The art and craft of the Application Essay

The Personal Statement is a wonderful opportunity for students to distinguish themselves from hundreds (if not thousands) of similarly qualified applicants by revealing something about themselves that their grades, scores, and recommendations do not. Though the essay prompts students may choose from are varied, all successful Personal Statements offer compelling responses to the same core question: What makes you impressive, unique, and highly likely to succeed?

The Art and Craft of the Application Essay™ guides students through discovering an answer to this question, developing an original and effective topic through which to reveal their answer, and drafting a truly outstanding essay. It is not at all unusual for clients to initially worry that they have nothing impressive to say about themselves, but we believe that everyone has an amazing story to tell. Our talent is in helping each client locate and craft that story.

Our process includes rigorous exploratory writing and collaborative brainstorming sessions, multiple rounds of drafting and intensive revising, and careful editing and polishing. Our goal is for students to complete the process not only with an exceptional Personal Statement, but also with the satisfaction that comes from examining themselves and their lives, identifying something extraordinary, and then articulating it with clarity and style.

We also offer support to students in composing compelling responses to supplemental short answer and essay questions (additional writing required by many schools in addition to the Common Application essay).

The Application Package

Our Application Consulting services assist clients in optimizing their college and graduate school applications. The Chernik Group offers application support in the following areas:

• Creating a positive, lasting impression with the Common Application or Coalition Application
• Writing outstanding application essays – please see The Art and Craft of the Application Essay™
• Ensuring the entire application tells a coherent, compelling story
• Preparing for successful alumni and campus interviews process

We understand that the application process is often stressful, and we work closely with our clients to alleviate this stress as we help them generate exceptional application packages for college and graduate school admission.

CLIENTS OUTSIDE THE U.S.

The Chernik Group welcomes students from around the world to our practice. We assist foreign clients in applying to both undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States. We offer intensive support through each step of the U.S. application process, ensuring that our foreign clients understand its many requirements and navigate them confidently.

We also provide our foreign clients rigorous standardized test preparation in not only the SAT/ACT or GRE, but also the TOEFL/IELTS (tests that demonstrate proficiency in English). These scores are often weighted heavily for international students.

Additionally, we help foreign students craft successful Personal Statements and supplemental essays, writing that emphasizes why they have chosen to study in the U.S., what sets them apart from other international applicants, and how their background, talents, and passions will enrich their chosen academic community.

Please contact us for more information.