A Welcome to TAAP from Eli, Nat, & Josie

It is redundant to say that college admissions are becoming increasingly stressful and daunting for students and families. The process changes constantly: acceptance rates drop, test scores can be optional, affirmative action ended, and legacy admissions is ending in multiple states. These days, competitive schools apply a ‘holistic’ approach when weighing applications and look beyond course rigor, grades, test scores, and extracurriculars. It’s becoming normal for students to apply to as many as 20 or even 30 schools – an increasingly unrealistic task that pressures students to hyper-fixate on selling their achievements to a mysterious admissions committee. As three Stanford alumni, we believe this distorts a student’s most powerful tool in their college application: their ability to articulate who they are in their creative, relational, and emotional core. 

Admissions officers, like any experienced writer, can immediately tell when writing is inauthentic, impersonal, and even misleading. As writers ourselves, we know that aiming for authenticity can be incredibly difficult and frustrating. There are many pitfalls in the creative process – fear of judgement, impatience, or a lack of self-compassion (just to name a few). To develop an authentic voice, writers must notice discomfort and continually strengthen muscles of curiosity and courage. In other words, writing compelling essays requires emotional work. Through a creative writing practice, not only does a student become more connected to what really matters to them, but when an admissions officer reads a daring, tender, or insightful essay, they resonate with a mature and unique candidate who is ready to contribute and make the most of their college experience.

The three of us started The Authentic Admissions Project to help our students stand out amongst a sea of qualified applicants and to support their growth so they can thrive on campus. In our program, we coach students to (1) develop their creative voice, (2) build transformative passion projects, and (3) apply confidently to the right schools. Unique to the high school mentorship landscape, we use a council model. By discussing and personalizing our feedback as a group, we ensure that each student receives generative advice and insight. In combining our unique strengths, we bring our experience as published writers, scholars, artists, and engineers to help students craft compelling essays and actualize impactful projects, including but not limited to entrepreneurship, community stewardship, art, and research publication. Finally, as educators, we provide structure and guidance for students to lean into the application process and express themselves seamlessly. By mentoring your student, we can confidently say that we don’t just help your student get into college—we help them discover who they are along the way.