SAMPLE MEETING SCHEDULE:
Note regarding 2022 program costs: Meetings can be booked a la carte at a fee of $300 per hour (with free unlimited email support).
The “essay only package” can be purchased for $4000. This includes unlimited email support and limited revisions by Dr. Patin-Sauls, in addition to all essay meetings.
The “total package” can be purchased for $7000. This includes unlimited email support and revisions by Dr. Patin-Sauls, in addition to everything below.
The “unlimited package” can be purchased for $12,000. This includes unlimited revisions and asynchronous meetings, unlimited email support, access to our college prep digital and video libraries, all live webinars, and weekly one-on-one mentorship meetings with your mentor, in addition to everything listed below.
*All students will receive interview support and practice if required to interview with any school on their list.*
Scholarships, referral discounts, and Zelle discounts do apply.
Payment Plans for packages break the total cost into thirds and are due on January 5, April 5, and August 5 (or the equivalent, if beginning later in the year). Any student purchasing a package will receive a 25% discount on summer research mentorship.
Please email Dr Patin-Sauls directly with any questions or to get started! (Johnathan@HippocampusAcademy.US)
JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH
Introductory meetings: Introduction to college essays and review of the essay process. As soon as you’re confirmed we’ll also get set up on Google Drive and you will begin completing the intro homework outlined below. (Meeting times may vary and extra meetings may be added according to need.)
Introductory Meeting Topics:
(Note: times don’t include homework and some meetings can be held asynchronously.)
-Introduction to the admissions process. [1-2 hours]
– Choosing a major [1-2 hours]
– Building your school list [3-6 hours]
– Building the senior year schedule [1 hour]
– Resume review and analysis [2 hours]
– Summer planning parts 1 & 2 [2-4 hours total]
– Introduction to writing the personal essay. [1-2 hours]
After these meetings we will begin our “official” essay course. Prior to our first “official” meeting on DATE, I’d like you to complete the following workbook sections in this order:
- Read through our tentative timeline to get an idea of the overall plan. (As you work your way through it this year PLEASE make use of the checkmarks to allow me to quickly assess your progress.) [~15 minutes]
- At least skim through the terms to know. This will make you a much better consumer of all the college-related material you will be consuming this year. [~10 minutes]
- Complete the Tentative School List, if you have any schools in mind already. [~10 minutes]
- Complete Your Admissions Profile. [~30 minutes]
- Complete the Self-Survey for the College-Bound AND HAVE IT EMAILED TO ME! (Thanks!) [~1 hour]
- Read through and annotate the 2021-2022 Common App Prompts (If you might be applying to a UC school then make some notes there, too. The Coalition app prompts are optional for most students.) [~1 hour]
- Read through the writing guidelines and look through Dr Patin’s book of student essays to find/read at least one sample essay from your top school/your major/a theme you might want to cover to get an idea of what a successful personal statement looks like. [~1 hour]
After you’ve completed these tasks you can book your first “official” essay meeting and start filling out the workbook’s brainstorming sections in as much detail as you’d like.
Want to get ahead? Start completing the “Why Week” scavenger hunt for each school on your list!
SCAVENGER HUNT:
1) Name two departments that you want to take classes in, and one specific class (not an intro class) that you are excited to take. Why?
2) If you’re interested in a specific major, what makes it unique in comparison to taking it at other schools?
3) Find one club you’d like to join.
4) Look for one opportunity to do undergrad research. ([“name of school’] [“undergraduate research opportunities”]) or some other kind of mentored project in your area of interest.
5) How will you contribute to the college outside of class? (EX: I you love playing the flute, but there are no opportunities for flute performance at the school, you can suggest starting a flute ensemble.)
6) What is the school culture? How are you a good fit? (The Princeton review is a good resource for getting a sense of the school’s culture.)
7) What are the school’s general, or program, requirements? Why do they interest you? “I was drawn to Tulane’s service-learning requirement.” “I want to attend Brown because of its open curriculum.” ”I like Columbia because of its core curriculum.”)
8) Find one successful student essay that you want to use as a model or reference. (Search our archives or Google “[name of college] admitted student essays.”
9) Watch one student vlog that is not officially affiliated with the university. Google: “[name of college] pros and cons,” “[name of college] day in the life,” “[name of college] Q & A with student.” Make a pro and con list as you watch, to share with me at our next meeting.
APRIL [2 hours]
1st meeting (BRAINSTORMING WEEK): Complete some brainstorming activities and review work outlined at the top of this page. Choose a “practice prompt” to write a draft for in preparation for our next meeting.In short, you will be prepared to write your personal statement after this meeting.
Remember, a personal statement should:
-Be an engaging story about an experience from the past four years, written in detail
-Convey your best qualities—especially anything not easily discerned from the rest of your application.
Homework:
1) Complete the rest of the brainstorming questions in your workbook
2)Write a practice rough draft that meets or exceeds 650 words and send it to me at least three days before our next meeting. ASSIGNMENT NOTES HERE.
MAY [1 hour]
2nd meeting (PRACTICE DRAFT WEEK): discuss and revamp practice rough draft.
Homework:
1) Revise your practice rough draft according to our conversation and send it to me for review.
