The KD College Prep college counseling team offers several different levels of college admissions essay help. Our college essay tutoring services range from helping students brainstorm essay topics to providing honest feedback on essay quality to reviewing and editing personal statements and supplemental essays for clarity and grammar.

We offer three different college counseling services that can include college essay tutoring and editing. Students can choose to attend Apply Now! Boot Camps in small groups or get one-on-one assistance with their admissions essays from a member of our team through the Pinnacle Program or Select Sessions.

Boot camps are offered live online or in person at one of our four campuses located throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. KD’s Pinnacle Program and Select Sessions are conducted via an online platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams for college counseling students across the country.

Why Do Students Need Essay Help?

Most colleges and universities require college essays as part of their standard admissions process. Depending on how many colleges are on a student’s list, he or she may be looking at dozens of essays that must be completed during the application season, which typically runs from the July before a student’s senior year through November/December.
With thousands of essays being submitted every year to admissions officers, it’s essential for motivated students to find a way to make their essays stand out.

Why Are College Essays Important?

College admissions essays are one of the best ways for students to tell schools more about themselves in their own voice. And often, essays can not only showcase things about a student that might not be clear from a transcript. They can also give admissions officers an idea about how well the student might fit in at their university.

College Admissions Essay Help

Since 1992, KD College Prep has helped students and their families navigate the college admissions process. We offer three college counseling programs: Apply Now! Boot Camps, the Pinnacle Program, and Select Sessions.

Our students have earned acceptances into every Ivy League school (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton), Emory, NYU, Duke, Georgetown, UCLA, UC-Berkeley, Carnegie-Mellon, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, University of Arizona Honors College, University of Chicago, Caltech, Michigan, Georgia Tech, SMU, MIT, Vanderbilt, Rice, Davidson, St. John’s, Trinity, the University of Notre Dame, Bowdoin, Texas A&M, University of Texas Engineering Honors, and many more.

Schedule a free consultation with a member of our college counseling team to find out how we can help your student with admissions essays.

Apply Now! Boot Camps

APPLY NOW! Boot Camps are a great way for 12th graders to get a head start on college applications and essays. These fast-paced small group events (offered in-person at one of our four Dallas-Fort Worth campuses or live online) are typically held several times each year during the summer and early fall.

During the 10-hour (4 days, 2.5 hours per day) APPLY NOW! Boot Camp, students will be guided through the following:

  • The development of a college essay/personal statement to be used or adapted for college admissions
  • The Common Application®
  • Creating an edited personal resume and activity list to be used with college applications
college essay help

Select Sessions for Essay Help

Focus on specific areas of the college admissions process and pay by the hour for just the help you need with Select Sessions. Senior college counselors and/or members of the college counseling and essay editing team work with students on a variety of areas including: essay development, revision, and/or editing. The time required varies according to the essay(s) and the student’s goals. Pricing will depend on the counselor’s level of experience and the needs of the student.

Pinnacle Program

The Pinnacle™ Program is “concierge-style,” one-on-one counseling designed for students and their families who require an expert to guide them through the entire college admissions process from start to finish.

Based on a student’s goals, our team creates a plan designed to lead to best-fit colleges. Students meet regularly with a senior counselor to get insight, feedback, and encouragement throughout the journey.

This program includes a certain number of hours of meeting with a senior counselor to apply to up to ten colleges. Counselors also spend time reviewing essays and application materials, corresponding with students and parents via email, and guiding students through the research process. If a student needs additional time or wants to apply to more colleges, our team can provide pricing options.

The program’s cost also includes final essay review by our editing team, access to our online college research and planning platform, and an aptitude assessment. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The PINNACLE Program for the classes of 2024 and 2025 are now closed. No new students will be accepted at this time.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Don’t play it safe. Be real. Be yourself. Most admissions essays sound like thousands of other admissions essays. And just like you’ve heard, the first sentence is key. To get started, read about the steps for how to write a powerful college essay.

A college essay should reveal parts of your personality, your character, your sense of humor, your belief system, or maybe a combination of all of the above. Most of all, your essay should be believable and should give the admissions officer reading it a reason to want you to attend their university.

The length of a college essay is not as important as the content. Admissions officers probably won’t take the time to conduct a word count, but be sure and follow directions, if given. For example, don’t submit a 750-word essay if the instructions say to submit an essay between 250-500 words. For context, the three standardized application portals—the Common App, the Coalition App, and the Universal App—all cap “personal statement” essays at about 650 words.

It’s probably safe to say that boring and repetitive essays might get skimmed over by admissions officers. If a college or university requires an essay, then the chances are that the essays will be read by at least one admissions officer. And let’s be honest, great essays are engaging and tend to be read. In the event that a college is on the fence about admitting you, it’s best for your application to be memorable and compelling. A great college essay can help show this and inspire an admissions officer to place your application in the “accepted” stack.

Most, though not all, colleges and universities do require admissions essays as part of the application process. Many schools require additional or supplemental essays for other reasons such as scholarship applications.

