Application Guidance Focused on Creating Less Fuss and More Celebration
Much Ado About College offers essay coaching, application reviews, and workshops with Amye Day Ong to help parents and students calm the college admissions jitters and focus on the parts of the application process that matter most.
Which Offering Is Best for You?
Essay Coaching
Best for students seeking 1-on-1 support through weekly virtual meetings. Best for parents who want to know their student has expert guidance from start to finish. Learn more about essay coaching.
Application Reviews
Best for students who want individual feedback on their entire application. Best for parents who want to know an expert set of eyes has read through their student’s application before they press “submit.” Learn more about application reviews.
Workshops
Best for students who know they need to start working on their application but aren’t sure where to start. Best for parents who want an affordable way to get expert advice on navigating the college essay writing process. See upcoming workshop dates.
My Approach to College Essays
Your personal essays play a key role in your college admissions application. They give colleges a valuable window into who you are as an individual. Used strategically and written thoughtfully, your personal statement and supplemental essays can make your application stand out from the crowd. Among a sea of similar-sounding applications, your essays can reflect who you are on a deeper level. This increases not only your odds of acceptance but also your likelihood of enrolling at a college that is an ideal fit for you.
But writing these essays can feel overwhelming amidst an already daunting application process. Fear not!
I’m here to be your steadfast guide in the writing process. I’ll challenge you to ask yourself tough questions, edit with discernment, and make uncommon connections. The result? Essays imbued with depth, clarity, and originality.
Along the way, I’ll teach you how to focus on the parts of your application that matter most and to ignore the “fuss” of social media advice that doesn’t have your best interest at heart.
About Amye Day Ong
I love getting to know my students and helping them leverage the power of writing in pursuit of their college ambitions. I hold an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia College Chicago and an MA in Religion from Yale University, where I was a Marquand Scholar and Yale President’s Public Service Fellow. Before attending Yale, I earned a BA in Spanish from Transylvania University in my home state of Kentucky.
Language has always fascinated me. I have had an active writing practice for decades, and my personal essay “Chest Percussions” for Image was selected as notable by Best American Essays 2018. After fourteen years working in higher education, including teaching undergraduate writing, I discovered college essay coaching perfectly combined my love of creative nonfiction writing, experience in academia, and desire to work one-on-one with students.
In 2023, I began working as a college essay specialist for College Essay Guy (CEG), the most trusted resource for college admissions support. I continue to coach through CEG as well as through my private coaching practice, Much Ado About College. My students have been accepted to American University, Boston College, Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Fordham, GWU, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Northwestern, NYU, Princeton, Purdue, Rutgers, School of the Art Institute, Stanford, Texas A&M, UC San Diego, UNC, UT Austin (incl. Plan II Honors), Vanderbilt, Villanova, Virginia Tech, and Yale. Just as important, my students have expressed deep pride in how their college essays capture both who they are and who they aspire to be.
Essay Coaching Packages
Get expert guidance through every step of the writing process (ideation, outlining, drafting, revising, & polishing), project management support to hit those application deadlines, and personalized 1-on-1 coaching sessions.
“I was so thankful for the detailed weekly feedback you provided, which kept us informed of our son’s progress. We had proof he was on track without stressful parent-to-child confrontations. Incredibly thankful for the peace. It’s odd to have been totally hands off during this entire process, other Senior parents do not believe me! I have you to thank for that. We appreciate your genuine care for our son and all your students. Your calm spirit, depth of knowledge, and thoughtful feedback have been invaluable during this whole process.”
Ann, Parent
Virtual coaching sessions typically take place weekly, but can occur more or less frequently as needed.
All students receiving essay coaching will learn how to identify and draft supplemental essay topics that can expand or contract to fit multiple schools’ applications. For this reason, most families select a 3- or 6-school package even if their student is applying to far more colleges. A key difference between these essay coaching packages and traditional essay editing services is that students will learn how to think strategically, create a well-rounded application, pull from their reservoir of supplemental essays, and adapt them to different schools.
3-School/Program Package
Includes:
- Common App Personal Statement
- Supplemental Essays for Each Selected School/Program* (approx. 5-10)
- Common App Activities & Honors List
- Common App Additional Info
- Common App Challenges & Circumstances Section
$3,495
6-School/Program Package
Includes:
- Common App Personal Statement
- Supplemental Essays for Each Selected School/Program* (approx. 8-12)
- Common App Activities & Honors List
- Common App Additional Info
- Common App Challenges & Circumstances Section
$4,785
10-School/Program Package
- Common App Personal Statement
- Supplemental Essays for Each Selected School/Program* (approx. 15-20)
- Common App Activities & Honors List
- Common App Additional Info
- Common App Challenges & Circumstances Section
$6,585
Additional Schools or Programs
- Add an Additional School/Program* to Your Existing Package
+$550
*The University of California (UC) application counts as 2 schools/programs due to the lengthy application and specialized approach it requires. Application to some universities’ specialized/honors programs requires additional supplemental essays beyond the standard undergraduate admissions application, resulting in that program counting as a separate school in the essay coaching package. As a general rule, if the honors/specialized program requires additional supplemental essays with a total of 400 or more words, it will count as a separate program/school.
