Packages & Pricing
Each of the essay packages below includes meeting with your essay specialist to complete your college essays, including...
Developing your essay strategy
and brainstorming compelling topics
Bringing your essays to life through drafting, revising, & polishing
Committee review of your applications & essays by our team of coaches
“Best investment I have ever made for my college-bound child. I truly feel working with CEG made all the difference in submitting a polished, well-read application.”

John • Parent

 1-on-1 Essay & Application Packages


Up to 3 Schools/ Programs

Includes:

  • Common App main personal statement (650 words)
  • Supplemental essays for up to THREE schools/programs (Typically 5-10+ essays)
  • Common App Activities List
  • Common App Additional Information statement (650 words)
  • Internal Committee Team Reviews of Your Essays
  • Dedicated Family Liaison
  • Bonus: Access to our signature college essay courses for students
$4,900


Up to 6 Schools/ Programs

Includes:

  • Common App main personal statement (650 words)
  • Supplemental essays for up to SIX schools/programs (Typically 8-12+ essays)
  • Common App Activities List
  • Common App Additional Information statement (650 words)
  • Internal Committee Team Reviews of Your Essays
  • Dedicated Family Liaison
  • Bonus: Access to our signature college essay courses for students
$6,700


Up to 10 Schools/ Programs

Includes:

  • Common App main personal statement (650 words)
  • Supplemental essays for up to TEN schools/programs (Typically 15-20+ essays)
  • Common App Activities List
  • Common App Additional Information statement (650 words)
  • Internal Committee Team Reviews of Your Essays
  • Dedicated Family Liaison
  • Bonus: Access to our signature college essay courses for students
$9,100


Premium Essay Support

Includes:

  • All components in our essay coaching packages
  • Feedback and guidance from Ethan throughout the process
  • Regular sessions with your essay specialist
  • Package customized to your needs
Schedule a call to learn more
Packages from $14,500.
 


Applying to more than 10 colleges? Adding schools after getting started?
Additional schools can be added on at the start for an additional fee of $600 per college.

 Important Information on Essay Coaching Packages:
  • The University of California application system requires extensive essay and activities list requirements, so is counted as two schools/programs in essay packages, but may be used to apply to all 9 UC campuses

  • If students are applying to specialized programs that require additional essays beyond the required essays for their undergraduate admissions application, we may often consider those as two colleges. These programs may include but are not limited to honors colleges, BS/MD programs, specialized business programs, the US service academies, film, theater, arts, or other creative programs. Inquire for more details about your specific programs. See below in the FAQ for a longer list of programs. Please note that most scholarships and honors colleges do not require additional essays.

  • The packages above include assistance with the college essay components noted in the packages above and do not include college admissions counseling or college list development guidance, which is a separate service provided by our veteran college counselors. See more below about these options, or ask us to learn more.

 

 College Counseling Services
for Rising Seniors

Looking for assistance beyond your college essays? We've got you.
We have an experienced team of college counselors to help rising seniors develop a customized college list, and get strategic support to navigate the entire admissions process
Our college counselors have decades of experience working directly with hundreds of students through the college admissions process, helping students develop a list of best-fit colleges, and getting admitted to amazing and selective colleges around the US.
In addition, most have direct experience in admissions reviewing student applications and making admissions decisions.
Get College Admissions Counseling Support
Intake & Review

Intake & Review

Your college counselor will review your background, including transcripts, school profile, resume, college preferences, and more.

One-on-One Meetings

One-on-One Meetings

You'll work with your counselor over several 1:1 meetings to get strategic support on your college list, ED/EA strategy, major selection, and or more, depending on your needs.

Comprehensive Follow-Up Report

We'll follow-up from your meetings with a comprehensive report that summarizes our recommendations and outlines next steps for you.

Included in Your Sessions
 
Developing a customized list of colleges
 
 
Early Decision and Early Action strategy
Intended major selection strategy
Personalized recommendations based on your unique circumstances
Key admissions topics depending on your needs. Have a question? We can help.
 