WE’RE ALWAYS READY TO CHAT

Reach out to schedule your free consultation today.

TESTIMONIALS

KD College Prep
“My wife and I wanted to thank you profusely for working with . She picked Texas A&M, and we are all delighted with the decision. We have visited the college a couple of times and feel it was the right choice for us... We appreciate your patience with her. She could not have gotten here without your help.”
“My wife and I wanted to thank you profusely for working with . She picked Texas A&M, and we are all delighted with the decision. We have visited the college a couple of times and feel it was the right... Read more...

Arun K. – Daughter, Class of 2023

Neha Tulane University
“(I wanted) help with writing essays and getting into my dream colleges. (I was most concerned with) keeping up with everything I have to do and meeting all the deadlines. The constant and honest feedback about my essays regardless is what I really appreciated. There was a time that writing essays just clicked, and it was much easier after that.”
“(I wanted) help with writing essays and getting into my dream colleges. (I was most concerned with) keeping up with everything I have to do and meeting all the deadlines. The constant and honest feedback about my essays regardless is what... Read more...

Neha C. – Class of 2022

My feedback can only be positive, given how much you helped me get ahead with my application process. I really appreciated how much work both of you put into helping me write the best essay possible, especially reviewing my essays twice to polish them completely. In addition, I have noticed that writing my resume has released a lot of stress off my shoulder when it comes to making sure I have all the things necessary to apply to schools.
My feedback can only be positive, given how much you helped me get ahead with my application process. I really appreciated how much work both of you put into... Read more...

Claudia A. – Class of 2020

“I shifted toward taking practice tests and going to workshops because I felt those were the best ways to apply the concepts (I was) learning in class. I started applying the tips and tricks that the teachers were showing me in class. In conjunction, those two things helped me raise my score a lot because I was not a math kid before KD or high school. The repetition and being able to practice in a non-stressful environment and simulating that testing experience is something that was very beneficial for me... “The college counseling team was super patient and honest about the work I was submitting. I know for a lot of kids, it’s hard to articulate who you are through 250-300 words. It was definitely... Read more...
“I shifted toward taking practice tests and going to workshops because I felt those were the best ways to apply the concepts (I was) learning in class. I started applying the tips and tricks that the teachers were showing me in... Read more...

Blaine W. – Class of 2021

“Both of my sons have been guided by KD College Prep counselor Steve Peifer on their journey to finding the right college for them, and we could not have had a better experience and outcome. My oldest son is now a rising junior at the University of Miami, and my youngest son is an incoming freshman at Vanderbilt University. Steve’s help in navigating the complicated college landscape and finding the BEST FIT for my two sons is what has made this resource invaluable. “What made the biggest difference for my two sons was the depth and breadth of knowledge Steve has of the many universities and colleges in the U.S. First, by getting to know my kids on a one-on-one basis, he was able to... Read more...
“Both of my sons have been guided by KD College Prep counselor Steve Peifer on their journey to finding the right college for them, and we could not have had a better experience and outcome. My oldest son is now a... Read more...

Julio M. – Parent

“Coming into this whole process, I had absolutely no idea what anything was, and your help was invaluable—your encouraging words, strategic advice, and wholesome stories and jokes really got me through a stressful time! I'm still on the waitlist at Harvard and other schools, but I've really started to immerse into the Emory culture, especially their debate team. Not having to pay for college and still attend a private institution is really a dream come true, and it wouldn't be possible if it were not for you.”
“Coming into this whole process, I had absolutely no idea what anything was, and your help was invaluable—your encouraging words, strategic advice, and wholesome stories and jokes really got me through a stressful time! I'm still on the waitlist at Harvard... Read more...

Shreyas R. – Class of 2020

“The most beneficial guidance I received during my College Counseling experience was being taught that it's completely ok to not know what I want to do with the rest of my life at 17/18 years old. Steve told me that a good school will help me find my path. Also, Steve's knowledge about what colleges were wanting to see in potential admissions candidates was a huge help... “There was not one specific beneficial moment or turning point in my time working with Steve, there were many. He encouraged me during the entire application process and brought to my attention many colleges I wouldn't have considered or heard about without his help.”
“The most beneficial guidance I received during my College Counseling experience was being taught that it's completely ok to not know what I want to do with the rest of my life at 17/18 years old. Steve told me that a... Read more...

Jake W. – Class of 2020

"My initial goals when I first started working with the KD Counseling crew was to compile a list of colleges that I would be somewhat interested in attending and fit my career goals. I think that this step I was by far the most concerned about. I didn’t know how exactly I should go about choosing which places to apply to and if I were to be accepted, if they would fit me. The team did a wonderful job considering my likes and dislikes and helped me compile a list of colleges that suited my tastes and would further my academic career. "After this integral first step, my focus turned towards time management and writing quality essays that would stand out to colleges. I got... Read more...
"My initial goals when I first started working with the KD Counseling crew was to compile a list of colleges that I would be somewhat interested in attending and fit my career goals. I think that this step I was by... Read more...

Nina H. – Class of 2020