To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

  • The Big Story
  • Newsletters
  • Steven Levy's Plaintext Column
  • WIRED Classics from the Archive
  • WIRED Insider
  • WIRED Consulting

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

The Write Stuff: 4 College Admissions Essay Editing Services Reviewed

Looking for good news about the college admissions process these days? You won't find much of it. Not only has the cost of attending college doubled on average since the 1980s, but also it's gotten considerably harder to get in. The majority of colleges in America have witnessed a plummeting acceptance rate as the number of student applications has exploded. Fifty years ago you had a 20 percent shot at getting into Harvard (all things equal, of course). Now the Crimson's acceptance rate is about 5 percent. In the last 10 years alone, the acceptance rate at many major universities has been cut in half . It's almost enough to make a kid consider trying out for the rowing team .

As if applicants didn't have enough to stress about, colleges have been making it more onerous to apply—requiring additional interviews, recommendations, and SAT Subject Tests. But the most burdensome of them all is an old standby: the application essay.

Essay requirements vary widely from school to school. The 150-plus members of the Coalition for College (which includes Harvard and Vanderbilt) requires a single 500-word essay selected from prompts such as "Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution." Those with eyes on the University of California system must write a whopping four essays, with prompts such as "Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced."

Students can reuse essays with other colleges if the prompts are similar enough—or if the schools happen to be members of the same application partnership—but you'd be surprised how seldom this occurs. My daughter found that out the hard way, when she learned that she'd have to write 12 separate essays to cover just five schools.

What's a kid to do who doesn't have parents who both work full-time as writers and editors? Just run their essay through Microsoft grammar check and hope for the best? Good luck. The acceptance rate at the University of Chicago has dropped 81 percent in the last 12 years. It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to know that if you don't put your best foot forward, you may as well not even bother.

All of this led me to the curious world of online editing services. While you can hire a consultant to help guide your child through this overwhelming maze, these consultants are expensive and much of their work involves managing the complex application process, figuring out which colleges are a good fit, and brainstorming essay topics. If you just need help whipping an already written essay into better shape, an online editor might be a better (and much cheaper) fit.

To be sure, some of these services are exorbitantly expensive. Services like EssayEdge and TopAdmit can run you close to $200 for editing a single essay of fewer than 400 words. I've seen prices as high as $379 after various upsells. Word for word, that's more than what my editor at WIRED makes. (Hi, Mike!)

The good news is there are plenty of more affordable options available. I tested four of them, all reasonably priced and seemingly legitimate. Most of these services charge based on a combination of the word count of the original essay and the turnaround time required. I used the same raw essay from my daughter as a test piece for each of the four services, and requested the slowest turnaround time each of them offered to minimize the cost. I submitted her 383-word raw essay at the same time to each of the services, on a Wednesday afternoon. I gave all the services minimal guidance with my submission, noting only (when prompted) that this was a college application essay. All four of the services allow you to upload a Microsoft Word document and receive a red-lined and comment-filled Word document in return.

Wildflower’s iPhone Cases Are Perfect for the Very Clumsy

When I received the revised essays, I reviewed them along with my wife (also a professional writer) and my daughter, the author. The reviews were done blind, without indicating the source of any of the edits, and we all rated each essay on a 1 to 10 scale. I also threw in a copy that I roughly edited. For the sake of comparison, the raw essay scored an average of 4.8, while my edit garnered a 6.9.

Here's what the various services cost, and how well they performed.

Note: When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about how this works.

Total price: $13.91, 48-hour turnaround promised. Edit received within 24 hours.

Scribendi offers seven different turnaround time tiers, but its 72-hour and one-week turnarounds were the same price as the 48-hour turnaround. A four-hour turnaround was quoted at $28.53. Scribendi returned both a changes-tracked version of the document and a "clean" version with all edits accepted. Scribendi's edit was not just the fastest, it was incredibly thorough—almost nitpicky—with 16 comments or prompts to the writer suggesting avenues for additional content or revisions that were beyond the scope of a simple edit. Oddly, the final edit didn't resonate with readers, who largely felt it was somewhat awkward and clunky in its overall flow. That said, the editor's notes and the service's overall speed were a big plusses.

Readers' rating: 5.0

Total price: $13.90, three-day turnaround promised. Edit received after two days.

Elite Editing has an Advanced Editing service for $40, but the $13.90 plan I chose offers only "basic editing," which doesn't include "suggested rewrites to eliminate awkward phrasing, repetition, passive voice, etc." and "taking into account your original assignment." Three days is the standard turnaround; one-day turnaround for the Basic Editing plan would have cost $19.90. The site crashed when I checked out, but my payment and submission both went through successfully. As promised, Elite's edit was indeed basic. Its editor made the fewest changes of any of the services and left only three comments, one of which was about whether the use of indentations and double-spacing was appropriate. While Elite's edits were correct, they weren't terribly deep—although that was enough to propel it to a second-place finish from the readers.

Readers' rating: 5.7

Total price: $15.32, five-day turnaround promised. Edit received after four days.

Wordvice has eight different pricing tiers, with rates as low as 4 cents per word for a seven-day turnaround, though that tier was limited to materials longer than 3,000 words. The five-day turnaround tier was only marginally more expensive. When I received Wordvice's edited document, I was offered an upsell for a "second look" (basically another edit) for 30 percent off. Wordvice's embedded commentary was nearly as thorough as Scribendi's, though Wordvice was less obsessive over grammar and more focused on overall clarity. Turns out that was the right move: Wordvice's edit was the overall favorite of the quartet, and the finished draft reads cleanly and clearly.

Readers' rating: 6.3

Total price: $31.33, seven-day turnaround promised. Edit received after four days.

Scribbr initially quoted a price of $25.36, but I shelled out an extra $6 for both the "structure check" and "clarity check" options, despite not really understanding what those were. Prices include a 2 percent surcharge for using a credit card. For those in a hurry, 24-hour turnaround doubles the price. Scribbr seems more focused on editing academic coursework essays than admissions essays, with a relatively formal structure applied to its edits (removing contractions completely, for example). Editor's commentary was sparse, though on target. This draft was the most divisive of the services, earning high marks from my wife but very low marks from my daughter, who thought it stripped the writing of her voice.

Readers' rating: 5.3

Any good college essay has to end with a conclusion, so here are a few takeaways. First, all of the services sent back essays that were, on average, felt to be an improvement over the original draft, with all of them catching numerous spelling and grammatical errors—so students with no professional editing help may do well to consider them, especially given how affordable these services are. That said, also remember that when you engage with an editing service, you're really engaging with a single (anonymous) editor who you won't ever meet or be able to interact with. That editor won't have any level of understanding of the writer's personality beyond what's on the page, and quality will necessarily vary from one editor to another, even within a given editing service.

Further still, remember that editing quality is always going to be subjective, just like any piece of writing. Except for this story, of course. It's amazing.

  • Inside Pioneer: May the best Silicon Valley hustler win
  • Why lightning strikes twice as much over shipping lanes
  • On TikTok, there is no time
  • How cities reshape the evolutionary path of urban wildlife
  • Forget Mensa! All hail the low IQ
  • 👁 Prepare for the deepfake era of video ; plus, check out the latest news on AI
  • 📱 Torn between the latest phones? Never fear—check out our iPhone buying guide and favorite Android phones

college essay editing service reddit

CollegeBasics

8 Best Essay Writing Services According to Reddit and Quora

college essay editing service reddit

Today, legitimate essay paper writing is a regular part of every student’s college education. In fact, the college experience often comes with students being overwhelmed by the number of assignments that can be assigned at any given time.

The average US college student spends around 14-16 hours per week studying, doing homework, working on assignments, and writing essays and research papers. When you look at the hours spent, it often leads to a traumatic and overwhelming work/life balance.

Considering these facts, it becomes evident that written assignments can grow to be pretty stressful. This is why so many students opt for essay writing services online.

Whether you’re struggling with a tight deadline or you just need to make sure your essay is written with professional help, university essay writing services can be very valuable. Over the years, they have actually become very popular.

The best essay writing and editing services are available to any student, and they are not just specific to literature and arts majors. Finding a reliable college essay writing service is also helpful for common homework or assignments.

According to a review and analysis of Reddit essay writing companies, it turned out that some of them manipulate the voting system and use Reddit as a way to promote their sites. These companies create multiple accounts and use them to upvote and comment on their own posts.

Of course, the tough part is to wade through the spam and find authentic responses.

On the brighter side, we have done the hard work for you and narrowed down the best paper writing services among students. Writing an essay may be a real problem if you’re pressed for time, and trying to find a trustworthy essay site is not any easier. Students who juggle work and school will understand.

If you are trying to impress your professor, you can find your essay writer on one of these well-known educational sites.

Need the Best Essay Writers? Look No Further!

When looking for the top essay writing services, we went over multiple sites and did face some fraud and poor customer service.

But this is exactly why we decided to embark on this journey in the first place – to make sure you don’t have to struggle when looking for the best essay writer for you.

To find the best college essay writing service we ordered a paper from every platform that we reviewed and we made all the orders absolutely the same to then see the differences in execution. This has given us a lot to think about, though.

There were multiple sites that tried to make the most money by providing a service of poor quality. Although it is understandable that these online companies are hard to trace, hence, they can do whatever they want.

But if you really want to make a name for yourself and earn a lot, why not work with integrity and provide good quality service?

