College Essay Coaching
Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I enroll in DPIE’s College Essay Coaching Program?

DPIE has partnered with Talentnook to manage and bring expert college essay writing help to DUSD community. Talentnook is a trusted partner, headquartered locally in Dublin, and comes with proven experience in K-12 tutoring and afterschool programming.

Talentnook College Essay Coaches are carefully selected writing experts who have helped students write top-notch college essays and PIQ answers with ease, purpose, and joy.

We understand the Dublin students and their needs. Our process is simple and the process is personalized. College essay is a storytelling art that we will help your student master.

My student's essay writing is good – why would coaching help him or her?

English class writing assignments are completely different from a college admissions essay. Essays are very personal in nature and need to be persuasive since the goal is to share their story and differentiate themselves.

Coaching helps you improve and reach the next level. Our Essay Coaches will help your student be authentic while standing out in the highly competitive crowd of Bay Area students.

A good writer also faces writer’s block at some point. Our experienced coaches will bring a fresh perspective to your student’s writing and help them think outside the box. As the deadlines are fast approaching, this is your student’s chance to complete a cohesive narrative by working smarter, not harder.

What does the College Essay Coaching Program look like?

It really depends on where your student is with their College Essay or PIQs.

Students in the initial stages of the essay journey will start with brainstorming and discovery process. This will lead to a ‘Bullet Point Structure’ of ideas, strategy, review/discussion of PIQs, and selection of best-suited PIQs/prompts. The student then goes into a “Word Bomb’ stage to prepare a rough first draft. The rest of the coaching sessions help the student with word choice, eloquence, refining sentences, and paragraphs, to stay thematically tied, and making the essay cohesive and stand out. The coach provides offline feedback and proofreading where needed in between sessions. At the end of coaching sessions, the student will have a final draft, ready to submit.
Students who have already decided on the topic and/or PIQs and have a draft will start with the discovery process so the coach gets to know the student and the essay strategy. This will be followed by read-aloud. The coach will help the student with word choice, eloquence, refining sentences, and paragraphs, to stay thematically tied, and make the essay cohesive and stand out. The coach provides offline feedback and proofreading where needed in between sessions. At the end of coaching sessions, the student will have a final draft, ready to submit.

How many coaching sessions should I sign up for?

That depends on where your student is in the process and the amount of guidance they need. Note that this is only a rough estimate. Your student may need additional coaching sessions based on the progress they make. We have put the table below to help you.

What happens once I enroll my student?

You will receive an agreement from Talentnook for your signature and a quick questionnaire to assist Talentnook to best match your student with a College Essay coach. Once a coach is assigned to your student, you’ll get an email from Talentnook with your coach’s information and a calendar link to schedule the first coaching session.

How do we book a session?

Talentnook will send you a calendar link to set up the first session. At the end of each session, the coach and student will discuss the scheduling of the next session.

What is the recommended frequency of coaching sessions?

The College Essay coach and the student will mutually decide on the required frequency. For students needing 10+ hours of coaching, it is recommended to meet 2x per week as the deadlines are approaching.

What can my student expect in a typical coaching session?

Check-in: Coach and student will go over the progress since the previous session and cover any questions related to offline feedback
Read aloud: Student will read aloud the essay/PIQ answers.
Review: Coach provides feedback and suggestions. Student writes and edits.
Check-out: Coach and student discuss next steps, to-do’s and schedule the next session.

What happens if my student doesn’t like the assigned College Essay Coach? Can we request another coach?

All of our coaches are highly qualified and have similar experiences working with college application essays. But, we do understand that sometimes the chemistry between the coach and the student may not work. You can swap with another coach. 1 swap is allowed.

Note that the time spent with the first coach will still count towards your purchased block of hours.

How much time will my student need outside of the coaching sessions?

About 45-60 mins per session is recommended. Some students may require more time if they are still early in the writing process.

How are the coaching sessions tracked?

You and your student will have access to our coaching tracker that records completed sessions, upcoming sessions, hours used and remaining. We will send reminders on October 1st with any outstanding time available.

How does offline feedback work?

We use Google docs for student writing, coaching and providing feedback. As a parent, you’ll have shared access to your student’s doc and you can see the work at your convenience. Any time spent in offline feedback count towards your block of coaching hours purchased. Offline feedback is recorded in increments of 15 mins.

My student has completed the purchased block of coaching hours, but we still need some additional help. Can I purchase an additional hour of coaching?

Yes, definitely. Email [email protected] for the link to sign up for an additional hours at $135 per hour.

Will the College Essay Coaches do a final review and proofread the final draft?

Yes, your student and the College Essay Coach will work as a team to get the essay and/or PIQ answers ready to submit. Typically this will be the final session.

Will the College Essay Coaches provide any insight into what specific colleges are looking for in the essays?

Our College Essay Coaches are highly experienced in guiding students through Common App essays and UC PIQs. During the coaching sessions, the focus will be on crafting strong Common App essays and answering PIQs for the University of California system. If there is time remaining within your purchased hours, our coaches can also assist with supplemental essays for specific colleges as needed.