Meet our College Counselors
College Essay Guy brings to you a team of veteran, nationally-recognized college counselors with decades of experience.
Adrienne
College Counselor
Core Values: Purpose, Balance, Love
Adrienne

Adrienne (she/her) has over a decade of experience in selective college admissions, as both a college admissions counselor and a high school counselor. She previously served as a Senior Admissions Counselor at Vanderbilt University, where she evaluated thousands of applications while also being charged with various recruitment initiatives. Most recently, Adrienne has counseled high school students in a selective private school in Nashville, where she aims to help students and families navigate all aspects of the college search and application process. Before entering into college counseling, Adrienne earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Peabody at Vanderbilt University. Outside of her work, Adrienne is a highly accomplished professional figure skater and coach, having toured and performed in various countries around the globe. She also loves running, writing and keeping up with her two daughters.

Morgan
College Counselor
Core Values: Helping Others, Authenticity, Practicality
Morgan

Morgan is in her third year as the Director of College Counseling at College Essay Guy after spending her entire 20+ year career in college admissions and counseling. During her eight-year tenure in college admissions, she oversaw admission to an AACSB accredited Business School as a Senior Assistant Director of Admissions and application reader. She also spent 13 years supporting domestic and international students through the admissions process at two independent day and boarding schools in Massachusetts and North Carolina. At CEG, she prioritizes helping students be as successful as possible in the competitive landscape of highly selective admissions, while building rapport and trust with her students and families.

Recognized as a ‘Counselor That Changes Lives’ by the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) organization, Morgan promotes “a college search that focuses on the individual student and finding a college that will cultivate the student's lifelong love of learning.” She also cares deeply about her students feeling successful in the application process and has had students accepted at a wide range of colleges, including most of the Top 50 (US News Rankings) and many highly selective liberal arts colleges. Here are just a handful of the colleges she’s had students admitted to recently: NYU, USC, Tufts, Georgia Tech, CMU, UNC-Chapel Hill, all UC campuses, UVA, MIT, Emory, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, Villanova, Wisconsin, Lehigh, Middlebury, Northeastern, University of Florida, University of Rochester, Boston College, McGill, Purdue, RPI, Case Western, Loyola Marymount, George Washington, UC Boulder, TCU, UGA, University of Washington, and many more.

Not only is Morgan competitive with her approach to college admissions, but she also loves playing cards and board games, having fun with her spunky 9-year-old daughter, and traveling with her family. She’s a New England transplant based in the amazing college town of Chapel Hill, NC.

Education:

  • B.A. Philosophy and Political Science
  • M.Ed. Interdisciplinary Education
  • Graduate Certificate in Counselor Education

Renee
College Counselor
Core Values: Laughter, Adventure, Creativity
Renee

Renee has spent the last 25 years supporting students through the college application process, including the last 4 years as one of the original College Essay Guy counselors. She has worked with students applying to colleges across the United States (and abroad) and loves diving into research to support students’ niche interests and high-achieving goals. She has advised students pursuing college athletics, performing arts programs, and military academies, as well as most academic disciplines. She helps students understand both what their college priorities are, and the ‘why’ behind it. She uses the knowledge she’s gained from touring over 200+ college campuses in the US, Canada, and the UK to guide students toward colleges that best fit their aspirations.

Renee’s experience working in both public and private schools, coupled with her roles on the Common App Advisory Board, NACAC’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill, and Co-Chairing SACAC’s NC State and Area Initiatives Committee, position her to advise students to maximize their potential. Her students have been accepted at a wide range of colleges, including many of the most highly selective colleges in the country (T50 and below USNWR), the Ivy League, HBCU’s, and top ranked liberal arts colleges. In recent years, her students have gotten admitted to Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, NYU, Wellesley, Northeastern, Barnard, all UC campuses, University of Michigan, Davidson, Brown, USC, Smith, Swarthmore, U Chicago, UGA, Ga Tech, Vanderbilt, UIUC, University of Washington, Scripps, Carnegie Mellon, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wash U, UT Austin, UVA, Wake Forest, Duke, Northeastern and countless others. Renee has supported students to get into almost every top ranked college during her long career as a college counselor.

When she’s not immersed in counseling and leading CEG’s Parent Community, she tends to her garden, dotes on her favorite dog, Pretzel, and travels the world (most recently to Antarctica and her new favorite city, Prague)!