So, we took our time, did some research, and looked for truly the best writing services on the internet. The ones that do their job well, really look into your instructions, care to ask questions if anything is unclear, and submit papers in time.

What’s even more important, though, is that we checked all the final papers for plagiarism and only those with minimal percentages have made it to this list. This is how you know you can trust the following services.

1. Coursework Writing Service

In the matter of finding essay services for students, the trick to find a site that can offer you original work for affordable prices.

In that regard and more, Coursework Writing Service has managed to tick off the right boxes according to popular opinion. Their prices start at $10 for a unique and non-plagiarized paper that will meet any challenging requirements of your curriculum.

Apart from essays, students can also use their services for research papers, theses, reviews, and reviews.

Besides, it is also possible to hire someone to edit and proofread your article as well. The best part is that you do not have to pay anything extra for any revisions.

2. EssayService

EssayService has made its way into almost every essay service list recommended by students on Quora.

The platform works with professional freelance writers who have established their expertise in their respective writing domains.

Even before preparing for the SAT and ACT tests, you can find writers who graduated from top universities in the US, and the US, who is familiar with the academic expectations of your lecturer.

Regardless of whether you are pursuing your Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree, if you need to write or rewrite an essay you will find a writer who can offer you insight and provide a commendable assignment to ace your exam. These guys really have your convenience as their top priority.

3. EssayPro

As one of the longstanding custom writing services online, EssayPro has built a wealth of positive reviews from users.

This essay writing service will help you tackle any complex topic of your course with the help of an expert essay writer in the field.

An undergraduate can get some quick help to meet the course requirements of the next lecture – and a Master’s student can find a researcher to help with their final research semester.

In addition, you also get to choose your writer based on customer reviews and their educational background. As you can correspond with your writer, it is also easy to discuss your assignment as it progresses.

Overall, EssayPro’s fame seems to be fairly justified based on what they have to offer.

4. Write Paper

WritePaper.com approaches each essay from a unique standpoint, ensuring that every assignment they receive and each written research paper is tailor-made to the student and their specific requirements.

The system is efficient, allowing you to process your order fast and any guidelines you have for writers. In fact, you can even avail of their services to receive your paper as quickly as 6 hours.

Write Paper also guarantees 100% anonymity for your order, as well as your personal information.

Students can benefit from their insight on any semester assignment, coursework, or help with research to help them prepare to pass an exam.

college essay editing service reddit

Free essay writing tools seem to be another favorite among Reddit and Quora users among reliable essay writing services.

Studyfy is a one-stop shop for students. The platform provides a lot of useful content for students of different levels: from literature study guides, writing guides, helpful tools, essay samples, to money blog – with useful tips, general information about ACT and SAT standardized tests, professional student help services. It’s a perfect place to address in case you are totally confused with your home assignment and have questions. They can do it all: proofreading, editing, homework help, tutoring, and a lot more. The website is growing quickly and adds more and more useful information.

While placing an order, you have the ability to specify your academic level, from high school to Ph.D. This way, you will get a paper that will match the requirements to your education level in terms of vocabulary and the depth of research. There are also writers who specialize in theses and dissertation writing.

In case the final result doesn’t match your expectations, Studyfy also offers three revisions. Send your comments back to the writer to make sure the end result is just right.

Every paper provided by Studyfy also comes with the guarantee of originality , it is said to pass any plagiarism detector, like Turnitin and SafeAssign.

6. Paper Writer

Another one of the leading providers of academic essay writing services is Paper Writer .

You can order a paper with a deadline from 3 hours to a fortnight, so you can leave ample time for the writers in case it is a detailed project or thesis.

All writers have proven academic backgrounds and relevant experience in writing as well.

The site also gives you free formatting, including the title page, bibliography, and a citing style while using their services.

And for those who are on tighter budgets , you can even find installment payment options on the site, which is indeed a convenient tool for students.

7. DoMyEssay

Reddit reviews seem highly supportive of DoMyEssay. Some commentator said: ‘This is one of the best places to do my assignment .’ There are multiple customer reports of receiving satisfactory papers from the service at reasonable prices.

DoMyEssay offers you custom-written papers, created from scratch based on each customer’s individual guidelines. This allows you to customize your essay based on the outlines provided by your lecturer.

With over a decade of experience in the educational industry, Essay Reviews has built quite a reputation and a team of outstanding writers. Customers can also avail of unlimited revisions, or their editing services if you already have your draft completed.

8. EssayHub

With a strict selection policy, EssayHub has hired brilliant writers with expertise in almost every academic niche. When it comes to “ write my essay for money ” services, this one is in the top-10.

If you are struggling to comply with your deadlines or seem to need some help with a complex topic, EssayHub can easily connect you to a professional writer in the relevant field.

You can also attach any notes, textbook copies, or your research data while placing an order. This will help the writer to personalize the paper to your writing style.

One good thing about EssayHub is that the payment is taken only after the job is completed. This ensures that you get a chance to check the completed work and release the funds only when you are fully satisfied.

Essay Writing Service Reviews Based On Experience

Here at Essay-Reviews , we take our job of finding the best paper writing services seriously. And we want to hold those who don’t accountable.

While looking through all the writing services to review we really wanted to do a good job and to make sure you only end up with a list of the most reliable and helpful services.

This is why we took our time and spent several weeks just on research alone.

Apart from reading up on the websites presented here, we placed orders with each of them. The instructions and requirements were the same for each order to have a clear and unbiased trial.

In addition, we searched the internet for essay writing service reviews to see what other people think about the services that we’ve chosen as the best ones.

Since we place integrity at the top of our priority list, we wanted to review every aspect of the service to ensure that the best ones are the best all-around.

Although having a cheap essay writing service on standby is important, you also need to get your papers in time and have them be original. This is why it’s so vital to analyze every single side of the service and not just papers’ quality.

We wanted to make sure that if we recommend a site to you, we are certain that the essays provided by it are original, are submitted in time, and follow all your instructions.

And since the writers are the backbone of every academic help website, we took our time to talk to each one of them, making sure they are trained on proper customer service.

Talking to a writer before getting your essay is also a good way to see if they are a native English speaker and if they are familiar with your topic.

You may also like

helpful-college-hints-tips

Seven Ways to Make your College Essay Stand Out

Australian and American flag blended together

8 Differences Between Aussie and American Schools

college essay editing service reddit

Top 5 Most Difficult IB (International Baccalaureate) Subjects

college-application-tips

Benefits of Campus Living: Do Students Living on Campus do...

hand of accounting student touching tablet

8 Reasons Why You Should Study Accounting Degrees

5 unique tips to writing a brilliant motivational essay

6 Unique Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay

About the author.

college essay editing service reddit

CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.

  • Affiliate Program

Wordvice

  • UNITED STATES
  • 台灣 (TAIWAN)
  • TÜRKIYE (TURKEY)

Academic Editing Services

  • - Research Paper
  • - Journal Manuscript
  • - Dissertation
  • - College & University Assignments

Admissions Editing Services

  • - Application Essay
  • - Personal Statement
  • - Recommendation Letter
  • - Cover Letter
  • - CV/Resume

Business Editing Services

  • - Business Documents
  • - Report & Brochure
  • - Website & Blog
  • Writer Editing Services
  • - Script & Screenplay
  • Our Editors
  • Client Reviews
  • Academic Editing Pricing
  • Admissions Editing Pricing
  • University Assignments Editing Pricing
  • Partner Discount
  • Editing & Proofreading Prices
  • Wordvice Points
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • APA Citation Generator
  • MLA Citation Generator
  • Chicago Citation Generator
  • Vancouver Citation Generator
  • - APA Style
  • - MLA Style
  • - Chicago Style
  • - Vancouver Style
  • Writing & Editing Guide
  • Academic Resources
  • Admissions Resources

Editing & Proofreading Services

Our team of revision experts improve your work with academic editing, admissions editing, business editing, and editing services for writers. Let us help enhance your writing today.

Get a quote now

college essay editing service reddit

Wordvice Editing & Proofreading Services

Our expert editors correct mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling and improve the vocabulary, readability, and expression of your writing. Choose the editing service that works best for the needs of your document.

Academic subject experts correct vocabulary and enhance the flow and impact of your writing so you can submit your research paper with confidence.

$0.044 per word

Experienced admissions editors proofread your application essay and polish your writing, highlighting your strengths to get you into your school of choice.

$0.023 per word

Qualified editors enhance reports, brochures, and other documents to help businesses and professionals produce high-quality writing that will get results.

Editing Services for Writers

Our personal-writing editors improve the flow and expression of your poem, book, blog, or personal essay to make it shine for your target readers.

$0.040 per word

Total Number of Clients

Average Satisfaction Rating

Total Edited Words

Announcements

  • English Thesis and Journal Submission Guide

How Our Proofreaders & Editors Improve Your Writing

Proofreading & Editing Services

Our editors proofread your work to eliminate errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, and punctuation. 100% quality guaranteed.

college essay editing service reddit

We revise awkward vocabulary and phrasing to strengthen your language and make it more compelling to target readers.

college essay editing service reddit

Our editors leave comments about your document to explain their revisions and suggest ways you can improve your writing.

Wordvice Editing & Proofreading Service Stats

Why Choose Wordvice? 100% Satisfaction. Guaranteed.

Wordvice offers high-quality editing and proofreading services . Our experienced editors carefully revise your document, eliminating errors and improving language, style, and organization.

