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A free live session for parents of Charlotte-area juniors — so the essay gets done this summer, not scrambled in the fall.

Here's what most families don't realize until it's too late.

At your teen's school, they stand out. Strong GPA, solid test scores, a full plate of activities around their interests. You know what they're capable of, and so do their teachers.

But the schools they're hoping to attend are more competitive than ever. State schools — the ones families are turning to for a strong education at a reasonable cost — have seen acceptance rates drop so sharply in recent years that some are now harder to get into than the Ivies. Every applicant in that pool looks impressive on paper. Same GPA range. Same test scores. Same list of clubs and sports and leadership roles.

The essay and the activities list are the only two places left where your teen gets to be a specific, actual person — not just another strong applicant in a very large pile.

Most families treat both as afterthoughts. The ones who don't are the ones opening acceptance letters in December.

And one more thing worth saying here. AI has made a lot of things easier. The college essay isn't one of them. Admissions officers have read thousands of essays over their careers — dozens a day, for months at a time. They know an AI-written essay. And it doesn't leave the impression most families are hoping for. Your teen's essay has to sound like your teen. That's not something a prompt can produce.

WHAT YOU'LL LEAVE WITH:

Why families who focus on GPA and test scores almost always overlook the single factor that carries the most weight in the admissions decision — and what to do about it before senior year starts.

The real reason some students attend four years of college completely free — the threshold long known by admissions strategists that most families never find out until it's too late to close the gap.

Why the Activities List and the essay have to be built together — and what happens to an application when they're not. Most families treat them as two separate tasks. Admissions officers read them as one story.

Why 95% of students get the Activities List wrong — and never know it. They write job descriptions. The application is asking for something else entirely, and the difference is often the reason one student gets in and another doesn't.

Discover why your teen saying "I've got this" is not a plan — and how to ensure they still enjoy camps, a part-time job, and vacation AND submit their college applications before the chaos of senior year arrives.

Tuesday, May 19

7:00pm ET

Live on Zoom

Reserve My Seat

founder of Easier College Essays. I've been doing this work for 13 years — first as an essay specialist at a nationally recognized college planning agency in Chicago, then on my own, working with 250+ families and over 3,000 student essays. I work with students at the top of their class and those with learning differences. Both have gotten strong essays and acceptance letters.

I'm Christy Sharafinski,

I run the Complete Your Essay in a Weekend workshop out of Huntersville, NC — in person or on Zoom for Charlotte-area students.

SECURE MY SPOT

"The peace of mind from Christy's help was the best part of the process."

- D. O'Bryan

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You've done everything right.One piece left.

I'm Christy Sharafinski,

You've done everything right.
One piece left.