Application Review Packages
Get expert feedback on your application before you press “submit.” Receive a comprehensive review of your Common App and Supplemental Essays within 4 business days.
Please note that Application Review Packages do not include virtual meetings or application project management support.
Application Reviews include in-document feedback and short-form video commentary detailing line edits, strategic recommendations, and upleveling opportunities for:
- Common App Personal Statement
- Common App Activities & Honors List
- Common App Additional Info
- Common App Challenges & Circumstances Section
- School/Program-specific Supplemental Essays*
1-School/Program Application Review
$497
2-School/Program Application Review
$747
3-School/Program Application Review
$997
Interested in an Application Review Package? Contact Amye here.
Workshops
College Admissions Crash Course: For Parents & Students (Free)
Are you the parent of a sophomore or junior and already feeling overwhelmed by the college admissions process before it’s even begun? Join me for a 60-minute online crash course where I’ll demystify the application process. You’ll get insider tools and learn what it takes to get accepted to college—from UT Austin to Harvard.
Read More — What you’ll learn in this course…
- How to set you and your student up for success
- Ways to determine a college’s fit for your student
- Tools to build a college list
- How to find out a school’s true cost
- What colleges look for
- College essay strategies that lead to acceptance
Date:
- Sunday, Mar. 1 at 2 pm (CST) – Register on Eventbrite
Spring into College Applications ($149)
A two-hour online workshop for juniors and their parents on how starting specific parts of your college essay writing in spring can make your college search more efficient, improve admissions outcomes, and calm the application jitters.
Read More — What you’ll learn how to do in this workshop…
- Research “Why Us” and “Why Major” Essays through Campus Visits and Virtual Info Sessions
- “Why Us?” and “Why Major?” essays–supplemental essays in which students tell the college why they want to attend and pursue a particular major–are often the last ones students write in the fall. But conducting research for these essays in the spring allows students to refine their college list and identify the deeper reasons they are applying to each school.
- “Why Us?” and “Why Major?” essays–supplemental essays in which students tell the college why they want to attend and pursue a particular major–are often the last ones students write in the fall. But conducting research for these essays in the spring allows students to refine their college list and identify the deeper reasons they are applying to each school.
- Draft Your Activities List & Determine Which Extracurriculars to Invest Your Time in During Summer and Fall
- The Activities List functions as a résumé for the college application. Drafting a list in the spring can help students identify which activities are cornerstone experiences. Using this information, students can better plan for their summer and fall. Students can step into bigger leadership roles, internships, or college-prep programs in those areas that align with their college major or core values and step back from activities that don’t bring them joy or support their long-term goals.
- The Activities List functions as a résumé for the college application. Drafting a list in the spring can help students identify which activities are cornerstone experiences. Using this information, students can better plan for their summer and fall. Students can step into bigger leadership roles, internships, or college-prep programs in those areas that align with their college major or core values and step back from activities that don’t bring them joy or support their long-term goals.
- Compile Your Honors List & Additional Info Sections to Identify Extras or Areas for Growth
- The Honors List spotlights the student’s top five honors. Knowing this top five now can help students understand how they have distinguished themselves thus far and whether their current list captures the breadth of their skills. The Additional Info section offers room for students to detail additional honors (beyond the top five), projects, publications, or activities (beyond the top ten in the Activities List). This flexible section can also be used to detail challenges that have impacted a student’s academic performance. Identifying past challenges can help a student plan for future success and demonstrate their growth to admissions committees.
- The Honors List spotlights the student’s top five honors. Knowing this top five now can help students understand how they have distinguished themselves thus far and whether their current list captures the breadth of their skills. The Additional Info section offers room for students to detail additional honors (beyond the top five), projects, publications, or activities (beyond the top ten in the Activities List). This flexible section can also be used to detail challenges that have impacted a student’s academic performance. Identifying past challenges can help a student plan for future success and demonstrate their growth to admissions committees.
- Brainstorm Personal Statement Topics & Investigate Your Passions
- Half of the work of writing a standout Personal Statement comes through reflection. Brainstorming exercises allow a student to identify the core values, roles, identities, and experiences that make them who they are. By beginning the work of reflection in the spring, students have time to be creative, experiment with different possibilities for their Personal Statement, and investigate their unique passions.
Dates:
- Saturday, Mar. 7 at 10 am (CST) – Register by completing the Interest Form below
- Sunday, Mar. 8 at 2 pm (CDT) – Register by completing the Interest Form below
After you register, you will receive an email with additional information and payment instructions. All workshops take place via Zoom. Both the parent and student email addresses provided will receive the Zoom link. Participants will also receive a recording of the workshop after it has taken place.
Interest Form
Complete the form below to contact Amye and receive more information on coaching packages, application reviews, or workshops.
Amye Day Ong 