University Gurus
About
Kate Stone, College Consultant, Essay Coach, College Essay Workshop Facilitator
Kate graduated from NYU with a B.S. in Education and a minor in Creative Writing. She continued on to be accepted as a Princeton University teaching fellow in Asia teaching creative writing.
Kate funnels her passion for storytelling as a coach for college essays where she helps students to develop their most powerful narrative and using storytelling and scriptwriting strategies to coach the college essay. Kate thinks of the college process as a tool for building the foundation for her student's evolving identities.
Kate has worked with hundreds of students who have gone on to be accepted to dozens of the world’s top colleges, including but not limited to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia University, NYU, University of Chicago, Cornell, Princeton University, Brown, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Duke, Berkeley, UPenn, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Boston University, Oberlin, Tulane, Skidmore, The New School, Northwestern, and the American University of Paris.
www.universitygurus.com
Every year college admissions officers read approximately 50,000 applications.
Over the last decade of teaching writing through Princeton University, I have discovered a number of creative writing strategies and scriptwriting structures that I apply to the college application. I take you through the whole process from brainstorming and drafting to editing and polishing the application for submission.
The goal of my boot camp packages is to coach students towards differentiating themselves and their application by utilizing uncommon topics, uncommon words, and uncommon insights.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
1. Brainstorming Pre-Work is required prior to our initial session. This is how I learn all the details of who you are and what you are passionate about and that will be a part of your college application. I send you an onboarding email that includes your own folder with sample essays and resources to help you write the best possible college application.
2. We have an initial 90 minute session where we discuss, strategize topics, and outline essays for drafting. All sessions after are usually 60 minutes to coach, edit, and strategize essay writing strategies.
3. We continue revising until all drafts and the application (additional info, activities list, brag sheet) is complete.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
NYU B.S. in Education
NYU Minor in Creative Writing
Princeton University Teaching Fellow
10 years experience teaching writing and college consulting
Certified College Essay Workshop Facilitator
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
College Essay Packages: *Prorated options available ( -/+) $150.00 each school
1 school ($2,500)
3 schools ($2,750)
5 schools ($3,000)
7 schools ($3,250)
10 schools ($3,500)
College Consulting Complete: ($3,000) Includes:
● list of 15 - 20 schools that fit student profile
● application admission consulting
● college interview prep
● narrowing down a school for the student to attend, as well as
● financial aid advice, if needed
Payment Terms:
● 50% Upfront / 50% Upon Completion (Dec. 1st deadline) via paypal.com ([email protected]), venmo.com (kate-stone-4), Zelle (6469572520)
● Hourly Rate: Essay Coaching ($200) / College Consulting ($250)
How did you get started teaching?
NYU Steinhardt School of Education major
Princeton University Teaching Fellow in Asia
What types of students have you worked with?
High Acheivers
STEM
Creatives
Low test scores / High GPA
Low executive functioning skills
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Make sure they are aware of what college admissions are actually looking for - i.e. they go to conferences, listen to admissions panels and have a clear direction to take your essays which will give you the best chance of admittance.
This is my rule of thumb:
1. Uncommon Topics
2. Uncommon Language
3. Uncommon Connections
Additional Advice:
Make sure potential college consultants have a strategy for college esssay coaching and they aren't simply editing your essay from the English class / 5-paragraph essay model. They need to think in terms of utilizing storytelling techniques.