The families who find this easy are the ones who started in the spring.

Why juniors get the better deal

The essay work that produces a good essay is not the drafting. It's the part before, where a student figures out what they actually have to say. That part cannot be rushed, and it is the first thing that gets cut when the calendar tightens.

A junior who starts in the spring can do that work slowly. Sit with a few directions. Try one, decide it's wrong, try another, and lose nothing by it. They can also go live a bit more of the material over the summer, which is the only legitimate version of "doing something for the essay."

By the time senior fall arrives, they have a personal statement that's already been through rounds, and the whole autumn becomes about supplements instead of panic.

Families here come from Birmingham and Reseda on the public side, and from Crespi right in Encino, Buckley and Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks, Harvard-Westlake and Campbell Hall in Studio City, Milken up on Mulholland, and Viewpoint out in Calabasas. Own Your Essay is not affiliated with or endorsed by any school. I work directly with families.

The independent-school paradox

Students at the independent and parochial schools are the best positioned for this and the most at risk from it at the same time.

Best positioned, because the process is already familiar. They have a counselor, a timeline, a school that knows what a Common App deadline is, and parents who started thinking about this in ninth grade. The logistics take care of themselves.

Most at risk, because a student who has been advised for four years has been trained, correctly and with the best intentions, in a voice: lead with impact, name the lesson, stay measured. That voice is an asset in an interview and a liability in a personal statement. Starting junior year is how you get ahead of it. There's time to write badly, honestly, and in their own register before anyone is grading the result.

Seniors are welcome too, obviously

Most families find this page in October, not March. That's fine. Seniors get a compressed version: one focused session to find the material, then tight rounds of drafts and written notes. I'll be honest on the intro call about what's achievable in the time left, including if the answer is that the schedule is too tight to do it well.

Most ED and EA deadlines fall on Nov 1 or Nov 15, though each school sets its own, and UC deadlines land in the fall as well. Bring the dates to the call and I'll build the order of operations on the spot.

Transfer students

Encino sits near several community college commutes, and transfer applicants have a different writing problem than seniors do. A transfer essay has to explain a decision and a direction, not just tell a good story about a moment. I work with transfer applicants, including UC transfer, on exactly that.

Why a screenwriter is the right person for this

I've been a professional screenwriter for twenty years. I created TV projects that sold to ABC and YouTube Originals, with Kerry Washington producing, and to Warner Bros. TV, with John Wells producing. I wrote Sharon, the Osbourne biopic, named to the 2018 Black List, and the 2008 Fox feature The Rocker, and I wrote and directed This Is Happening. I studied History and Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude, and interviewed applicants for Penn as an alumni interviewer for over a decade.

Admissions essays fail the way scripts fail. Nothing happens. The writer explains the meaning rather than showing it. The details are so general that the reader can't picture anything. The voice belongs to nobody. A theme gets stapled on at the end. I've spent two decades getting paid to diagnose and fix exactly those five things.

How it runs

Free twenty-minute intro call, parents welcome. Then Zoom sessions of 45 to 60 minutes, with written notes on every draft. In-person sessions are available; I'm based in Calabasas, a short drive west.

Services

Single Essay Review, UC PIQ Package, Full Application Package, and a standalone brainstorming session. See full service details →