Prices and Policies
PRICES
UC/Personal Statement Workshop: $800
One-on-One Sessions: $195/hour (prorated to 5-minute mark)
Online Essay Review: $195/hour (prorated to 5-minute mark)
Stay Composed (two-hour interactive editing session): $195
So how do those hourly rates add up?
Great question. The reason we charge by the hour instead of offering packages is that we want our students to use us as much as they need us - and no more.
The workshop is designed as a stand-alone, get launched event. (Though some students just participate in the workshop, we’re thrilled that 75% of our workshop students choose to continue working with us.)
For students that choose one-on-one work, what they need varies widely. For some, we see multiple drafts of every essay they write - that’s one personal statement, four UC essays, and as many as 30+ (gulp!) supplemental essays. Other students come regularly for a while until they are on solid ground, then work alone or with a parent/teacher, then return … some just want a brush-up or a check in occasionally. All of it works for us - every student’s process is different, and we honor that.
In 2023:
20% of our students spent less than $1,000, total, over six months. (That’s a workshop or a few initial sessions and then a follow-up meeting or two.)
33.3% spent $1,000 - $2,000 - that averages out to roughly two sessions a month.
20% spent $2,000 - $3,000 - more like three sessions a month …
18.3% spent $3,000 - $4,000 - hopefully this is starting to make sense :) …
8.3% of students spent $4,000 - $5,500 between June and December. That’s multiple hours per week of meetings or online esssay review.
Working within a particular budget? Let us know, and we’ll share targeted ways to get your student the most help we possibly can.
The following is included with any workshop or 1:1 work:
• A monthly newsletter with news about applications, writing tips, and calendar reminders
• Guaranteed access to a member of our team for online essay review or 1:1 meetings throughout the season.
summer Workshop policies and fees
• A $300 non-refundable deposit is required to secure any workshop spot.
• The remaining payment is due no later than the day of the workshop.
• Students will receive workshop preparation materials approximately two weeks prior to the workshop. We ask that you complete the work (it takes an hour or so) ahead of the session to get the most out of our time together!
• Workshops are 8 hours over two days and include overview of all college application writing, brainstorming topics, writing exercises, writing time, two, 20-minute 1:1 meetings and one follow-up Stay Composed writing session.
• Students will be expected to complete some writing prior to their Stay Composed writing session, during which a Writing Specialist will review and comment on the drafts in progress. Any writing to be reviewed in the session must be sent 48 hours ahead of time. Students forfeit this review if we do not receive their writing before September 15th.
• All workshop students and their parents should read the policies and fees for 1:1 Work in case the student decides to return for more work with composed following his or her workshop.
1:1 Work policies and fees
• A $300 non-refundable deposit is required to secure a first meeting for any student who is beginning work as a 1:1 student.
• A first meeting is typically 1.25 - 1.5 hours. Any money left after the deposit is applied to this first session will be applied to future work - either online essay review and/or another meeting.
• If a student has already taken a workshop, there is no deposit necessary for 1:1 work.
• Students must complete the composed homework before their first session. This assignment takes 1 - 2 hours to complete.
• We expect most students to have done no work on college essay topics prior to a first meeting; however, if you have already done some work, please let us know ahead of time, and send any drafts in progress.
• Once a student is up and running with his or her writing, they will be expected to submit essays-in-progress at least 48 hours prior to a meeting.
• Families will be billed for time used for meeting preparation - including essay review - and time spent in meetings. (If a meeting is scheduled for 1.25 hours but the meeting only lasts .75 hours, families will be billed for the .75 hours.)
• There is a minimum 10-minute charge for any meeting and/or pre-meeting essay review.
• We allow 1.5 hours for supplement planning meetings.
Online Essay Review policies
• Online essay review is billed at the same rate as our 1:1 work ($195/hour).
• There is a minimum 10-minute charge for any meeting and/or pre-meeting essay review.
• composed Writing Specialists will return essays within 7 days of receipt (unless we’ve made explicit agreements otherwise).
composed writing specialist availability policies
• All Workshops, 1:1 meetings and Stay Composed writing sessions can be scheduled through this website (see “Book a Session” )
• Typically, Writing Specialists book about 2 weeks in advance. Please plan accordingly.
• Writing Specialists set deadlines for essay submission for review as application dates near; these are typically two weeks prior to the application due date (i.e. last day to send us UC essays - due 11/30 - is around 11/16).
• Writing Specialists do take “Essays Over Email ONLY” weeks as well as “No Availability” days (or weeks), particularly in summer. Please check the calendar and/or newsletter for these dates.