Total Words Edited

Documents Revised

Institutions Supported

Students Served

Researchers Served

Client Reorder Rate

Wordvice Editing & Proofreading Service Editors

Who Are Our Professional Editors?

Wordvice works with the most qualified editors with years of language editing and proofreading experience. We have over 500 professional editors with PhDs and advanced degrees and subject expertise in nearly 2,000 academic fields, and our order management system will match you to the best fit considering your field and the document you submit.

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Biological Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Anatomy, Anthropology, Applied Economics, Applied Mathematics, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Cell Biology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Energy Engineering University of Kentucky

Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley

Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Oncology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Energy Engineering KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Engineering, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Social sciences University of Chicago

Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Philosophy KU Leuven

Continental Philosophy, Business Economics, Computer Science & Mathematics, Engineering & Technology, Social sciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Music University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Performing Arts, Music, Art & Humanities, Religion, Theology and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Theology Franciscan University of Steubenville

Theology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Art & Humanities, Social Sciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , JD (Juris Doctorate) University of Michigan Law School

History, American History, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Higher Education Messiah College

Language & Literature, English Studies, Grammar, Composition Studies, Rhetoric, Semantics, Syntax, Usage, Word Usage, Business & Economcics, Social Studies, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , History The Ohio State University

Art and humanities, Social sciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Sociology Brandeis University

Sociology, Medical Sociology, Public Health, Diability Studies, Assisive Technology, Art&Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Medicine,and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Communication University of Michigan

Sociology, Social Research,Communication, Media, Marketing, Media Studies, Television and Film Studies, Radio Studies, Indigenous Studies, Analytical Sociology, Applied Sociology, Social Policy, Media Policy, Community-Based Research, Action Research, Public Health, Humanities, Digital Humanities, Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Women's Studies, Gender Studies, Survey Research, Social Experiments, Science and Technology Studies, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Gender, Feminist, and Women's Studies York University

Gender & Sexuality Studies, History, Languages & Literature, Performing Arts, VIsual Arts, Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Political Science Yale University

Education, Public Administration, Art & Humanities, Social Sciences, Business & Economics, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Communication Wake Forest University

Sociology, Conflict Theory, Communication, Psychology, Leadership, Business, Economics, Finance, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Law George Washington University Law School

Business & Economics, Business Management, Marketing, Biosciences, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Bioscience Durham University

Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Endocrinology, Genetics, Human Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Physiology, Virology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Cell Biology Claude Bernard

Cell Biology, Cancer Biology, Translational Research, Biochemistry, Genetic, Epigenetic, Physiology

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Medicine Nair Hospital Dental College

Denistry, Periodontics, Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental Hygiene and Epidemiology, Dental Surgery, Endodontics, Implantology, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Material Science The Open University

Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Planetary Science, Corrosion and protection, Biosciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Aerospace Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Computational Sciences, Industrial Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Ph.D , Engineering University of Cambridge

Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science & Engineering, Physical Sciences, and more

college essay editing service reddit

Master's , Computer Science Georgia Institute of Technology

Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Bioinformatics, and more

How Our Editing & Proofreading Service Works

Simply choose your service and upload your document. We carefully select the best editor for the job based on your field and the nature of the document; they receive the document and your details/instructions immediately and get to work. Upload your document day or night, 365 days a year, with delivery as fast as 9 hours.

college essay editing service reddit

Get an Instant Price Quote

Select the document type and enter your word count to get a quote.

college essay editing service reddit

Upload Your Paper

Tell us about your document, including the subject area and purpose of your paper, so we can match your work to the most appropriate editor. Upload your document and pay for your order.

college essay editing service reddit

Receive Your Revised Document

Download your edited document, guaranteed within the requested delivery time.

college essay editing service reddit

Published Works

college essay editing service reddit

Successful Admissions

college essay editing service reddit

Get your instant quote!

*Apply ACADEMIC50US for a 50% discount (up to $50).

Sign in to Wordvice

Remember Me

login

logo

  • SAT BootCamp
  • SAT MasterClass
  • SAT Private Tutoring
  • SAT Proctored Practice Test
  • ACT Private Tutoring
  • Academic Subjects
  • College Essay Workshop
  • Academic Writing Workshop
  • AP English FRQ BootCamp
  • 1:1 College Essay Help
  • Online Instruction
  • Free Resources

14 Best College Essay Services for 2024 (40 Services Reviewed)

Research conducted by Emily Kierkegaard , PhD, and expert-reviewed by Kevin Wong, PrepMaven Co-founder

Not sure which college application essay coaching and editing service is the best? We compared the top 40 services, created in-depth reviews for 14 of them, and narrowed it down to the 4 best that will help guide you through the process of writing amazing college application essays.

What is the Best College Essay Service?

  • PrepMaven  – best college application essay service overall
  • College Essay Mentor  – best for individual consultants
  • The College Essay Guy  – best for unlimited essay assistance
  • College Vine  – best of the big platforms

The best of the rest:

Individual essay consultants:

  • College Essay Editor  – small editing team
  • Allison Karpf  – former English teacher helping students
  • Your College Vision  – former journalist with more affordable rates
  • The College Guru  – good on paper but unresponsive
  • Sofia Zapiola – budget-friendly application assistance

Mid-size teams:

  • Lotus Learning  – focus on health sciences

Large platforms:

  • Study Point  – larger platform with mystery editors
  • Ivy Select  – larger platform with mystery editors
  • Empowerly  – larger platform with mystery editors
  • BeMo  – expensive and aggressive with wrong expertise

starting to write college essay

Schedule a college essay consultation

Best College Application Essay Services in 2024

#1 – prepmaven.

Our Verdict — Best College Essay Assistance Overall Price: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package) PrepMaven’s one-on-one college essay assistance is the best option overall. Founded by brothers and Princeton grads Greg and Kevin, almost all of PrepMaven’s essay coaches have Ivy-League experience, primarily from Princeton and Harvard. All essay coaches also undergo a thorough training program in PrepMaven’s methods, developed by professional writers with deep understanding of the college admissions process, for helping students to discover the most compelling stories for their essays. Unlike other services, PrepMaven offers college essay assistance at several different price points. At the most accessible rate, students can work with current Ivy-League undergraduates who specialize in writing and have recently aced the college application process. At higher rates, students can work with coaches who are both Ivy-League grads and professional writers (screenwriters, journalists, editors) with many years of experience helping students to craft compelling essays. Interested students can even work directly with founders Greg and Kevin, who have over 15 years of experience helping students through the entire essay-writing process. PrepMaven’s services combine many of the best features of other good options into one, and it’s hard to beat their experience.

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help now

Any student wanting college essay help, at any point in the process, with a range of budgets.

At a glance:

  • Cost: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package)
  • Writing coach qualifications: Princeton graduates and professional writers (or current Princeton students); all trained

What we like:

  • Ivy League experience —most of their writing coaches are Princeton grads or current students, with some from Harvard and other Ivies
  • Different pricing options to meet different families’ circumstances
  • More flexible and greater capacity to take on new students compared to individual consultants

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help

Princeton University

#2 – College Essay Mentor

Our Verdict — Best of the Individual Consultants Price: unknown but high Some college essay consulting services consist of just one expert. Of these individual essay consultants, Chris Hunt at College Essay Mentor is our favorite. He combines writing experience as a journalist for the Economist and the Wall Street Journal with personal experience as a graduate of Dartmouth. However, he only works with a small number of students each year, and students need to apply to work with him — he only accepts students with top grades and test scores who are already strong applicants for top schools. Chris offers the option for one-time written feedback, but this only gives big-picture generalizations. (And written-only feedback is always limited.) In order for help with the essay process, students need to purchase a complete essay package.

Students with top grades and test scores who want to work with a one-person business, who have a sizable budget, and who are ready to get started early.

  • Cost: $210 for a one-time written essay feedback (big picture only), then $110 per draft feedback; pricing for essay process packages unknown
  • Essay coach qualifications: professional journalist, Dartmouth grad
  • Professional writing experience as a journalist
  • Extensive experience working with college applicants
  • Partners with Debra Felix, former Director of Admissions at Columbia, for full application review

What we don’t like:

  • One-on-one work is limited to very high-achieving students, who need to apply with a resume : “I limit my one-on-one work to students who I believe will be strong applicants to elite universities. As a rule, this means having high grades in challenging classes, a test score of ACT 34+ or SAT 1500+, and substantial activities outside of the classroom.”
  • Works with a limited number of students (60 per year), so often no availability
  • All-or-nothing packages don’t allow students to work with Chris for just a few hours or for part of the essay-writing process
  • Secretive about pricing (he’ll only give pricing details once he’s reviewed the student’s resume and agreed to work with them), but we expect the minimum cost of working one-on-one to be several thousand dollars

#3 – The College Essay Guy

Our Verdict — Best for Unlimited Essay Assistance Price: $4900 for application to 3 schools, $8050 for application for 10 schools We’re fans of Ethan Sawyer, the original “college essay guy”— his book, College Essay Essentials , is a great guide to the essay-writing process. Ethan doesn’t work directly with many students these days, but he now has a team of consultants who help students follow his principles. Their assistance is really all-or-nothing — they prefer to work with students from the very beginning of the process, and their minimum package is $4900, which includes assistance with essays for three schools. If students are applying to ten schools (a more realistic number for students aiming at competitive colleges), the fee is a hefty $7400.

Students who want unlimited help through the entire process, who have a sizable budget.