Education:

  • B.A. Psychology
  • M.A. School Counseling
  • Ed.S. Educational Leadership & Administration

Scott
College Counselor
Core Values: Authenticity, Fun, Vulnerability
Scott

Scott brings extensive experience in university admissions and high school college counseling. He was an admission officer at Middlebury College in Vermont for eight years, handling all facets of both domestic and international admissions. Eager to experience the high school side of admissions and to live abroad, Scott moved overseas in 2014 and spent the following nine years working as a university counselor at independent schools in Hong Kong (five years) and Vancouver, Canada (four years). Scott has worked closely with American and international students and families, and has extensive knowledge of the admissions processes of the US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Europe. He believes strongly in the philosophy of "best fit" in university admission, and loves getting to know his students and their families to help make the university admissions process as positive, comfortable, and stress-free as possible for all involved. The father of two (now adult) children, Scott has an understanding of the process from both the parent and counselor perspective.

Born and raised in Maine, Scott earned a BA in social anthropology from Harvard University, and spent most of his adult life in Vermont before moving abroad. Scott’s interests include cycling, Nordic skiing, travel, food/wine/cooking, music, and good conversation. He currently splits time between Hong Kong and New England.

College Counselor
Core Values: Practicality, Deep Caring, Grace
Susan T.

Susan is a native New Yorker whose career in college admissions has spanned decades. Following her graduation from St. Lawrence University with a BS in Psychology, Susan moved to New England where she worked at Bates College as Associate Dean of Admissions. She completed her Master’s degree in School Counseling at the University of Southern Maine. For the next 20+ years, Susan served as the Director of College Counseling at a college prep day and boarding school near Philadelphia where she worked with students from around the world. Since stepping out of that role, Susan has evaluated applications for a selective research university and is working as a consultant to schools, professional organizations, and families. A counselor at heart who loves helping students and parents launch their college searches, Susan finds time to be a writer, sports enthusiast, and mother of college sophomore twins.

Susan also:

Has years of experience working with American and international students applying to selective research universities and liberal arts colleges, fine and performing arts programs, test-optional institutions, and disability support programs.

Has evaluated thousands of university applications to liberal arts college and research universities.

Has served as a founding board member of the Character Collaborative, the Independent Curriculum Group, and the college access organization GoToCollege NYC.

Served on the Counselor Advisory committees of the College Board, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and the Common Application.

Volunteered with the National Association for College Admission Counseling as chair of the Commission on Standardized Testing, and the regional Admission Practices Committee.

College Counselor
Core Values: Practicality, Deep Caring, Grace
Jay Z.

Jay brings over a decade of dedicated experience in college admissions consulting, specializing in University of California (UC) admissions and guiding students aspiring to STEM majors such as pre-med, engineering, and computer science. As a former application reader and interviewer for UCLA’s Alumni Scholarships Program, Jay has a sharp eye for what makes applicants stand out at top institutions. With a strength-based counseling style, Jay collaborates closely with both students and parents to craft comprehensive, tailored college plans. He values and encourages parental involvement, creating a team approach that supports students at every stage. Holding a PPS credential, Jay goes beyond academics to help students with time management, stress management, and character development, recognizing that a well-rounded approach is key to success. As a certified Strong Interest Inventory counselor, Jay helps students identify and align their unique strengths with potential majors and career paths. His students have achieved admission to all Ivy League schools, every UC campus, and top private colleges such as Stanford, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Duke, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, USC and more. Jay’s mission is not just to help students reach their dream schools but also to empower them with confidence and skills for a bright future. As a Southern California native, Jay loves spending his free time at the beach or taking long afternoon hikes. Some of his favorite spots include Newport Beach and Crystal Cove. He’s got a lot of interests, from watching anime and sports to traveling and discovering the latest food trends on TikTok.

Rising Senior College Counseling Packages
Wherever you are on your journey, we have the right support for you.


College Counseling Add-On Service

Up to 4 sessions with our team
  • Comprehensive & actionable follow-up report
  • Custom college list development
  • EA/ED strategy, intended major selection, and more
  • Other admissions topics of your choice, as time allows
$3,200


12th Grade College
Counseling Package

Up to 9 sessions with our team
  • Longer-term planning and support
  • Custom college list development
  • EA/ED strategy, intended major selection, and more
  • Support on waitlists, letters of continued interest, admissions decisions, financial aid & appeals, and more.
$5,400
“I was really amazed by how transformative the process was. How my son’s personal essay evolved, and the finished product really reflected him. When I read it for the first time, there was no doubt that it could have been anyone else as the subject in the essay. It was authentic. Jon did a really great job helping with that process, and was incredibly patient with my son! Thank you!”

