Feeling frustrated that the essay isn't done yet —
and summer is running out?

Here’s how your teen finishes
their Personal Statement
this weekend

No nagging. No last-minute scrambling.
Ready to submit before senior year even starts.

UPCOMING DATES:
Aug 1+2, Aug 22+23 and Sept 5+6

You want the essay done.

Not “mostly done.” Not “I’ll finish it this weekend”… for the fourth weekend in a row.

Done. Polished. Ready to submit. Even if
your teen has no idea what to write about yet.

And you want to get there without nagging, without micro-managing, and without it continuing to loom over your last summer together before senior year.

Here’s the one piece
your teen has to get right:
Their essay.

And they know it.

But here’s what most parents don’t know.

The Personal Statement is the one essay your teen writes once — and submits to every school on their list.

650 words. One story. Their best shot at showing an admissions officer who they actually are — not just what they’ve accomplished.

It’s not:

  • A five-paragraph essay

  • A resume in paragraph form

High school English never taught your teen how to write like this — and it’s not the school’s fault. States don’t require it, so teachers aren’t trained in it.

And the stakes are real.

At competitive schools, the Personal Statement carries up to 40% of the admissions decision — more than grades, more than test scores, more than extracurriculars.

And this one essay is getting more weight, not less. As schools drop their supplemental essays (hello, Chapel Hill), the Personal Statement becomes the essay.

The pressure your teen is carrying is real.

  • Their 650 words could be worth $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more in scholarships and merit aid. (Most teens have never earned $1 for something they’ve written.)

  • College applications are at record highs — up 22% last year.

  • Acceptance rates have hit historic lows.

    As a result, even strong students collected rejection letters from schools once considered safe.

And underneath it all?

Your teen does not want to let you down.

And here’s what makes it harder still.

By senior year, many teens have stopped taking feedback from the people who love them most. It’s not personal. It’s developmental.

They’re in the middle of becoming — shifting from kid to young adult — and this looks like the teen pulling away from parents, even when the help is genuinely good (and needed).

So the Google Doc sits unopened — or unstarted. The kitchen feels tense. And you find yourself in an impossible position:

  • you don’t want to overstep

  • you want to show them you trust them

  • but you also know there are very real deadlines for the application.

AND senior year promises to be even busier than junior year.

That’s an insane amount of pressure…

not just on your teen, but on your entire family.

For the teen who gets stuck (or overwhelmed or…)

Your teen has spent 11+ years inside a system that handed them due dates, structured assignments, and checkpoints along the way.

College applications have none of that.

No teacher giving a timeline. No set schedule. No grade at the end.

I tell families: applying to college is like a part-time job — except there’s no paycheck, no manager, and no one to tell your teen what to do next. So it goes to the bottom of their list. (But not yours.)

It's hard to start something with no container around it—doubly so if ADHD, dyslexia, or anxiety are in the mix.

“First, Christy worked
with our top-of-her-class daughter. Two years later, she helped our son, who has severe ADHD. She met each of them where they were. We’re so happy to have found her!”

Cyndi Pettit,
Colorado


For families unfamiliar with the U.S. college system

Maybe you went to college in Dublin, Shanghai, Hanoi, or Delhi.

Or maybe you didn’t go at all.

Or maybe applying to college looked nothing like this when you did it (which is the case for most parents I speak with).

And now you find yourself without a map for what your teen is facing.

“International students have language barriers and challenges with the right grammar and tense. Christy takes it all on, does not let them quit, nor does she do it for
them.
Each of my students has
ended up with a scholarship at their
1st-choice university.”

Dottie Lipinski, Illinois,
Host Mom of 8
International Students


For the family already stretched thin

Your teen is already stretched between travel season, a job, friends, and a full course load.

So are you—between your own work, the other kids at home, and aging parents who need you too.

Your plates were already full. Now this.

And you want to enjoy this last year with your teen at home, not spend it nagging, editing, or project managing the process.

