The score gets you read.
The story gets you in.
Admissions officers read a 1550 in two seconds and spend the next eight minutes on who you are. The Giant Application builds that answer: the essays, the network, and one real project that makes a seventeen-year-old impossible to skim past.
Thirty minutes, no pitch. A frank read on where the student stands, whether or not you hire us.
Six things, one application nobody skims.
Essays
Strategy and line editing for every essay on every application. Your voice, sharpened. We never write a word for you, and admissions readers can tell when someone did.
Networking plan
A written plan, with introductions, to land real internships and mentors in the field your application claims to care about. Proof beats adjectives.
One capstone project
Something built, not described. An app that ships. A nonprofit that files. A book that publishes. We scope it, manage it, and keep it on schedule around school.
Press
A release written and placed when the project launches, so a third party is saying it mattered. Coverage goes in the application.
Launch budget
A paid budget to put the project in front of its first users, donors or readers. A project with an audience is a different sentence in an essay than a project without one.
Admissions strategy
School list, early-decision strategy, recommender briefing, interview prep, and a timeline from today to decision day.
What the year looks like.
Start the summer before junior year and the capstone has a full year to exist before applications open. Rising seniors get a compressed version.
Discovery and positioning
Who you are, what you have done, and the one project that makes it legible. School list drafted.
Build the capstone
Weekly check-ins. Milestones. The project ships before senior-year applications open.
Launch and press
Release, placement, paid campaign. Internships and mentors from the networking plan land.
Essays and submission
Every essay drafted, edited and finalized. Interviews rehearsed. Applications in, early where it helps.
Who this is for.
For
- Families aiming at the top 20, where a strong score is the floor, not the differentiator.
- Students with an interest worth building something around, even if they can't name it yet.
- Sophomores and rising juniors with a year to let a project exist.
- Parents who want one team handling essays, strategy and the project, not five vendors.
Not for
- Anyone who wants the essays written for them. We don't, and readers can tell.
- A capstone the parent will build. The student does the work; we make it achievable.
- Guaranteed admission. Nobody honest sells that. We sell the strongest possible application.
Consulting questions.
Do you write the essays?
No. We develop the strategy, interview the student for material, and edit line by line. The words are the student's. Readers are trained to spot ghostwriting and it is the fastest way to a rejection.
Who does the capstone work?
The student. We scope it so it is achievable in the time available, we project-manage it, and we bring in help where a seventeen-year-old reasonably needs it (a developer to review code, a designer for a book cover). The idea and the work are theirs.
When should we start?
Ideally the summer before junior year, so the capstone has a year to exist before applications open. Rising seniors can still do a compressed version; we will tell you in the consultation whether it's realistic.
Is test prep included?
No. The package is application work. Many consulting families also use our SAT or ACT tutoring, and the first hour of that is free. Tutoring fees paid before enrolling in the package are credited toward it.
What does the free consultation involve?
Thirty minutes with Rick on the student's profile, goals and timeline. You leave with a frank read on where they stand and what would move the needle, whether or not you hire us.
Book a free 30-minute consultation.
Thirty minutes with Rick on the student's profile, goals and timeline. You leave with a frank read on where they stand and what would move the needle, whether or not you hire us.