- Donna J. • Parent

 

 
Frequently Asked Questions
 
  • Do you cover all aspects of the college application process (not just essays)?

    Yep! Though the company is called College Essay Guy (because that's what Ethan has become known for in the industry), we have a good deal of expertise (a combined 150+ years experience) counseling students through the process, as well as counselors on our team with decades of experience working with students and in college admissions offices. In short: we can do it all.

  • Where do sessions take place?

    Online via Zoom, email and Google docs. We have an essay management platform to help you stay organized and collaborate with us throughout the process.

  • How do you match students with your team?

    After we have a chance to review the pre-work of your student, we like to assign coaches based on each student's individual personality, writing style, targeted schools, and the “parent homework” questionnaire. All of the coaches I work with are amazing at what they do and have experience working with students of various writing abilities and learning and working styles, so you are in great hands no matter who you work with. But we know that chemistry is an important factor to the essay coaching process so we like to make sure it’ll be a good fit.

  • Are there any colleges or programs that might be considered as two colleges in your package?

    Most scholarships, honors colleges, or specialized programs and majors don't have additional essay requirements beyond those required by the undergraduate application. But some programs do require additional essays or materials and are considered by our team as an additional college given the time required to help you develop strong applications and essays. Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of these programs that may be considered as an additioanl college in your package:

  • Honors programs (Penn State Schreyer Honors College, UPitt Honors College)
  • BS/MD programs (Brown University's PLME program, etc.)
  • Theater, fine arts, and film school supplemental applications or essays
  • Business programs or specialized business/technology programs (UPenn’s M&T program, University of Michigan’s Ross School and portfolio application)
  • Specialized medical programs (UPenn’s Bio-Dental or Nursing and Healthcare Management Programs)
  • Scholarship programs with essays beyond the requirements for the undergraduate application (UNC's Morehead Cain scholarship, etc.)

  • Where have your students been accepted?

    Each year, we have dozens of students that go on the Ivies, as well as every other top school. See links at the top of this page our most recent acceptances. We’re fortunate to work with lots of highly motivated and high-achieving students.

    It's important to note that our services are advisory in nature and we can't (of course) guarantee admission to a highly selective school. But we can help you put together the best possible application and essays to demonstrate your gifts, skills and values.

  • Do you write essays for students?

    No. Beyond being unethical, that would be doing you a great disservice to you and also undermine the transformative element of this process. The essays submitted will be the original work of the student. 

  • Do you offer hourly packages?

    We work with students through a tried-and-true process of brainstorming topics to polishing the final drafts. We find it super important that the college essay and application be grounded in an in-depth brainstorming process and some discussion to help you get to the point where you’ve found your deepest stories and are comfortable tackling your first draft. And that sometimes takes a session or two or three.

    As a result of this, we don’t offer hourly help and prefer to avoid giving essay feedback without the context of all of the other things that you’ve accomplished or experienced in your rich and colorful life. We’ve also found that it’s so important to have the flexibility to meet as many times as necessary to help you have great essays. It gives you (the student) and our specialist the freedom to spend time getting to know each other, to experiment and get creative, and to try things out without concern for how much time you’ve spent so far, or have left.

  • What if I (student) am not a good writer?

    The process may take a bit longer. That’s okay with us.

  • What advice do you have as I begin the process?

    We highly recommend developing a balanced college list. Most students, for example, fixate on 1 or 2 highly selective (usually Ivy League) schools, but we find the students who are most happy with the process are those who have developed a wide range (usually 8 - 12 schools) with around 3 reach, 4 maybe, and 3 likely.

  • Can I start with a smaller package and upgrade later in the process?

    Students are welcome to upgrade their package at any point by paying $600 per additional college.  

    We recommend that students try to have at least 3 of the colleges they’ll be working on with us prior to their first meeting, and to finalize all of the colleges they’ll be working on with us prior to the 4th meeting to help set students up for effective brainstorming and essay content strategy. This also helps us to guarantee that our coach will be available to assist with any additional colleges.

    Most importantly, this will help students and coaches to work most effectively in their initial brainstorming meetings to select topics and map out a strategy that will allow them to see where there is opportunity for overlap on topics. In our experience, this helps students reduce the overall amount of writing, focus their energy more efficiently, and ultimately write better college essays.



  • Can my son/daughter meet with your team to get an idea of how the whole process works?

    Absolutely. We’ll be happy to set up a call to walk you through the process and answer any questions you have.