“With a teen busy in sports
and other extracurriculars,
and two working parents, it wasn't a tough decision on
the front side to delegate
getting my teen on track with college essay writing.
One less thing for us to stay on top of.”

Mary Claire Tillotson,
North Carolina


“I like to do my work ahead of time, but I felt really lost with my essays... Christy guided me every step of the way— from choosing the strongest topic from all my ideas to completing my essay FAST.”

Athletic male high school senior.

Liam A., accepted to
Florida State University
(his #1 choice)

Christy took a lot of weight off my shoulders. There was so much to do and I just didn't know how to write this kind of essay. She helped me understand what to do next — each step of the way.”

Tyler O., accepted to
North Carolina State
(his #1 choice)

Young man with confetti showering him.

I know how you feel.

That was me 15 years ago…

Christy Sharafinski surrounded by her husband and 6 children in 2013

And what I've noticed, over and over: teens will take from me what they won't take from the people who love them most. I'm not their parent. There's no history, no emotional tug-of-war.

I give them a framework, a structure, and multiple rounds of specific feedback — so by the time they hit submit, they're not hoping the essay is good enough. They know it is.

I step in … so you can step back.

“Christy, you’re in TROUBLE.”

Those were my older cousin’s words. He knew I had six kids and almost no college savings and no real plan for how we’d get our crew through school. 

He was right…

I was completely overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to start. And didn’t even know if help existed for a family like mine.

Then, after my oldest son’s first college night, I talked with the keynote speaker about my situation. He called me the next day.

“Christy, I can help you.

Within a week, he hired me as the essay-writing specialist for his nationally recognized college planning agency. I started learning the process from the inside out.

Over the next four years, I coached over 100 students through their essays and activity lists, one by one. And then I went out on my own.

Now, 13 years and 400+ families later — I know this process. I know where families get stuck. And I know exactly what it takes to get your teen's essay done, done right (so they get acceptance letters), and done without the chaos.

It’s not the most polished writing. It’s not the most impressive story. (Although I have had students write about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or their business that paid them over $10K/month as a 17-year-old.) And it's not even the cleverest structure.

It’s this: the reader finishes it with a strong sense of who that student is.

Not what they’ve accomplished. Who they are. Their values. The way they move through difficulties. What they’ll bring to their campus that no one else will.

That’s the essay we’re building. And I have a step-by-step process for getting teens there — one that works equally well for the strong writer and the student who has never been asked to write like this before.

Nearly every standout essay has one thing in common…

And here’s what I learned from 400 students…

Every student who walks into this workshop is different. Different brain, different story, different relationship with writing. After six kids of my own and facilitating for hundreds more — I have a lot of tools to meet each student exactly as they are.

And with the right process and support…

Your teen can actually knock out their college essay in a weekend!

Complete Your Essay in a Single Weekend

A two-day, small-group workshop for high school seniors to take their
Personal Statement from draft-to-done.

INTRODUCING…

THAT ALSO INCLUDES…

Nail your essay topic logo

NAIL YOUR ESSAY TOPIC

A guided video course to surface your teen’s strongest topic ideas before the weekend begins.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Activities List Lab logo

ACTIVITIES
LIST LAB

A 2-hour one-on-one to ensure all 10 entries are as strong as the essay and ready to submit.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Christy talking with someone

STRATEGY SESSION

A 30-minute conversation to answer your questions — from testing to majors to school lists.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The essay. The activities list. A plan.

All done. All handled. All off your plate.

Here’s what your teen walks away with:

  • A completed Personal Statement, written in their voice, revealing their values… and ready to copy/paste into the Common App.

  • The confidence of knowing it’s done right. Not just done.

  • A repeatable writing process they’ll use for supplemental essays, scholarship applications, and beyond.

  • A clearer sense of the overall application process (plus what matters with GPA, test scores, and more), so nothing sneaks up on them this fall.

And you?

You’ll have your summer back.

