutely! We are not a cut-and-run Maxwell DISC provider. Students are welcome to take the assessment and join the student coaching calls to help plan their next steps.
I have a question that isn’t answered here.
That's not a question. :)
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