Free 3-Day Email Course & Webinar Recording
A kid’s winning essay is never what parents expect.
Sign up to learn:
✔ The wrong ways to stand-out (that everyone’s doing)
✔ How kids with mundane lives write epic essays
✔ What goes into finding your kid’s standout story
Because ChatGPT, English teachers, or your sister who’s a writer can’t figure this out for you — we’re giving you an inside look at our unique process:
Why are some kids selected over others with better grades, higher scores, and more impressive resumes?
It all comes down to the college essay. And while everyone has assumptions of what the essay needs to be, very few people know what actually makes a college essay stand out. And even fewer know how to coach a teenager to create that kind of essay.
Fortunately, you’ll be in the 1% of people who know.
Because for this masterclass, we’ve convened a panel of expert college admissions coaches — one who is even a former admissions officer from Georgetown — to let you in on the secrets behind our 95% success rate.
We’ll cover:
- What makes the vast majority of essays by super smart kids so forgettable & how to avoid the tropes
- Should your kid write about trauma, triumph, or virtue? When it works—and when it flops
- The reliable way to find ANY kid’s standout story — even if they think they have nothing to say
- Why it’s crucial to start no later than spring of junior year & what to expect from the process
- How to get your kid to engage when they’re used to starting projects 1-2 weeks before their due
WHO’S ON THE PANEL?
Sheila Akbar, President & CEO of Signet Education
Sheila has guided hundreds of students and families through this process, helping them figure out their story in a way that cannot be faked, and therefore organically stands out. In this class, she’ll answer the biggest questions she gets from parents and give you a look inside her process.
Joanna G., Top Admissions Consultant & Expert Coach
Joanna has decades of experience in the college admissions and standardized testing space, having worked as an admissions interviewer and application reader at Georgetown University and then as an independent admissions consultant in the DC area. She is also a current member of the Board of Governors at Georgetown.
Holly R., Admissions Consultant & College Essay Expert
Holly has helped over 100 students create standout application essays in alignment with their overall college strategy. In the last two years alone, her students gained admission to: Harvard, Colby, MIT, Emory, Tulane, Dartmouth, Boston College, Northwestern, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Amherst, Williams, John Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and more!
Andrew F., Admissions Consultant & Expert Coach
Andy has worked at Signet since 2018 and has tutored and taught for over a decade. He specializes in test prep, coaching, and humanities. He received his BA in Music from Princeton University and his PhD in Music Theory from Harvard. He has taught at Harvard for 10 years as Lecturer, Head Teaching Fellow, Independent Study Advisor, and Summer School Instructor.
Here’s why so many people get this wrong:
The college essay is unlike any other kind of writing kids do in high school — or parents do in their workplaces.
That doesn’t mean you have to panic. It just means you want to approach this the right way, with a clear understanding of what colleges are really looking for and how to get your kid to open up and come to life on the page.
No matter how good or bad at writing they are.
No matter how big or small their achievements.
No matter how ordinary of a life they lead…
After this, you’ll understand what does matter, and what it takes for your ANY kid to stand out.
Sheila Akbar, PhD is President & CEO of Signet Education, a full service education consulting company offering holistic support to teens and their families as they navigate high school and the college admissions process.
Sheila joined the Signet team in the summer of 2010, bringing with her a wealth of experience teaching SAT, ACT, GRE, literature, and composition in both one-on-one and classroom settings. Sheila loves both teaching and learning, and finds nothing more rewarding than working closely with students to overcome the challenges they face. Sheila holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Harvard University and two doctoral degrees from Indiana University.
Sheila's bright and uplifting perspective on college prep is changing the face of what it means to parent through the high-school-to-college years. With a deep belief in the successful partnership of parents and teens, her influence is affecting student after student and family after family to reach beyond their dreams to new levels of success. She and her team at Signet Education have seen more than 10K students' lives changed through meaningful academic mentorship.