Here’s how I’ve already helped some parents get more peace of mind and regain a sense of control

  • M Middlebrooks profile picture

    I love that from the first conversation with Christy, I no longer had to remind my daughter to get to work. She told Christy she wanted to be treated like an adult and she owned the process — from start to finish.

    M. Middlebrooks, Colorado

  • Smiling dad wearing red shirt

    I appreciate the fact that you're REALLY good at what you do. My son didn't make it easy on you, but his essay was completed on time and as promised.

    Adam J. Antoszewski, Florida

  • Smiling mother outdoors in fall.

    Our son actually listened to Christy (unlike when I tried to help), and she got him to open up about his experiences in ways I couldn't. The results speak for themselves — he got into one of his top choice schools with a great scholarship.

    Annmarie Curley, Vermont

  • Sophisticated father in glasses.

    My son says you really know your stuff... I appreciate how you give excellent feedback in a way that he could hear it. The process paid off, as he ended up with many offers from highly competitive colleges.

    Scott Allen, Illinois

Here’s how it works:

5 live sessions. 2 days. One finished essay.

The workshop runs Saturday and Sunday — a mix of teaching, guided exercises, and actual writing time. We’re a small group (10 students max, and many cohorts have only 3-5 teens), so every student gets real attention. And if you're in the Charlotte area, students are welcome to join me in person.

Here’s what makes this different from anything else out there.

It’s only me.

This isn’t a month-long bootcamp with a large team. No faceless editors on some platform.

The person your teen meets in the workshop is the same person reading every draft, leaving every comment or suggestion, and doing the final review before they hit submit. By the time we’re done, your teen knows me and I know them.

Writing a Personal Statement is a deeply personal process. It requires trust and relationship to get the best outcome. And that’s what I provide.

Your teen won’t get lost in the group.

Even though we work together as a small cohort, the experience is deeply personal. Throughout the workshop, your teen has multiple one-on-one conversations with me directly — about their topic, their story, their specific draft.

About 17% of students change their topic mid-workshop. That’s not a problem. Supporting a pivot is built into the workshop structure. Because getting to the right story matters more than sticking with the first idea.

Your teen is the ultimate authority.

A lot of students spend late nights Googling “best college essays that got acceptances.” I understand why. But it’s unhelpful at best — and confidence-crushing at worst. Their story isn’t “out there.” It’s in them.

I say this toward the end of every workshop. I have a lot of experience. But this is your teen’s essay — their deepest story, the one they most want to tell. My job is to help them find and relate the story that is genuinely, specifically theirs.

The feedback feels like a conversation.

When I’m editing, I’m shooting video walkthroughs and leaving audio notes — talking through the draft the way I would if I were sitting next to them. It’s personal. It’s direct. And it’s theirs to respond to, push back on, or take in a completely different direction. (And, yes, many students leave the experience better writers than when they started.)

This is what I call Pocket Coaching — and it’s available after the workshop closes until their essay is done.

No artificial deadline. But I do encourage every teen to finish within three to five days of the workshop ending. Momentum is everything. And I let them know that an essay they’re deep inside is a lot easier to finish than one they put down for two weeks and have to restart.

“Editing” is way more than proofreading.

Between the workshop and Pocket Coaching, I typically spend two to three hours on each student’s essay — touching it five or six times, back and forth. I’m thinking about the narrative arc, the insights they’re sharing, whether there’s enough vulnerability, whether the story is landing the way it needs to.

Think less “teacher with a red pen” and more “book editor working with a first-time author.“ We start this work together in the workshop. Then I make sure it actually translates onto their page — because for almost every student, this kind of writing is brand new. I tell them: when you’re new at something, I don’t expect you to run at record speed. We crawl first. Then walk. Then jog.

I’m with them on the track each step of the way.

  • No peer review. Your teen’s essay is completely private — no sharing drafts with other students, no group critique. Every piece of feedback comes directly from me.

  • No busy work. Every minute of the workshop is spent on actual brainstorming, writing, and refining.