  • Cost: $4900 (supplemental essays for 3 schools) – $7400 (supplemental essays for 10 schools)
  • Essay coach qualifications: mix of Ivy grads and former teachers, some writers/screenwriters; all trained
  • Great free resources about the essay-writing process
  • Their Matchlighters Scholars Program gives back to the community by providing admissions consulting for select qualifying students
  • All-or-nothing packages have a high minimum fee and don’t work for students who want just a few hours of feedback or help with just part of the process

#4 – College Vine

Our Verdict — Best of the Big Platforms Price: $140–180/hour There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Of these big platforms, we think CollegeVine has the best offerings. Compared to other large companies, CollegeVine provides more information about their tutors, and students can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster. However, this model is really just a way of finding individual tutors to hire. Tutors don’t receive any training and don’t share a common approach, so it’s a mixed bag. Their rates are fairly high for part-time tutors who don’t have specific expertise and training in college essay consulting. Because CollegeVine is really just a marketplace where individual tutors can find students, the quality and price will vary widely.

Students who want to work with a big company, or those who want a quick session or two to go over their essays.

  • Cost: Typically $140–180/hour
  • Essay coach qualifications: no specific qualifications, but a few are Ivy League graduates
  • Possible to select individual editors to work with from their roster.
  • Easy to schedule ad-hoc sessions with a tutor through the website.
  • No training or common approach for tutors
  • Editors are part-time , with no option to work with full-time college admissions experts
  • Relatively expensive for this level of expertise

College Essay Editing Alternatives (that Didn’t Make the Cut)

Individual essay consultants, #5 – college essay editor.

Our Verdict — Small Editing Team Price: Roughly $5,950 for applications to 10 schools College Essay Editor comprises two graduates of Stanford. This means that they have personal experience applying to highly competitive schools. One member of the team also has a college counseling certification, which is a good background for college essays. Based on their website, they appear to focus on the editing and proofreading phase of the essay-writing process. This can be helpful to students, but we recommend working with a service who can help students to uncover their values and brainstorm really great material that allows them to really shine—and if this doesn’t happen at the beginning of the process, it’s much harder to add in later on.

  • Cost: $195/1000 words for proofreading, $495/1000 words for 3 rounds of editing and proofreading, or $595/1000 words for unlimited rounds of editing and proofreading; for the purposes of comparison, complete applications to 10 competitive colleges would be around 9,650 words, or $5950.
  • Writing coach qualifications: Stanford graduates, one of whom has college counseling certification
  • Editors are graduates of Stanford University , and one is a member of NACAC, the national association of college counselors
  • They focus on editing and proofreading only , not on the crucial earlier steps of brainstorming and strategy
  • Small team with very limited availability
  • All asynchronous editing so you won’t be able to cultivate a real relationship with your essay coach.

#6 – Allison Karpf

Our Verdict — Former English Teacher Helping Students Price: $385/hour or $3850 package for application to one school Another option for students looking to hire an individual consultant is Allison Karpf. Allison is a former high school English teacher and a graduate of UC Berkeley who also holds a Masters of Education from Stanford. Her rates are definitely on the higher side, especially for someone who doesn’t have a professional writing background, but she does have extensive experience working with students to craft their essays.

  • Cost:  $385/hour or $3850 unlimited counseling (includes supplemental essays for one college)
  • Essay coach qualifications: former high school English teacher; Berkeley grad, Stanford MEd
  • Lots of experience helping students improve their college essays
  • Very quick to respond to client requests
  • No professional writing experience or Ivy-Plus undergraduate experience
  • High rates relative to other options
  • Limited availability , since she works alone

#7 – Your College Vision

Our Verdict: Former Journalist with More Affordable Rates Price: $180/hour, or packages starting from $3500 Laurie Lande is another individual consultant who helps students through the essay-writing process. She comes recommended by other consultants like Chris from College Essay Mentor . Laurie did not herself attend a highly competitive school, so she doesn’t have that personal experience of going through the selective admissions process, but she does have a professional writing background as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.

  • Cost: $180/hour or packages starting at $3500
  • Essay coach qualifications: journalism background
  • Affordable pricing , relative to other options
  • Not a graduate of a highly selective school

#8 – The College Guru

Our Verdict — Good on Paper but Unresponsive Price: unknown Yet another individual essay consultant is Geanine Thompson from The College Guru. Geanine attended Dartmouth as an undergraduate and also holds an MBA from Duke. She also has a professional writing background as an assistant book editor at Berkley Publishing Group. Like Greg and Kevin at PrepMaven , she combines experience in the business world and at Wall Street firms with experience in education.

  • Cost: unknown
  • Essay coach qualifications: former assistant book editor; Dartmouth grad, Duke MBA
  • Dartmouth graduate and former book editor
  • Not responsive to emails and client requests

#9 – Sofia Zapiola

Our Verdict — A budget-friendly, personal essay editor. Price: $80/hour Yet another individual essay consultant is Sofia Zapiola, who offers a mix of essay editing and college application counseling services.

  • Cost: $80/hour
  • Essay coach qualifications: M.A. from Harvard; certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego.
  • Individual approach, budget-friendly rates, commitment to working within families’ budgets.
  • Very few testimonials, so it’s difficult to evaluate how effective she is.

student writing college essay on laptop

Mid-size Teams

#10 – lotus learning.

Our Verdict — Expensive for Tutor Background Price: $165/hour Founded by a Harvard grad who is a former teacher and veteran of the publishing industry, Lotus learning offers college essay help in the Boston area. They have a small team of tutors, mostly recent grads from good but not Ivy-Plus colleges, and mostly with focus in health sciences.

  • Cost: $165/hour (minimum 8 hours)
  • Essay coach qualifications: tutors are recent grads, but not Ivy-Plus schools
  • Reasonable pricing with flexible packages
  • Essay editors aren’t graduates of Ivy-Plus schools and don’t have professional writing experience

Large platforms

#11 – study point.

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: Rates Between $60 and $120/hr Study Point is a larger essay editing service. They claim to have several decades of experience helping students to craft their college essays, but they do not give information about who their essay coaches are and what qualifications they might have.

  • Cost: $60-120/hr, depending on tutor experience
  • Essay coach qualifications: unknown
  • Larger company with several decades of experience
  • Unclear who the essay coaches are
  • Lack of statistics about their results

#12 – Ivy Select

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: unknown Ivy Select makes a lot of big promises on their website about having the best college essay consultants in the business, but they offer no information on who these consultants are, or on their backgrounds. They also brag that each consultant “only” works 20 students in one application cycle, but in our experience, that’s quite high.

  • Long list of impressive (but anonymous) testimonials
  • Only work with “top students”
  • No information on their website about who the editors are
  • Each essay coach works with up to 20 students at one time

#13 – Empowerly

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: High, from $6000/year Empowerly has over 60 college counselors who each work with an average of 5 students per year, in order to have more time to devote to each student. Their counselors come from “different educational backgrounds,” and while they do not provide specific biographical details we can assume that most of their essay coaches did not attend highly selective schools.

  • Cost: typically from $6000/year
  • Essay coach qualifications: college counselors
  • Counselors work with just a few students per year
  • You have to upgrade to “Empowerly Elite” to guarantee a counselor with a more selective educational background
  • No professional writing experience

#14 – Prepory

Our Verdict — Expensive but with Good Expertise Price: $325/hr Prepory is a college application and career counseling service that offers a comprehensive program for college applications at any stage of the process (including as early as 9th grade). They make a lot of impressive claims about the expertise of their coaches, but it’s quite difficult to actual find much information about their essay coach qualifications.

  • Cost: $325/hr
  • They have a comprehensive college application program that begins as early as 9th grade.
  • Limited information about essay coaches
  • High prices

Top 40 College Essay Services Considered

  • College Essay Editor
  • The College Essay Guy
  • College Vine
  • College Essay Mentor
  • Study Point
  • Allison Karpf
  • The College Guru
  • Lotus Learning
  • Summit Prep
  • Sofia Zapiola
  • Ivy Global / New Summits
  • College Essay Solutions
  • Your College Vision
  • Essay Edge*
  • ServicEscape*
  • PapersForge*
  • QuickWriter*
  • JustEditMyEssay*
  • JustDoMyEsssay*
  • ExpertWriting*
  • SpeedyPaper*
  • GradeMiners*

* A number of services will edit essays directly for students, or even write portions of the essay for students. We do not condone this. Admissions officers can tell when essays have been written or edited by adults and this can have severe consequences. We have excluded these services from our reviews.

student writing college essay

Why are college application essays important?

Can a great college essay alone get you into Harvard?

No. You’ll need your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities (as well as letters of recommendation and interview) to be outstanding.

But can a mediocre essay be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard?

Yes. There are thousands of amazingly-qualified students who graduate from high school each year. Great grades and test scores might be a prerequisite for admission to a competitive college, but they alone aren’t enough.

Harvard University

College essays are a key component of a student’s application . When done well, they transform a collection of numbers—GPA, class rank, SAT or ACT scores , number of AP classes taken, AP scores—into a glimpse of a real, individual person.

Essays do many things. Good college essays can highlight extracurricular achievements which otherwise would be overlooked in a sterile list. Strong essays often indicate the student’s future plans —how they plan to leave a mark on their college campus and on the world. They can shine a light on unique challenges that a student may have had to face on their journey.

College admissions officers only have a few minutes to spend on each application. College essays need to be original, interesting, and memorable . They need to grab the attention of the admissions officer and persuade them that this is the student out of hundreds or thousands of other similarly-qualified applicants who should be admitted.

