The Art of the Personal Essay

Students learning how to write a college application essay.

The Art of the Personal Essay

Hear your voice come alive on the page with this class designed to teach students to ace the college application essay, taught by an author of five books who graduated from a number one writing school!

Features

Complete a draft of 1 entire 650 word essay for college applications
Learn how to brainstorm & structure an essay
Learn creative thinking for better writing
Improve skills with daily writing exercises, discussions, & critiques from mentors
Learn how to interpret & approach the theme of each Common App essay prompt
Small group learning

Dates

Students can choose one of these sessions below.
Each session runs for 2 weeks, Mon-Fri, with about 2 hours each day.

Session 1 (July): 07/09 – 07/20 | Mon-Fri | 10:00am-12:00pm
Session 2 (August): 08/13 -08/24 | Mon-Fri | 10:00am-12:00pm

Fees
$800

Leading Mentor- Philip K.

Philip is a teacher and writer of fiction, poetry, and essays. He is an author of five books, including the titles rues, Now Leaving Nowheresville, A Miscellany of Diverse Things, All Roads Lead from Massilia, and Kanji Amerikana. His work also appears in many of the nation’s best literary magazines including Paris Review, Poetry, Epoch, Another Chicago Magazine, and many others including The Best American Poetry series. Philip has taught a variety of classes including Honors English, Composition, Literature, History, Philosophy, Business Writing, and Film Studies at a number of Bay Area institutions such as Santa Clara University, Stanford, and Menlo College. He received his Master’s of Fine Arts at the number one ranked writing school in the country: The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Writing Mentor- Michelle P.

As a past college transfer herself, Michelle has used her familiarity with the application process to guide students on freshmen, transfer, and high school applications for over 3 years. Michelle enjoys working with students by reviewing their essays and helping them find the strongest ways to express their ideas in a descriptive and organized manner. Previous students she has worked with have received acceptances to highly selective colleges such as UC Berkeley, USC, and Boston University, as well as Ivy League schools like Cornell. She looks forward to using her experiences to encourage and support many other students throughout their journey of college admissions! She is also an experienced tutor for writing, SAT Reading/Writing, SAT Literature, and other English subjects with students at IvyBoost. Michelle graduated from UC Berkeley, where she majored in English.