simple, AFFORDABLE, human college app essay revisions
Complete Your
College App Essays
with Confidence
Common App, Supplementals, University of California PIQs?
You need it revised? I'll revise it and give you a FREE COPY of my essay writing guide.
MEET your editor
Hey, I'm Harley!
I'm a college admissions consultant based in Oakland, California. For years, I taught high school history, and I realized that nothing brought me more joy than talking to young people about their futures. But I realized that my students were not getting the guidance they needed to tell their stories to college admissions officers effectively.
That's why I started Stress Less College Apps: to be the coach you or your student needs in their corner to guide them to the college that's right for them. I've helped dozens of students get into fantastic universities all over the U.S. and Canada, and I've revised hundreds of essays to help get them there.
But I know that not everyone needs or can afford a private college admissions consultant guiding them every step of the way. That's why I'm opening up my college application essay revision services to the public at my most competitive rates ever.
My education:
Certificate in Independent Educational Consulting, UC Irvine
MA in Education & California social science teaching credential, Stanford University
BA in History, UC Davis
My clients have earned admission to every University of California campus, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Northwestern, Michigan, Georgia Tech, UVA, University of Washington, Macalester, and more.
Me and my daughter. Don't worry, she won't be revising your essays.
DON'T LET SOME AI CHURN OUT AN ESSAY THAT BLENDS INTO THE REJECT PILE
The Stress Less Approach to College App Essay Revisions
My 3-Part Strategy for Stellar College App Essay Revisions
Note: Depending on your essay's unique strengths and weaknesses, my revisions may emphasize one of these categories more than others. For example, if your essay topic is fundamentally unsound, my revisions will focus on the big picture and alternative angles for telling your story instead of word choice.
Big Picture. My first priority is making sure that you are approaching an appropriate topic from a compelling direction.
Storytelling Strategy. Next, I make sure you are 1) structuring your essay effectively, 2) striking the right balance between sensory detail and direct explanation, and 3) leaving the reader with the right impression of your passions, personality, and perseverance.
Phrasing, Word Choice, Grammar, Spelling. Finally, I pinpoint opportunities to improve diction, clear up awkward phrasing, and eliminate grammar and spelling errors.
College Application Advice Will Fix Your Love Life
Stop scrolling on TikTok for bad essay advice.
Get free access to my 45-page essay writing guide with purchase of any package
You don't get a second shot at your college application. And guess what? Most students — even the smart ones — get it wrong. They listen to bad advice, write essays that sound the same as everyone else, and hope it all just "works out."
That's why I wrote this guide. To help you stop guessing and start knowing exactly how to get noticed — and get accepted. Inside, you’ll find what really matters to admissions officers and how to show it without sounding fake.
College admissions aren’t fair. But when you know how the game is played, you can win. Let’s get you there.
Get free access to my 45-page essay writing guide with purchase of any package.
PRICING
Choose Your Package
Common app Basic
$49
Highly specific, actionable feedback on your Common App general essay.
UC PIQ Basic
$49
Show the UC your best self.
Professional feedback on two UC PIQ essays.
Supplemental basic
$49
Show them why you're a good fit.
Get feedback on every supplemental essay from one university.
UC ME GET ACCEPTED
$79
Polish your PIQs and get them ready for submission.
Personalized feedback on all of your UC Personal Insight Questions.
$98 value!
LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH
$120
Complete your college application essays with confidence.
4 UC Personal Insight Questions
Common App General Essay
All supplemental essays for 2 universities
$343 value!
"what do colleges want" wrong question. what do you want?
The 3 P's of an Excellent College Application Essay
It's not about sob stories, trauma dumps, resumes, or winning a Nobel prize.
Passion
College admissions officers want to know what you care about and why. They want to know how you've explored and deepened your passion, making the most of the opportunities available to you.
Personality
Colleges genuinely want to know what makes you you. They don't want cookie cutter student drones and they don't want buttholes. This is your chance to show them the character you've been cultivating all of these years.
Persistence
College is hard and they want to be sure that you have the mental fortitude to handle it. Whether that means you've overcome hardship or you've challenged yourself to reach impressive heights, colleges want to hear that story too.