College admissions essays are usually unlike any other kind of writing that students have done before. They’re a combination of memoir and marketing pitch, and they need to be creative but also highly strategic. That’s a tough assignment!

What’s more, students are left to figure this assignment out on their own. A thoughtful and generous high school English teacher may provide guidance or offer to read essays and give feedback, but these teachers are responsible for many students, and they’re (usually) not experts in admissions strategies.

There’s another reason college essays are especially important from 2024 on. After the recent Supreme Court decision, the application essay has become one of the main ways that you can communicate how your racial identity has affected your life.

In fact, the New York Times published an article about how important it can be for students to discuss race in their college application essays!

Princeton University

Why work with a college essay service?

You may want to consider a college essay service if:

  • You have no idea where to start in order to write your college application essays
  • You feel overwhelmed by all of the different ideas you have and don’t know what would be the most strategic for college admissions—and what topics to definitely avoid for college essays
  • You don’t know how to craft a compelling stor y
  • You’re not sure how to edit and refine what you’ve written
  • You have a hard time keeping yourself on track and want an external structure to hold you accountable
  • You’re tired of conflict between students and parents about college essays
  • You’re aiming at a competitive college (not just the Ivy League!) and know that you need your essays to be outstanding
  • Your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars aren’t exceptional, so you need your essay to make your essay stand out from the pack
  • You’re unfamiliar with the US college admissions process (a common situation for international students and first-generation families in the US)

Any of these are strong reasons to consider working with a college essay service!

It’s also worth remembering that a lot of the free advice on college’s website isn’t always very clear. For example, NYU’s admissions Senior Assistant Director of Admissions says that “There is no right or wrong way to answer as long as your answer is genuine to you.”

While that’s true, that doesn’t offer much guidance on how to actually write the essay!

Though many college applicants might not mention it, more and more students are using professional college application consultants. Research at the University of Chicago has shown that over a quarter of high-achieving seniors employed private specialists to help with the college application process.

In fact, according to NPR , some companies are even offering college admissions counseling to their top employees as an incentive–that’s just how important professional help can be in the current landscape of college admissions.

It’s important to note that a good college essay service will not write your college application essays for you . This is unethical and illegal. That’s not just coming from us: take it from a school like Princeton, whose website insists on the importance of writing your own application essays.

A good college essay service will guide you through each step of the process , teaching you how to self-reflect and write well while sharing insider insight about admissions strategy .

Yale University

What makes a good college essay service?

We strongly believe that students need to write their own college essays , and we do not condone plagiarism or “buying” a college essay.

However, writing college application essays requires a completely new set of skills that is rarely taught in high school!

Writing a personal essay is much more creative than simply writing a good paper for English class. It requires a compelling narrative and a great deal of writing craft . A good essay service will teach how to do this kind of writing.

There are many college essay services that will provide only written feedback to students, usually in the form of comments added to an essay draft. (Remember, it’s important that students write their own essays, so avoid any college essay service that will make edits directly to an essay document .)

Written comments can be an effective component of good essay coaching. However, writing college essays is a deeply personal process , and it’s incredibly difficult to guide a student through the process of self-reflection, brainstorming, and planning purely through written comments.

In addition, a great college essay coach will teach students how to do this entire process of brainstorming, planning, outlining, writing, and revising . It’s difficult to learn why an essay coach is advising certain changes through written comments alone.

For these reasons, look for a college essay service with live, one-on-one services , not just written feedback. These days, it’s easy to work with the best college essay consultants in the country over Zoom!

college essay coaching service online

Students need to reflect on their goals, their passions, and what drives them to be the person they are. This requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-analysis . An experienced college essay coach can help draw these ideas out of students through tested introspection techniques and brainstorming exercises .

On top of all of that, students need to be cognizant of which traits and accomplishments will be most appealing to colleges , and which stories will be cliche and boring. Personal statements and supplementary essays need to fit together to tell a cohesive story, and they need to work together with the rest of the student’s application (extracurriculars, grades, and other accomplishments).

In other words, there’s a great deal of strategy here! An experienced college essay service can help students decide how to present themselves in the best possible light .

Furthermore, most students don’t know how to edit effectively . A really top-notch college essay service will also teach students how to edit their own writing —how to reorder sections for better flow, cut unnecessary words to meet a word count, eliminate passive verbs, and make their writing vivid and exciting. Our students are routinely amazed by how transformative this step can be, and how much they learn by doing it together with the essay coach.

Finally, the best college essay services can also help students to make a writing plan and keep them on track , so that parents don’t have to be involved directly.

Ready to work on your college essays? Schedule a free 15- to 30-minute consultation with Jessica or one of our founders.

Best overall: PrepMaven’s tutors offer the highest quality at the best price. With three tiers of tutors, they make it easy to work with an Ivy League undergraduate for as little as $79/hr. Or, families can work with education professionals or Ivy League graduates from $150/hr. PrepMaven’s track record means that you can be sure every hour is being spent productively, so that you can expect real results from the work.

Best for individual consultants: College Essay Mentor. In theory, College Essay Mentor would offer an unparalleled level of individual attention and guidance: his website boasts of some very impressive results. You might find it hard to actually schedule with him, however, since he’s very selective about his clients.

Best for unlimited essay assistance: The College Essay Guy might not offer that personalized attention you get from live, face to face essay coaching, but they do offer unlimited essay editing for up to 10 schools (if you’re comfortable paying a hefty package price).

Best of the big platforms: College Vine will always be a bit of a gamble. Because it’s a tutor marketplace, your results (and costs) will really depend on how lucky you get with your consultant. From our research, however, many of their essay coaches look to have solid track records.

Ready to work on college essays with one of our experienced writing coaches? Schedule a free test prep consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

It’s always best to start early and not wait until the last minute to write your college essays! Remember that essays can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of writing now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later. 

We work with students at all stages of the writing process, from I-have-no-idea-what-to-write to final edits. To start working with an Ivy-League writing coach today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

Schedule a free college essay consultation

Ivy League schools

Top College Essay Posts

  • 14 Best College Essay Services for 2023 (40 Services Reviewed)
  • Qualities of a Successful College Essay
  • 11 College Essays That Worked
  • How to Answer the UC Personal Insight Questions
  • How Colleges Read your College Applications (A 4-Step Process)
  • How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essays
  • The Diamond Strategy: How We Help Students Write College Essays that Get Them Into Princeton (And Other Ivy League Schools)
  • What is the College Essay? Your Complete Guide for 202 4
  • College Essay Brainstorming: Where to Start
  • How to Write the Harvard Supplemental Essays
  • How to Format Your College Essay

college essay editing service reddit

Emily graduated  summa cum laude  from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED POSTS

college essay editing service reddit

Colleges that Require SAT/ACT Scores 2024/2025

August 7, 2024

While test-optional policies came into effect at many colleges during the pandemic, that’s now changing. Schools like Harvard, Brown, and Dartmouth …

college essay editing service reddit

101 Colleges with Late Deadlines

Every college has different deadlines, but most of them tend to be around the start or middle of January. But some colleges will allow you to submit applications far later, which can be an important…

college essay editing service reddit

How to Write the Common App Essay

July 28, 2024

Add excerpt here. Can reuse meta description.

college essay editing service reddit

15 College Essay Tips for A Strong Application

college essay editing service reddit

11 Great College Essay Topics (With Examples!)

July 20, 2024

We break down 11 winning college essay topics with real examples from Ivy League students. The first example comes from a student admitted to Princeton, who writes about learning…

college essay editing service reddit

SSAT Practice Questions

Prepping for the SSAT means having a realistic sense of what kind of questions you’ll be asked. Unfortunately, high quality materials are scarce. The best resources we recommend are …

SSAT Math

SSAT Math: The Content You Need to Know

July 9, 2024

There are two math sections on the SSAT: Quantitative 1 and 2. What content do you need to know to succeed on both? We explore SSAT Math content in this introductory post.

college essay editing service reddit

5 Ways to Improve Your SSAT Score

The best way to improve your SSAT score depends on how much time you have before the test. With 3+ months to go, we recommend our comprehensive approach, which begins with one month of…

college essay editing service reddit

Registering for the SSAT

June 28, 2024

Registering for the SSAT is generally a simple process, but there’s still some important information you need to remember. First, be mindful of the registration deadlines, testing formats, and …

college essay editing service reddit

SSAT Test Dates for 2024-2025

June 25, 2024

Wondering what dates the SSAT is offered? SSAT test dates are updated each year in August, and you can expect the SSAT to be offered on …

Privacy Preference Center

Privacy preferences.

PrepScholar

Choose Your Test

  • Search Blogs By Category
  • College Admissions
  • AP and IB Exams
  • GPA and Coursework

Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don’ts

author image

College Essays

feature_help.jpg

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Worried about college applications?   Our world-class admissions counselors can help. We've guided thousands of students to get into their top choice schools with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

body_landscape.jpg

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

  • Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
  • Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
  • Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
  • Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Want to write the perfect college application essay?   We can help.   Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges.   Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

  • Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
  • Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
  • Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
  • Tell you what to say and how to say it
  • Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
  • Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

  • An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
  • An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
  • An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

body_ideas.jpg

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

body_detective-2.jpg

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

  • If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
  • If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
  • If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

body_spill-1.jpg

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

body_thumbsup-3.jpg

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

body_goats.jpg

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

  • Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
  • Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
  • Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

  • Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
  • How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
  • Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
  • Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

  • Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
  • Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
  • Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
  • Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
  • What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

body_fixer.jpg

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

body_monalisa.jpg

  • You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
  • A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
  • A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
  • A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
  • All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
  • Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
  • If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
  • Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?   We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

PrepScholar

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Follow us on Facebook (icon)

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Harvard Square Essays

America’s premier college editing services, the best admissions essay help since 2009.

