At its core, Irena Smith’s job as an independent college counselor means being a writing coach. With a PhD in comparative literature, the former Stanford admissions officer helps her teenage clients ...

I used to believe I taught the one genre that artificial intelligence couldn’t touch. For 15 years, I’ve guided college students through the deeply human work of personal narrative, helping them ...

“My Common App essay is one of the best things I’ve written,” Krishna says. “It is basically everything that I am in one piece of paper — a crash course to myself.” College essays loom large for high ...