JUNE [2 hours]
3rd meeting (FIRST DRAFT WEEK): discuss practice rough draft revisions. Finalize prompt choice for your actual essay and brainstorm.
Extra Brainstorming Questions:
1) Describe your morning routine in detail, from the moment you wake up until the moment you get to your first class.
2) Describe your room. How is it different than a hotel room?
3) What do you do with your time outside of class? (Extracurriculars, clubs, hobbies, interests)
4) If you had to give a TED talk right now, what could you discuss for 30 minutes without needing to prepare?
Homework:
Now write your REAL rough draft based on your finalized prompt that meets or exceeds 650 words and then put it away for a week or so. At least one week before our next meeting please read it aloud, notating issues as you read, and then complete an initial revision. Send the draft and your notes to me at least three days before our next meeting.
JUNE [1 hour]
4th meeting (REVISION WEEK): We will complete first draft revisions (aggressive structural edits and lots of added detail) of your personal statement. (This may be done asynchronously, in some cases.)
Homework: Revise your personal statement and send it to me at least three days before our next meeting. (Follow the list of things to look for in your workbook.)
JUNE/JULY [1 hour]
5th meeting (SUPPLEMENTS WEEK): We wrap up our work on the personal statement (polish essay and set aside/send out for second read). If it still needs work and you need to begin on your UC drafts, then we’ll come back to it later. (This may be done asynchronously, in some cases.)
Homework:
If applying to UC schools, write first draft responses to your 4 UC school supplements. Each should meet or exceed 350 words.
If you’re not applying to any U.C. schools and your Common App draft doesn’t need any more work then you will spend this month completing your “WHY WEEK” scavenger hunts (below) and compiling all of your other supplemental essay prompts.
JULY [1 hour]
6th meeting (SUPPLEMENT REVISION WEEK): First draft revisions of UC school supplements.
Homework: Revise your UC school supplements and begin working on the “WHY WEEK” scavenger hunts (below) if you haven’t already. You will need to complete the scavenger hunt for each school on your list.
JULY/AUGUST [2 hours]
7th meeting (ADAPTATION WEEK): Second draft revisions of UC school supplements. We’ll also talk about adapting your existing essays to overlapping prompts.
Homework: Finalize your UC supplements, then adapt them to all overlapping prompts from other schools on your list (for example: if you write a UC essay about failure then you can adapt it to another school’s “failure” essay prompt.) These adaptations should be as finished and polished as you can make them: edit them carefully.
AUGUST [2 hours]
8th meeting (WHY WEEK): We’ll take a look at your essay adaptations, then move on to new material. By now, you should have a good grasp of how most personal statements are written, but there’s one big type of essay left: the “Why” essay. We’ll talk about how to write and research for this essay and then plan to write the longest “Why” essay from your EA/ED schools. See your workbook and sample supplements to understand the structural needs of these essays.
Homework: Write your longest “Why” essay: start by completing the scavenger hunt below, then write a draft that hits or exceeds the word count.
SCAVENGER HUNT:
1) Name two departments that you want to take classes in, and one specific class (not an intro class) that you are excited to take. Why?
2) If you’re interested in a specific major, what makes it unique in comparison to taking it at other schools?
3) Find one club you’d like to join.
4) Look for one opportunity to do undergrad research. ([“name of school’] [“undergraduate research opportunities”]) or some other kind of mentored project in your area of interest.
5) How will you contribute to the college outside of class? (EX: I you love playing the flute, but there are no opportunities for flute performance at the school, you can suggest starting a flute ensemble.)
6) What is the school culture? How are you a good fit? (Your mentor can direct you to the best resources for getting a sense of the school’s culture.)
7) What are the school’s general, or program, requirements? Why do they interest you? (Examples: “I was drawn to Tulane’s service-learning requirement.” “I want to attend Brown because of its open curriculum.” ”I like Columbia because of its core curriculum.”)
8) Find one successful student essay that you want to use as a model or reference. (Search our archives or Google “[name of college] admitted student essays.”
9) Watch one student vlog that is not officially affiliated with the university. Google: “[name of college] pros and cons,” “[name of college] day in the life,” “[name of college] Q & A with student.” Make a pro and con list as you watch, to share with me at our next meeting.
AUGUST [2 hours]
9th meeting (WHY WEEK REVISIONS): We’ll look over your scavenger hunt answers to pick out the most striking information you found and discuss revisions for your long “Why” essay.
Homework: revise your longest “Why” essay and begin drafts for the others.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER [varies-may be done asynchronously]
10th meeting onwards: After revising your longest “Why” essay, well start working through the rest of your supplements at a rate of 2-3 schools per meeting, starting with EA/ED schools and moving on to regular decisions. Each meeting we’ll work on revisions for the previous meeting’s supplemental essays, then work on brainstorming and for new drafts. This is also a good time to revisit your personal statements with fresh eyes (revisit and perform final edits)!
NOTE: Dr Patin will need to be out of the country in July and December this year (2022). He will still be holding mentorship and asynchronous meetings, but will need all rough drafts in by the end of November. This will allow him to complete final revisions and advise you on your applications before he leaves, and will allow you to be DONE in time to study for your midterms and perhaps even have a little fun over your winter break!
Homework: Every week/every other week, revise supplements for 2-3 schools and/or write first drafts for 2-3 schools.
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