Craft a compelling college application with help from our Harvard-educated editors . Your college admissions essay may be the most important essay you will ever write, and your personal editor will ensure that not a single word is wasted. With a track record of assisting over 10,000 clients , we understand the admissions process inside out. Trust us to help you create college application essays and personal statements that leave a lasting impression.

Experience our swift turnaround time, with Harvard-educated editors refining your essay within 24 or 48 hours . Maximize your chances of success with our expert guidance and unlock your potential today.

Harvard Square Essays played an instrumental role in my successful admission to Columbia, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.

We only use Harvard-educated Editors

Crafting an exceptional college admissions essay requires meticulous attention to detail, insightful storytelling, and the ability to convey your personality. Our team of esteemed Harvard-educated editors are here to help you create a compelling personal statement that stands out from the competition.

Escape the sea of mediocre essays that inundate admissions officers and stand out with our boutique editing services. At Harvard Square Essays, we guarantee your application essays will be among the select few that capture and captivate the discerning eyes of admissions officers.

My confidence in the strength of my application has soared, thanks to Harvard Square Essays

Make Your Essay Perfect

Since 2009, Harvard Square Essay has helped 10,000+ clients achieve their dreams of attending the university of their dreams. Let our experienced team guide you in editing your statement of purpose and other critical admissions essays, ensuring your application stands out in the competitive landscape of college and university admissions.

Invest in your future today and let our dedicated team of editors assist you in perfecting your college admissions essay and personal statement. Together, we will work tirelessly to elevate your application.

Our clients have been admitted to the world's most elite colleges and universities, including:

Elite Editing Service

Our standard service. No matter where you begin, your essay will rise to an elite level in every respect:

  • Send us a draft version of your essay and we immediately assign you a personal editor.
  • Your editor crafts a polished, Harvard-level version of your essay and brings you under the word limit.
  • You receive both the revised essay and a detailed critique of how your essay has been improved.

Turnaround time: 24 or 48 hrs

Prices start at: $149.00+

Veritas Editing Service

Our most popular service. You get the highest-level treatment from the best editors possible. Includes:

  • An entire Elite Service treatment, with both essay and critique
  • A week of access to a knowledgeable experienced editor via email who will work with you to help improve your essay even more
  • A second full Elite Service edit of the same essay, incorporating all of the changes you discussed with your editor.

Prices start at: $199.00+

CV or Resume Service

The equivalent of our Veritas Service for your CV or resume.

Letter of Recommendation Service

The equivalent of our Elite Service for a letter of recommendation. We ensure that you are portrayed in the best light possible.

Testimonials

Don’t just take our word for it: since 2009, we have worked with thousands of applicants to help them get into the programs of their dreams! Our clients have been admitted into the world's best universities.

Testimonial Image

--> I really love the changes you made. The meaning didn't change and the words are elegant and eloquent. Thank you. -->

Admitted, Savannah College of Art and Design

--> Before, I was worried that my essay was something I would regret as the biggest weakness in my application. Now I feel like it's one of my greatest strengths. -->

Admitted, Princeton University

--> Your edits hugely improved my the verbiage and flow of my essay while leaving its core idea intact. I really appreciate it! -->

Admitted, London School of Economics

college essay editing service reddit

Is this editing service legit???

https://claritasessaypolishing.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/

So, I provided the link above to this editing service I found online. I’m in desperate need of editing and overall help because I feel my personal statement for the common app is very weak and my grades are already on the cusp of the selective schools I’m applying to…

However, I do not want to get scammed out of my money so if anyone could vouch for this editing service that would be very very helpful. Thank you!

Just use Grammarly. I wouldn’t use an editing service that has a .wordpress domain.

Why not ask your English teacher?

@josie1 @bjkmom I want advice on the actual content of the essay. Is there anywhere I can find advice on that?

I’m not sure what you mean by “legitimate,” but you do not want any service that offers to write the essay for you You want someone who can help, but not lose your “voice” in the essay. I don’t know the service that you are asking about, but I do know there are some very reputable and helpful people out there.

My two favorites are https://www.collegekarma.com (some “connections” with CC) and Essay Hell http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/tutoring-services

Beware… this time of year, they may be swamped (?).

I know these people and you can’t get much better. BUT, the best costs money: $250 for College Karma and $150 for Essay Hell (per round per essay)/ $50 for light editing/proofreading. The attention you get is personal, not automated or general advice.

:smiley:

I don’t mean for this to be an advertisement. I have no stake in or connection to these services. I am just saying that I trust these guys to give you what you pay for.

And, just to show that this is NOT spam, I invite others to share their recommendations as well.

Hello everyone, Claritas Essay Polishing is my site, and I’m using a wordpress domain for now because this a new venture for me (although not a new line of work–I have two years of experience editing essays for an application counseling service). I’m definitely not a scam; PM me if you’d like to see a “before/after” sample of my work. Also, the fact that you don’t pay in full until you’re satisfied with your text ensures that you’ll get your money’s worth. You can take a look at my “Reviews and Testimonials” page ( https://claritasessaypolishing.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/reviews-and-testimonials/ ) to see what others have thought. (I’m aware that advertising isn’t allowed on here, but I just wanted to make sure that I added my voice to the conversation!)

OP, you can get free help from any number of experienced writers on this site just by asking.

Why can’t your English teacher give you advice on the topic? He or she has probably been teaching Senior English for ages, and is well versed on what works and what doesn’t.

I don’t care if the site is legit or not, the price is too much and honestly doesn’t make sense. Other than grammarly that another user recommended, I recommend using Kibin. It’s well priced and the editors are good. I have personally used them before. PM me if you want more information.

OP, you can get help from me for just $999 an hour!

Well, not hard to learn what CollegeKarma’s link to CC is and that person has admissions perspective. (Let’s not reveal more.) But in general, I wonder what makes these other folks so “knowledgeable.” The panic makes some kids so willing to shell out money.

Please stop using professional services designed for colleges admissions. With the recent and rapid growth in college admissions services, it is placing priority on students unfairly. We should all represent our individual ability. Have your English teacher help you, by all means. That would help you grow. I would encourage that, actually. But please stop using these services which places kids which equal or even above ability relative to your own below yourself in admissions. People should be getting on basis of ability. This means their own .

I am into that - totally true. use the possibilities you have like in your family or with your teachers and try to improve, that help you all along in the long run.

Does your high school have a staff member that helps with papers and essays. My sons library has a staff member that does just that for free. Also i would check with your guidance counselor. Good luck

@okon2122 and others… I sort of feel the same way. OTOH, some real help can be given by services, although you don’t need to pay a fortune for it. Some pay thousands (more!!) for help crafting an application/essay for “elite” colleges. For the majority of us, just a nudge in the right direction helps. I just read five minutes ago about an applicant that did not understand that getting an app in on time severely affected chances of getting into Penn State because the website said the app can be sent anytime and considered on a rolling basis. Yikes. A word to the wise a few months ago could have made a big difference.

College admissions essays are another area where it would help to get an outside (non-parent, non-fellow-student, non-teacher) opinion. Students really have no clue how to start, how to stay focused, and how to write a compelling essay. It is not a research paper, it is not a tell-all, and it is not a forum for complaints or explanations, or - for the most part - what the student finds humorous.

Students need to know that what they are writing is to create a product that will cause the admissions readers to say, “We want this student.” That can take on a variety of forms, but the goal is the same in every case. For fifty or a hundred or slightly more, to have someone point out where you could make changes that really make a difference can, I think, be worth it. You are about to spend vast sums of money to attend a college. The limited essay help is a drop compared to that fire-hose of cash you’re about to commit to. BUT, NEVER use a service that does “too much” for you. Colleges don’t want to see that. Better an unpolished, but honest look into YOU than a super-duper, super-polished essay that shines so bright that the college either don’t see YOU or worse, know you did not craft it.

Perfect example in the above paragraph: “you’re about to commit to” is perfectly fine in an admissions essay. Your teacher will want you to change it to “to which you’re about to commit,” which may take away a little from your “voice” in the essay.

I highly recommend using gurufi’s editing services, if necessary. Brian does a fantastic job!

Your path to academic success

Improve your paper with our award-winning Proofreading Services ,  Plagiarism Checker , Citation Generator , AI Detector & Knowledge Base .

Thesis proofreading service

Proofreading & Editing

Get expert help from Scribbr’s academic editors, who will proofread and edit your essay, paper, or dissertation to perfection.

Plagiarism checker

Plagiarism Checker

Detect and resolve unintentional plagiarism with the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker, so you can submit your paper with confidence.

APA Citation Generator

Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations with Scribbr’s free citation generator and save hours of repetitive work.

college essay editing service reddit

Happy to help you

You’re not alone. Together with our team and highly qualified editors , we help you answer all your questions about academic writing.

Open 24/7 – 365 days a year. Always available to help you.

Very satisfied students

This is our reason for working. We want to make  all students  happy, every day.

Very Impressed!

Makes referencing so easy and quick. Very simple to follow and understand. I love it!!

Easy, convienent but remember to check

Easy, convenient but remember to always check it yourself as the program can make mistakes with less often cited articles!