Let me help you tell the story of your 3 P's today.
Effective essay revisions are specific, actionable, and clear
An Inside Look Into My Revisions
After implementing my feedback, this essay helped my client earn admission to UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Irvine. Take a look at how we got there.
Bringing High-Quality College App Essay Advice to the People
Why can I afford to charge so little?
Most expensive essay reviewers are handing off your essay to a team of reviewers they have on payroll. Fees pay their wages and overhead costs.
I don't have any of that. Your essays are reviewed by me and me alone. I have extremely low overhead costs. This allows me to provide high-quality feedback at a fraction of the cost.
If my fees are still too much for you and your family, I do provide some pro bono essay revisions as part of a marketing partnership program. Email me for more details.
What the other guys charge
How it works
1. Select your revision plan.
2. Complete the form, including a link to a view-only Google Doc with all the essays you want me to revise. Please include prompts and word counts.
3. Complete payment.
4. In a few days, receive a link to your revised essay(s) in the email you provided.
STILL NOT SURE IF THIS IS FOR YOU?
Frequently Asked Questions
Who’s this perfect for?
Anyone who needs honest, meticulous, professional feedback on some of the most important essays you will ever write in your life. Students are bombarded with constant misinformation about "what colleges want" to read in their college application essays, and college counselors are often too overworked or too expensive for many students to access. By offering this service, I'm hoping to share my expertise with a broader range of students than those who can usually access my consulting services.
Why not just ask AI?
You can. No one is stopping you. But if you're looking for feedback that helps bring out your authentic, unique personality, don't ask a machine. Ask a professional who has read hundreds of college application essays and helped dozens of students get into top universities across the country.
Moreover, large language model AI systems are trained on huge collections of text and reproduce rather boring, unoriginal work, even if it's structurally sound and rhetorically appropriate. That is the exact opposite of what college admissions officers want to read. They want a glimpse into who you really are, even if that means cringing a little at your high school hyperboles and teenage writing faults. Don't let an AI, even an AI's recommendations, take that spirit out of your essay. Work with a professional.
What if I get stuck and need extra support?
Email me questions about my feedback at [email protected]. Include your name and limit your questions to 2 per email. I will do my best to respond quickly, but my response time will vary depending on my revision workload. If you require an additional round of revisions, feel free to purchase another package and resubmit your updated essay.
What is not included in your revisions?
I faithfully adhere to Independent Educational Consultant Association's Principles of Good Practice. To highlight the most relevant principles to my revision work:
"Members shall not write application essays or any portion of an essay for students. Their role is to serve as advisors, to question, coach, and encourage students to fully and honestly express the best that is within them."
"Members advise students that the information in their applications and all supporting documents should be accurate and truthful. Consultants will not support students or clients that submit work that contains falsified information or work that is falsely claimed to be authored by the student."
"Members neither guarantee [university] placement nor [admission] outcomes."
Your Road Map To
The Right Essay
With purchase of any package, you'll receive my FREE comprehensive 45-page guide to writing a college application essay you'll be proud to send.
A Major Decision
Making Sure You're the Right Fit
How do you know that a university is right for you?
What do college application essay prompts tell us about the kinds of students they're looking for?
How do you stand out in your "Why us?" essay when everyone else is writing about the same school?
Authenticity: The Key to Effortlessness
Colleges really do want to hear you
Why Trying to “Game the System” Always Backfires
The 3 P's of Authenticity
What you want to hear your friends say when they read your essays
Know Your Story
The Power of a Compelling Narrative
Four criteria of a compelling college application essay
The strengths and limitations of the hero's journey in college application essays
Should you use "gimmicks" in your essays?
The Vulnerability Advantage
How Humility Adds Depth and Strength
Setting your accomplishments as the backdrop to vulnerable reflection
A college application essay that earned one student admission to EVERY Ivy League university
How to write about failure without sounding weak
Show AND Tell
Striking a Balance Between Compelling Storytelling and Clear Communication
Why visual storytelling matters
How to write a good hook
An essay that got my client into EVERY University of California campus
I'm giving away my favorite tips for writing college app essay
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