Dr. Donna helped my daughter in ways a parent can’t. She helped her see her own strengths. What seemed small or unimportant turned out to be the seeds of some really impressive essays. I think she also really helped build my daughter’s confidence to apply to some super-competitive schools.
I want to thank you for the work you did with Jen on her college essays. As parents we are not able to help her because we don’t know what is expected by the colleges. We appreciate the time, patience and knowledge you bring to this process.
I have been meaning to write you to let you know how much you have helped Allie and how much I appreciate your assistance for her. Allie came home from your first session with you much calmer and actually enthusiastic about essay writing — a sharp contrast to the stressed out young lady without an essay topic who left our house that morning. Thanks so much for your guidance and help. You have provided a great service to Allie and I thank you so much!?
Even more than the finished product (and she was pleased with the end result), our daughter enjoyed the process of creating her essay with Donna’s guidance. It turned out to be far different than just a lot red pen edits. It was a more personal and exploratory experience that I think our daughter will be able to use when thinking about her writing moving forward.
Although I am a writer myself, I decided to send my son to Donna for help with his essay. I felt the process would be less stressful if he received guidance from someone other than his mom. The whole application process can take over the parent-child relationship. I felt that Donna helped him find a unique approach to his essay and enabled him to tell his personal statement in his own, best voice. Her process of getting to know my son and what “makes him tick” and then using her discoveries to guide him through the writing process resulted in a personal statement essay that was truly his own. He received positive feedback from admissions officers, so I feel we made the right decision in having Donna work with him.
My daughter is an excellent writer. She is creative, witty, and has a flare for writing. Certainly, all her English teachers adored her. So, when it came to writing her personal statement for college admissions, she wrote in her style, her voice. It was very entertaining to read but was missing something. Then, she met with Dr. Donna. With only a few short meetings and Dr. Donna’s feedback, her personal statement was more focused, polished, and had a wow factor that was missing, all while still holding onto her voice. With Dr. Donna’s gentle and supportive guidance, not only did her personal statement improve, my daughter’s thought process for writing was also strengthened. A skill set that will carry with her for life.
Dr. Kirschner helped our family by effectively guiding and instructing my son on writing his college admission essay. She took a huge load off his shoulders and if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely go back to her.
As an essay coach, Donna provided valuable guidance to my daughter. Her ability to manage the components of essay writing and convey those concepts to my daughter reduced the stress my child was experiencing. Thanks, Donna.
As a parent of a high school senior, I greatly appreciated having Dr. Kirschner as a resource during the college application essay writing process. She spoke with him about his goals for the essay and asked many questions. This practice helped him to more accurately define and sculpt his message and most importantly, maintain complete ownership of the essay. Dr. Kirschner’s respect for her students and their work is palpable. It is easy to recommend her to others.
(her son was accepted early decision to Princeton University)
The college essay is a stressful difficult task taken on by many 17 year olds across the country. For children with executive function disorders, the task becomes that much more stressful. To assist such a student, not only is writing skills a must but the ability to keep your student focused is imperative.
Donna’s writing skills and ability to work with students is exemplary. She can relate to the students and help them get their thoughts on paper. The organization of the essay was what was needed, the grammar spot on.
Donna’s ability to keep our Executive functioning -challenged daughter focused was where she earned her stripes. A chore her parents were unable to succeed in, Donna kept our daughter focused on the task at hand. An acceptance to her chosen school, as well as other fall back schools, followed. We couldn’t be happier or more satisfied with Donna’s work.
We highly recommend Donna!
Our daughter has talked to us about the whole process and how she has really enjoyed working with you. She always felt that writing was not her best subject but I am sure she has accomplished a great deal with your help.
Dr. Donna’s advice and guidance while writing my college essay was invaluable. I felt overwhelmed and confused about my essay, but working with her helped me to get through that and figure out what my essay was supposed to be while also making it authentically mine. She helped me to collect my ideas into a polished and meaningful piece of writing. I recommend her as a coach to anyone who needs help with their college essay..
Before I came to Dr. Donna, I was lost in the university essay writing process. With her patience and always positive attitude, she was able to guide me through the hectic process of university applications while drastically improving my writing.
-Attending Harvard (accepted to Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn)
Dr. Donna helped me to organize and consolidate my ideas into a clear, focused college essay. She gave me brainstorming techniques that allowed me to visualize what it was I wanted to say, and craft my thoughts into a beautiful, heartfelt piece of writing. Most importantly, Donna gave me the confidence to write freely, openly, and coherently about personal experiences.
I applied to some really competitive schools, for which all the applicants had high SAT scores, high GPAs, great activities and glowing recommendations, so I really needed an essay that made me stand out. Dr. Kirschner guided me through an amazing process of coming to a story that really captured my unique qualities. Then she took me through the paces to make sure that I told my story in the best way possible. While she worked me hard, she really took the stress out of the whole situation. Thank you, Dr. Kirschner!
Dr. Kirschner helped me immensely with writing my college essays! The part I found most useful was her ability to help me think through a concept and refine it into a focused and powerful essay. She was also great at helping me edit and shorten my essays. When I got my results back, several of the admissions counselors even commented that my essays made an impact on them!
The college essay process can be intimidating. The essay prompts are usually open ended and cover a broad range of topics. Dr. Kirschner helped me define my message and organize my ideas. She asked questions and expressed different viewpoints which helped me continuously review my words to make sure that they were accurately communicating my thoughts. I enjoyed working with Dr. Kirschner and appreciated her commitment to making the essay mine.
Dr. Donna helped me write my college admission essay by helping me plan out my entire writing process, and making sure that what I put into the essay was what portrayed my personality. She guided me into writing a well-written, concise essay that answered the question being asked. Donna definitely made the process a lot easier and my essay came out much better than it would have if I did it alone. I would definitely recommend this to anyone writing an important essay.
Before meeting with Dr. Kirschner, I had started about 12 different college essays, none of which I was satisfied with. Dr. Kirschner helped me to sort out my thoughts and ideas, and instructed me on how to present myself in the best light to colleges through telling a small story about myself. She assisted me in the editing process as well, helping me to polish my work and ascertain that it relayed the aspects of me that I wanted to share with colleges. Dr. Kirschner served as a great mentor who helped me to push myself to finish my essay in a timely fashion, while still writing my best work. Thank you so much Dr. Kirschner for helping me to write my long essay; I am so pleased with the final product!
By Donna Kirschner, PhD. “Don’t even stop the car. There’s no way I hell I’m applying here!” “Can’t we just…take a look?” “Mom, this town is a postage stamp in the middle of nowhere. I would wither and die in a place like this.” As my 17 year old daughter steered our minivan around the
When you write your first draft, you might feel nervous. After all, your ultimate audience is the admissions committee of your choice college. But if you remember that your first audience is much more benign -either yourself or your writing coach, you’ll have a much easier time. Better still, you can “write for the trash”
Once you’ve written a first draft “for the trash,” it’s time to sift through all that material and mine for the treasures that lie within; the good stuff that will form your admissions essay. But sifting through all of that material can really daunt an applicant as they write their essays. I wrote about this
By Donna Kirschner, PhD. “Don’t even stop the car. There’s no way I hell I’m applying here!” “Can’t we just…take a look?” “Mom, this town is a postage stamp in the middle of nowhere. I would wither and die in a place like this.” As my 17 year old daughter steered our minivan around the
When you write your first draft, you might feel nervous. After all, your ultimate audience is the admissions committee of your choice college. But if you remember that your first audience is much more benign -either yourself or your writing coach, you’ll have a much easier time. Better still, you can “write for the trash”
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