  • No pressure to perform. Breaks are built in and meant for resting (not writing). By Sunday afternoon, your teen will have a strong draft — and the momentum to finalize it with me the following week.

…and here’s what it is NOT:

Here’s what your teen gets…

CLARITY. GUIDANCE. FOCUSED WORK TIME.

Upcoming Workshop Dates

Lock in your spot now for one of these dates or get first dibs on a future date that works better for your family’s schedule. And if you’ve reserved your spot but need to change it in the future, simply send me a note, and we’ll work out a new plan. Easy peasy.

7 spots left

Aug 1-2

10 spots left

Aug 22-23

9 spots left

Sept 5-6

PLUS, THE SUPPORT THAT GETS IT ALL DONE:

BONUS 1: “Discover Your Best Topic” Video Course ($350 value)
A short video course your teen completes before Saturday, so the ideas are already moving when we meet.

Most students freeze because they think they need a dramatic story. They don't. This gets them past that wall early, and I hold back my three strongest exercises for the live session.

Your teen walks in with real options, not a blank page.

Lightbulb icon

BONUS 2: 1:1 Topic Review & Finalization ($300 value)
Over Saturday’s lunch break, your teen and I sit down one-on-one to lock in their topic.

I'll confirm it, sharpen the angle, or redirect entirely. (That redirection happens for about 19% of my students.) Plus, we check it once more on Sunday morning, before writing the final draft.

They don’t write a word until they know they're writing on the right topic. And when they do write, they’re coming from a place of confidence, knowing I have their back.

Icon of topic review with Christy.

BONUS 3: Essay Finish Line Session ($500 value)
By Sunday evening, your teen has a strong, nearly complete essay. Then we finish it together.

The following week, or at another time that works with their schedule, we finish it together in a 90-minute one-on-one. We take that draft and lock it in, line by line, until it's ready to copy and paste into the Common App.

This is the difference between a draft that’s close and an essay that’s done.

And if they need a little more finalizing after our 90 minutes, I stay with them online until it's finished. The promise is simple: We get it done.

Racing Flag

BONUS 4: 1:1 Family Strategy Call ($300 value)
A 30-minute one-on-one, usually just the parents (though the teen is welcome too), to answer the questions that keep you up at night. Testing, GPA, majors, school lists—whatever’s weighing on you.

Applying to college looks nothing like it did 30 years ago. I’ve held more than 600 of these calls. In 30 minutes, I can save you months of second-guessing, confusion, and overwhelm.

This isn’t a sales call. It’s insider clarity, specific to your family’s unique situation.

Icon for bonus Q and A between parents and Christy.

At many selective schools, the Activities List is up to 30 percent of the admissions decision. More than grades (20 percent). More than test scores (15 percent). And yet most students treat it like a formality.

The Activities List looks like the easy part.

Just jot down what they’ve done, write a quick description, and move on — right?

Except… it’s not. Not even close.

Because this isn’t just about listing things — it’s about knowing what to include, what to cut, what order to put things in, and how to say something meaningful in just 150 characters. All while trying not to sound like every other applicant.

It’s more like writing a résumé — and let’s be honest, even most adults struggle with that. (There’s a reason résumé writing is a multi-million-dollar industry.)

So why do we expect teens to nail it on their own?

I’ve seen what happens when they try:

  • They put it off until the last minute — but every part of this process takes more time than teens anticipate. Then they rush through something that demands real attention.

  • They think it’s just a list — but it’s one of the most influential parts of the entire application. At many selective schools, the Activities List can account for 30% of the admissions decision. That’s more than grades (20%) or test scores (15%). And what’s remaining? The essay.

  • They mistakenly describe the thing they did, not the value they brought — missing the chance to show how they’ll be an asset to any campus.

Until now, only my All-Access Pass students got this. It's a 2-hour one-on-one where we choose the activities, order them strategically, and draft all 10 descriptions together, uploaded and ready in the Common App before we're done.

Your teen leaves with an Activities List as thoughtful as their essay. Both done, well before the deadlines.