Thank you Jonathan

Thank you Jonathan. It was quick, professional, and he went far and beyond to make sure I had the best text. (Including explanation of my errors and sources of further information)I am so very grateful for the support.

Its a wonderful tool and love it.

User friendly

User friendly. Helped streamline my masters degree

Phenominal Editing!

Allison did a phenomenal job of editing my paper! Her expert work was very detailed, and improvement suggestions were spot on. The amount of professional editing done in such a short time is quite impressive! With loads of appreciation!

This is the web page you need if you…

This is the web page you need if you are amming for accuracy and efectiveness. Thank you Scribbr for helping with grad school papers !

Accurate checker!

Accurate checker! I found it very reliable.

So I am at the end of the degree

So I am at the end of the degree, I am burnt out, I am sick of it, I am cross eyed and no longer have a life or know which way is up. I just want it over. How do you ensure your finest work is handed in at the end of a marathon.....Scribbr. I found this site and the services a great boost near the end. I put in for a second pair of eyes on the final paper and the feedback was positive, constructive and relevant. It was little bits of spelling, improve flow there, try this here, move this. It was good. It brought the most out of my work. I would recommend. I paid for the basic check and grammar and suggestions. The rest like citations was not included. I chose the 7 days turn around but was done within 24 hrs so thank you.

Mostly useful

I appreciate the cite generation response time when it can find my journal article. However, I chose the APA version 7 format and Scribbr still cites titles to articles incorrectly (with every first letter capitalized instead of just the first word). It makes me unsure if these citations really are in APA 7 format.

great helps A lot with APA 7th edition…

great helps A lot with APA 7th edition citations

fast and efficient

Scribber makes coming up with a reference list easier and faster!

Great...but not without frustrations!

I really like using the citation tool. It makes writing papers really simple. All inftmation is save in one place and best of all, its free. I havnt used any of the other tools but what I have has been invaluable! It is a really good tool but not without its frustrations. I have so much trouble labeling my different lists to the point where I have dozens and have to search for information to reference. Also, I think the site is a little busy

This tool is incredibly helpful

This tool is incredibly helpful! It is saving me considerable time creating citations directly from sites

Very effective

This website is very effective and accurate when creating citations.

Reliable service

Friendly, professional, meticulous and accurate service, APA and language checking, delivered on schedule. I am very pleased. Thank you Tim!

been using this resource for my…

been using this resource for my research for like a year now and I just can't get enough of it. the function I used the most must be the clever citations. Scribbr helps me organized the citations in the right APA style while still keep going with my research. I used to spend so much time on just arranging and put them in order. oh and I really like how I can copy to clipboard and paste in MS with matching format. so convenient.

The program was easy to use and was…

The program was easy to use and was useful in helping me cite references.

It makes easier to get good marks.

Everything you need to write an A-grade paper

Free resources used by 5,000,000 students every month.

Bite-sized videos that guide you through the writing process. Get the popcorn, sit back, and learn!

Video 1.5x

Lecture slides

Ready-made slides for teachers and professors that want to kickstart their lectures.

  • Academic writing
  • Citing sources
  • Methodology
  • Research process
  • Dissertation structure
  • Language rules

Accessible how-to guides full of examples that help you write a flawless essay, proposal, or dissertation.

paper

Chrome extension

Cite any page or article with a single click right from your browser.

Time-saving templates that you can download and edit in Word or Google Docs.

Template 1.5x

Help you achieve your academic goals

Whether we’re proofreading and editing , checking for plagiarism or AI content , generating citations, or writing useful Knowledge Base articles , our aim is to support students on their journey to become better academic writers.

We believe that every student should have the right tools for academic success. Free tools like a paraphrasing tool , grammar checker, summarizer and an  AI Proofreader . We pave the way to your academic degree.

Ask our team

Want to contact us directly? No problem.  We  are always here for you.

Support team - Nina

Frequently asked questions

Our team helps students graduate by offering:

  • A world-class citation generator
  • Plagiarism Checker software powered by Turnitin
  • Innovative Citation Checker software
  • Professional proofreading services
  • Over 300 helpful articles about academic writing, citing sources, plagiarism, and more

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

  • PhD dissertations
  • Research proposals
  • Personal statements
  • Admission essays
  • Motivation letters
  • Reflection papers
  • Journal articles
  • Capstone projects

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

ACCEPTED

Which program are you applying to?

College application essay editing expertise.

  • Consulting & Editing
  • Essay Editing

Hourly Personal Statement Plans

Do you already have a personal statement or supplemental essays drafted, but you’re not feeling 100% confident about it? Then our hourly plan is perfect for you. This efficient service gets right to the business of fine-tuning your essay, and it’s priced by the hour, so you’ll only pay for what you need.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Broad Review

You’ll send the personal statement draft you’ve already created to your consultant. They will give it a once over, focusing primarily on readability and coherence. 

They’ll also be looking to ensure that you have: 

  • Fully answered the question.
  • Presented yourself in a unique and distinctive way.
  • Organized your personal statement(s) supplemental essays logically.
  • Developed engaging openings and effective conclusions.

Step 2: Detailed Edit

Now that your consultant has helped you shape your story on a macro level, it’s time to drill down. In this second round, your consultant will focus on the microelements. They’ll pay special attention to things like clarity, grammar, style, spelling, and word usage. Once they’ve finely combed through your draft, they’ll shoot it back to you with suggested corrections.

Step 3: Submit Your Awesome Essay

After you’ve made all the corrections, your essay should be in good shape for you to do a final read through and send it on its way. It’s that easy. If you’re wondering how many hours to buy, consider the number of drafts you want reviewed. Then think about the general quality of your writing and how close your current draft is to being application-ready.

You can use the estimate guidelines in the chart below to determine your needs and move forward with purchasing some time ASAP. Or, if you need further assistance in making the decision, you can  obtain a free estimate before purchasing.

lightbulb.png

How Many Hours Do I Need?

Choose how many hours you want to start:.

Our rates provide prompt two-business-day turnaround.

Minimum required purchase

1 Hour (add-on)

Existing clients only

Starting at $ 30 /mo with Affirm .

Have a question? Not sure how much time you need?

We offer complete application packages too, initial personal statement package.

When you purchase our Personal Statement Package, you’ll receive:

  • Up-front guidance and advising to save you “churn time.” Your initial introduction to your consultant will be through a questionnaire. They’ll look over your answers and then schedule time to meet with you via video conference or phone call. This 'face-to-face' meeting will provide them with the opportunity to get better acquainted with you. You’ll brainstorm together in real time and determine how to best present yourself and your unique qualifications in your personal statement. In this session, you’ll go over the core idea behind your essay and how to approach structuring it, as well as any important life experiences you might want to include.
  • An outline for your personal statement.  Based on your questionnaire responses and the ensuing discussion you had on the brainstorming call, your consultant will create an outline for your personal statement that provides structure and direction. It consists of bullet points and prompts and is not a full draft. Applicant feedback has been that between the meeting and the outline, our clients have the confidence and direction they need to start writing. This initial step saves them time in creating their first draft and ultimately helps to produce a superior final result.
  • Personal statement editing.  Once you’ve completed a strong first draft, your consultant will dig into the copy and begin editing. They’ll be focusing primarily on clarity, word usage, style, grammar, and spelling. From there, you’ll receive a draft with suggested corrections and changes. You’ll revise it based on those recommendations and then shoot it back to them. At this point, you’ll likely do a bit of back-and-forth with your consultant, fine tuning and editing until you have a personal statement you’re 100% happy with. Note that most personal statements benefit best from 2-4 rounds of review, but there is no clock ticking.

Our thorough and individualized Personal Statement Package gives you the confidence of knowing you are submitting the strongest personal statement possible.

Personal Statement Package

Starting at $107 /mo with Affirm .

Our regular rates provide prompt two-business-day turnaround. Our rush rates provide maximum one-business-day turnaround.

Starting at $ 80 /mo with Affirm .

  • One Personal Statement Package provides all the editing and consulting you need for ONE essay at ONE school. Using our assistance in modifying this essay for other schools will incur additional charges.
  • Packages must be entirely used in one application year.
  • If you request to change consultants or work with a second consultant, you will incur additional charges.

Have a question? Not sure if a package is right for you?

Boring but important stuff.

  • All rates are expressed and billed in U.S. dollars.
  • Our regular rates provide two-business-day turnaround for each round of editing. 
  • Services are subject to availability.
  • All prices are subject to change without notice.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Duke University

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

college essay editing service reddit

15 Tips for Writing, Proofreading, and Editing Your College Essay

What’s covered:, our checklist for writing, proofreading, and editing your essay, where to get your college essays edited.

Your college essay is more than just a writing assignment—it’s your biggest opportunity to showcase the person behind your GPA, test scores, and extracurricular activities. In many ways, it’s the best chance you have to present yourself as a living, breathing, and thoughtful individual to the admissions committee.

Unlike test scores, which can feel impersonal, a well-crafted essay brings color to your application, offering a glimpse into your passions, personality, and potential. Whether you’re an aspiring engineer or an artist, your college essay can set you apart, making it essential that you give it your best.

1. Does the essay address the selected topic or prompt?

Focus on responding directly and thoughtfully to the prompt. If the question asks about your reasons for choosing a specific program or your future aspirations, ensure that your essay revolves around these themes. Tailor your narrative to the prompt, using personal experiences and reflections that reinforce your points.

