If you’ve attended all the sessions and done your work in between meetings, we expect you to have a refined draft of your essay that you’ll be proud to share. The essay will have a clear structure and reflect your personalized response to the prompt you’re addressing. We recommend that you plan for some additional time for final notes from trusted sources and a polish.

Our writing instructors are a specialized subset of our broader tutor pool. These are our most experienced essay teachers who thrive in an online, interactive group format.

Yes! Any time before the last class, you can submit one draft for written feedback from the instructor. At the last class, you can submit a draft for final feedback, which you will receive within one week of the end of the program.

At the start of the program, we’ll provide you with a selection of times to meet with your instructor. These may be distributed throughout the week. 

All individual sessions occur before the last day of class. Sessions are scheduled between the first and second class and between the third and fourth class.

Once you have scheduled your two sessions, you may not be able to reschedule them, so please make sure you select a day and time that will work for you. 

The individual sessions are optional. You can take the class and receive written feedback without this element. See options above.

Your instructor will meet you where you are! Think of this time like office hours—you schedule an hour to discuss your writing with your class instructor.

Generally the first individual session focuses on reviewing your list of ideas and first draft and making a specific plan for structural revisions and/or introductions and conclusions.

The second individual session tends to focus on developing your draft and making a plan for paragraph and sentence-level revisions.

This class is designed to be a jumping off point. It’s often a good idea to get further feedback from the people who know you best, including teachers, counselors, and tutors.

Some students follow up a class with one-on-one tutoring support. Our tutors can help refine and polish your Common App Personal Essay and supplemental essays.

We strongly encourage you to discuss your writing with your counselor who is in the best position to be able to help you be strategic about your writing choices given your college list. This class and one-on-one essay writing tutoring are primarily intended for students who are not working with an independent counselor. 

This class does not directly cover the supplemental essays because each student’s list of schools and the requirements of those schools varies. However, much of the guidance students receive will apply to their writing process for supplemental essays.

For more direct assistance with supplemental essays, we recommend working with your counselors or a Compass one-on-one tutor.

Students are only able to attend the class section they are registered for. However, classes are recorded and are available to all registered students for viewing and instructors can be contacted during Study Hall sessions to answer questions.

Yes, crafting a successful personal essay requires thinking and writing outside of the scheduled group meeting times. Students are asked  to complete a pre-class assignment and 3-4 hours of writing homework each week. 

We recommend setting aside an hour or two several times a week, rather than trying to do all of your writing in one sitting.

Yes, please fill out this form or contact us at classes@compassprep.com. We’ll alert you if and when space becomes available or another section is opened for enrollment.

Yes, we have some limited scholarship funds available. Please contact us at classes@compassprep.com for more information if you qualify for financial aid.