Included with the Complete Your Essay in a Single Weekend workshop…

SUPER BONUS:

How much is this going to be?

Well, you could pay anywhere from $3,000 to $11,000 and well beyond to get professional essay writing and college admissions help.

But if you want expert, one-on-one guidance without the five-figure commitment, this is the next best thing.

Or you could waste the next couple of weeks, not wanting to nag, but wishing your teen to get their essay at least started before summer ends… when there’s a reason it hasn’t happened already.

But even then it may not get done well — or it will be rushed through at the last minute — because your teen’s available time is dwindling more and more, and the fall of senior year is PACKED. Submitting everything later decreases the chances for acceptance letters — because nearly all schools accept a much lower percentage of students during the regular (late fall) admissions season. It can also mean your teen might receive a smaller or no awards package because colleges do run out of money.

Look at it this way — you can easily regain control over at least one area of college admissions…

  • With a way to end your own low-level anxiety and sense of pressure around the essay

  • Regain the time and remove the months of overwhelm your teen will otherwise go through by getting it done BEFORE the 11th hour

  • And gain SKILLS and TOOLS to help with writing supplemental essays and other school papers in the future…

After writing just ONE essay through the Complete Your Essay in a Weekend workshop.

TOTAL VALUE: $5,135

Price: $1,500

Through July 31, 2026, use code ESSAYDONE at checkout for $500 off. 

I know this works - locally and with teens across the US - because I’ve used these exact techniques for over 13 years to help hundreds of high school seniors complete outstanding essays, earning them acceptance offers and often financial awards. I’m confident this will work for your teen too.

At Easier College Essays, we stand firm in our NO STUDENT LEFT BEHIND policy. I'm confident that if your son or daughter does the work during our sessions, they’ll get excellent results with Complete Your Essay in a Single Weekend.

Here’s how it works:

Have your teen watch the "Discover Your Best Topic" mini-workshop videos to brainstorm and prepare ahead of time. Then, on Saturday morning, they’ll join our Story Spark brainstorming small group session, followed by a 1:1 with me during the lunch break to finalize their topic.

If, for any reason, they don’t want to continue after that, let me know before we start the Saturday afternoon sessions, and I’ll refund your payment in full. Your teen will still keep all the clarity they’ve gained about their topic as my gift.

That’s the first guarantee. Then…

Support your teen to show up and do the work across the weekend, and to meet me for their Essay Finish Line Session. If they've made an honest effort and still don't have a Personal Statement they're proud of and ready to submit, I keep working with them until they do. However many extra touches it takes. That's the whole promise. Your teen leaves with a finished essay, not a maybe.

The Double “Get It Done” Guarantee

  • Smiling mom from North Carolina

    “I didn’t really know how to help [our son] with writing guidance around the essay. The peace of mind from Christy’s help was the best part of the process.”

    D. O’BRYAN, NORTH CAROLINA

  • Elle L - a student benefiting from Easier College Essays coaching.

    I thought my first draft was really great. Christy asked me questions and got me thinking. As a result, I shifted everything around…and that essay was truly great.

    ELLE L., ILLINOIS

  • Diana Sherbloom parent testimonial.

    “My son’s school class time to write his essay was a helpful starting point … but there was no individual attention and back-and-forth like we had with you. And that made all the difference.”

    DIANA SHERBLOOM, VIRGINIA

  • Suzanne Harrison parent testimonial

    “Your process for teasing the most important things without telling [my daughter] what to write was beautiful. That’s exactly what she needed… Plus, Christy recommended she apply to a college we had never even considered. A year later, my daughter is a freshman there and loving every second of it!”

    SUZANNE HARRISON, WASHINGTON

  • Dottie Lipinski testimonial

    “No clue what I’d do without Christy!” As a Mom, the college essay is just stress - nothing we say is right, ever! Christy takes it all on, does not let them quit, nor does she do it for them. Because of this they grow so much, ending up with a paper they can be proud of – and each of my teens has ended up with a scholarship at their 1st-choice university.

    DOTTIE LIPINSKI, ILLINOIS

  • Phoebe C international student testimonial.

    Christy to the rescue! She took my 1,637-word essay, taught me how to ruthlessly take out the fluff, and we quickly got it under 650 words. It was so much more interesting in the end! I never dared to hope I could tell my story so well…

    PHOEBE C., VIETNAM

This program is a crazy steal-of-a-deal even at $2,000 — but right now, you’ll pay much less than that.

And you’ll also get four carefully crafted bonuses designed to provide your family with all the support you need…

Plus the “Get It Done” guarantee, ensuring your teen’s essay is ready for submission.

So why wait and miss out on submitting before the Early Action deadlines (when the most acceptance letters are issued and fewer students apply)…

When you can have their essay done IN ONE WEEKEND!

Wondering if this is right for you?
Let’s chat!

"As a first-generation student, she brought out the best in me and constructed my essays in a way that made me stand out. I have been accepted to my first choice university and got a full-ride scholarship, too, thanks to Christy."

— AYUB H., FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT

Ayub H
Ayub H

Got Questions?

What if I still have questions?

Email me at christy@easiercollegeessays.com
or text 630-824-7295.

Workshop Dates

Claim your spot today (or reserve a future workshop date).

Aug 1-2

only 7 spots left

Aug 22-23

only 9 spots left

Sept 5-6

only 10 spots left

  • Vishal K wearing sunglasses

    "I learned so many things working with Christy. I never considered so much of what we talked about! But her insights helped me totally relax and just do the work."

    VISHAL K., NEW JERSEY
    ATTENDING SETON HALL

  • Akhil M testimonial

    "I didn’t even attempt to start my essays on my own. My dad asked if I wanted help and I jumped on the opportunity. I know my essays are so much better as a result."

    AKHIL M., ILLINOIS
    ATTENDING PURDUE

  • Leo S testimonial

    "My 'home run' was to complete my essay quickly and efficiently so I didn't have to think about it when I was doing other things. Christy helped me do just that."

    LEO S., NORTH CAROLINA
    ATTENDING CLEMSON

Finally, get the confidence to submit your essay, knowing you’ve got it right

Look, if you’ve read this far, chances are your teen needs to turn in an outstanding essay soon…

Or they have one sorta ready to go (but know it’s not of the caliber needed to get the RIGHT kind of attention at competitive schools) — like my one student who cried over FIVE different versions before her mom called me.

And your teen needs a way to get it done as easily, quickly, and painlessly as possible.

I’m giving you ALL the tools, the live training, immediate feedback, and coaching…

PLUS I’ll review it multiple times for your son or daughter.

So imagine if your teen got their essay DONE in just ONE WEEKEND.

And you felt totally confident that they were saying the right things in the right order (without being too vanilla and safe.)

And because your teen has the tools for a strong start-to-finish essay, writing it becomes so much easier too.

And as a result, your teen can get back to senior year activities, you can finally relax as they hit “send” on the Common App, and the first acceptance letters arrive in the mail just a couple of weeks later.

And you know your teen has submitted their best essay, one that’s representative of who they are and what they’ll bring to their new college.

So you have the time and headspace to focus on your family’s next move...whether that’s visiting campuses or making awesome memories this last summer together before senior year starts.

With the Complete Your Essay in a Weekend workshop, you’ll have all of that.

It’s everything you need to get your teen’s best essay DONE.

And I’m here to help too.

All you need to do is CLICK the orange button below. I’ll take care of the rest.

Book a call here

These results may not be typical, and can’t be taken in any way as a guarantee of the results your teen would receive. Easier College Essays™ helps enhance your efforts and skills, but we can’t guarantee admission into any specific institution nor promise any particular outcomes regarding acceptance, scholarships, or financial aid. Results, including acceptances and scholarships, vary based on dozens of factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Get support at christy@easiercollegeessays.com
Privacy Policy      Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2021-2026 Easier College Essays™. All rights reserved.