  • Respond directly to the prompt: It’s imperative that you thoughtfully craft your responses so that the exact themes in the prompt are directly addressed. Each essay has a specific prompt that serves a specific purpose, and your response should be tailored in a way that meets that objective.
  • Focus: Regardless of what the prompt is about—be it personal experiences, academic achievements, or an opinion on an issue—you must keep the focus of the response on the topic of the prompt .

2. Is the college essay well organized?

An essay with a clear structure is easier to follow and is more impactful. Consider organizing your story chronologically, or use a thematic approach to convey your message. Each paragraph should transition smoothly to the next, maintaining a natural flow of ideas. A well-organized essay is not only easier for the reader to follow, but it can also aid your narrative flow. Logically structured essays can guide the reader through complex and hectic sequences of events in your essay. There are some key factors involved in good structuring:

  • A strong hook: Start with a sentence or a paragraph that can grab the attention of the reader. For example, consider using a vivid description of an event to do this.
  • Maintain a thematic structure: Maintaining a thematic structure involves organizing your response around a central theme, allowing you to connect diverse points of your essay into a cohesive centralized response.
  • Transitioning: Each paragraph should clearly flow into the next, maintaining continuity and coherence in narrative.

3. Include supporting details, examples, and anecdotes.

Enhance your narrative with specific details, vivid examples, and engaging anecdotes. This approach brings your story to life, making it more compelling and relatable. It helps the reader visualize your experiences and understand your perspectives.

4. Show your voice and personality.

Does your personality come through? Does your essay sound like you? Since this is a reflection of you, your essay needs to show who you are.

For example, avoid using vocabulary you wouldn’t normally use—such as “utilize” in place of “use”—because you may come off as phony or disingenuous, and that won’t impress colleges.

5. Does your essay show that you’re a good candidate for admission?

Your essay should demonstrate not only your academic strengths. but also the ways in which your personal qualities align with the specific character and values of the school you’re applying to . While attributes like intelligence and collaboration are universally valued, tailor your essay to reflect aspects that are uniquely esteemed at each particular institution.

For instance, if you’re applying to Dartmouth, you might emphasize your appreciation for, and alignment with, the school’s strong sense of tradition and community. This approach shows a deeper understanding of and a genuine connection to the school, beyond its surface-level attributes.

6. Do you stick to the topic?

Your essay should focus on the topic at hand, weaving your insights, experiences, and perspectives into a cohesive narrative, rather than a disjointed list of thoughts or accomplishments. It’s important to avoid straying into irrelevant details that don’t support your main theme. Instead of simply listing achievements or experiences, integrate them into a narrative that highlights your development, insights, or learning journey.

Example with tangent:

“My interest in performing arts began when I was five. That was also the year I lost my first tooth, which set off a whole year of ‘firsts.’ My first play was The Sound of Music.”

Revised example:

“My interest in performing arts began when I was five, marked by my debut performance in ‘The Sound of Music.’ This experience was the first step in my journey of exploring and loving the stage.”

7. Align your response with the prompt.

Before finalizing your essay, revisit the prompt. Have you addressed all aspects of the question? Make sure your essay aligns with the prompt’s requirements, both in content and spirit. Familiarize yourself with common college essay archetypes, such as the Extracurricular Essay, Diversity Essay, Community Essay, “Why This Major” Essay (and a variant for those who are undecided), and “Why This College” Essay. We have specific guides for each, offering tailored advice and examples:

  • Extracurricular Essay Guide
  • Diversity Essay Guide
  • Community Essay Guide
  • “Why This Major” Essay Guide
  • “Why This College” Essay Guide
  • Overcoming Challenges Essay Guide
  • Political/Global Issues Essay Guide

While these guides provide a framework for each archetype, respectively, remember to infuse your voice and unique experiences into your essay to stand out!

8. Do you vary your sentence structure?

Varying sentence structure, including the length of sentences, is crucial to keep your writing dynamic and engaging. A mix of short, punchy sentences and longer, more descriptive ones can create a rhythm that makes your essay more enjoyable to read. This variation helps maintain the reader’s interest and allows for more nuanced expression.

Original example with monotonous structure:

“I had been waiting for the right time to broach the topic of her health problem, which had been weighing on my mind heavily ever since I first heard about it. I had gone through something similar, and I thought sharing my experience might help.”

Revised example illustrating varied structure:

“I waited for the right moment to discuss her health. The issue had occupied my thoughts for weeks. Having faced similar challenges, I felt that sharing my experience might offer her some comfort.”

In this revised example, the sentences vary in length and structure, moving from shorter, more impactful statements to longer, more descriptive ones. This variation helps to keep the reader’s attention and allows for a more engaging narrative flow.

9. Revisit your essay after a break.

  • Give yourself time: After completing a draft of your essay, step away from it for a day or two. This break can clear your mind and reduce your attachment to specific phrases or ideas.
  • Fresh perspective: When you come back to your essay, you’ll likely find that you can view your work with fresh eyes. This distance can help you spot inconsistencies, unclear passages, or stylistic issues that you might have missed earlier.
  • Enhanced objectivity: Distance not only aids in identifying grammatical errors or typos, but it also allows you to assess the effectiveness of your argument or narrative more objectively. Does the essay really convey what you intended? Are there better examples or stronger pieces of evidence you could use?
  • Refine and polish: Use this opportunity to fine-tune your language, adjust the flow, and ensure that your essay truly reflects your voice and message.

Incorporating this tip into your writing process can significantly improve the quality and effectiveness of your college essay.

10. Choose an ideal writing environment.

By identifying and consistently utilizing an ideal writing environment, you can enhance both the enjoyment and effectiveness of your essay-writing process.

  • Discover your productive spaces: Different environments can dramatically affect your ability to think and write effectively. Some people find inspiration in the quiet of a library or their room, while others thrive in the lively atmosphere of a coffee shop or park.
  • Experiment with settings: If you’re unsure what works best for you, try writing in various places. Notice how each setting affects your concentration, creativity, and mood.
  • Consider comfort and distractions: Make sure your chosen spot is comfortable enough for long writing sessions, but also free from distracting elements that could hinder your focus.
  • Time of day matters: Pay attention to the time of day when you’re most productive. Some write best in the early morning’s tranquility, while others find their creative peak during nighttime hours.

11. Are all words spelled correctly?

While spell checkers are a helpful tool, they aren’t infallible. It’s crucial to read over your essay meticulously, possibly even aloud, to catch any spelling errors. Reading aloud can help you notice mistakes that your eyes might skip over when reading silently. Be particularly attentive to words that spellcheck might not catch, such as proper nouns, technical jargon, or homophones (e.g., “there” vs. “their”). Attention to detail in spelling reflects your care and precision, both of which are qualities that admissions committees value.

12. Do you use proper punctuation and capitalization?

Correct punctuation and capitalization are key to conveying your message clearly and professionally . A common mistake in writing is the misuse of commas, particularly in complex sentences.

Example of a misused comma:

Incorrect: “I had an epiphany, I was using commas incorrectly.”

In this example, the comma is used incorrectly to join two independent clauses. This is known as a comma splice. It creates a run-on sentence, which can confuse the reader and disrupt the flow of your writing.

Corrected versions:

Correct: “I had an epiphany: I was using commas incorrectly.”

Correct: “I had an epiphany; I was using commas incorrectly.”

Correct: “I had an epiphany—I was using commas incorrectly.”

Correct: “I had an epiphany. I was using commas incorrectly.”

The corrections separate the two clauses with more appropriate punctuation. Colons, semicolons, em dashes, and periods can all be used in this context, though periods may create awkwardly short sentences.

These punctuation choices are appropriate because the second clause explains or provides an example of the first, creating a clear and effective sentence structure. The correct use of punctuation helps maintain the clarity and coherence of your writing, ensuring that your ideas are communicated effectively.

13. Do you abide by the word count?

Staying within the word count is crucial in demonstrating your ability to communicate ideas concisely and effectively. Here are some strategies to help reduce your word count if you find yourself going over the prescribed limits:

  • Eliminate repetitive statements: Avoid saying the same thing in different ways. Focus on presenting each idea clearly and concisely.
  • Use adjectives judiciously: While descriptive words can add detail, using too many can make your writing feel cluttered and overwrought. Choose adjectives that add real value.
  • Remove unnecessary details: If a detail doesn’t support or enhance your main point, consider cutting it. Focus on what’s essential to your narrative or argument.
  • Shorten long sentences: Long, run-on sentences can be hard to follow and often contain unnecessary words. Reading your essay aloud can help you identify sentences that are too lengthy or cumbersome. If you’re out of breath before finishing a sentence, it’s likely too long.
  • Ensure each sentence adds something new: Every sentence should provide new information or insight. Avoid filler or redundant sentences that don’t contribute to your overall message.

14. Proofread meticulously.

Implementing a thorough and methodical proofreading process can significantly elevate the quality of your essay, ensuring that it’s free of errors and flows smoothly.

  • Detailed review: After addressing bigger structural and content issues, focus on proofreading for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. This step is crucial for polishing your essay and making sure it’s presented professionally.
  • Different techniques: Employ various techniques to catch mistakes. For example, read your essay backward, starting from the last sentence and working your way to the beginning. This method can help you focus on individual sentences and words, rather than getting caught up in the content.
  • Read aloud: As mentioned before, reading your essay aloud is another effective technique. Hearing the words can help identify awkward phrasing, run-on sentences, and other issues that might not be as obvious when reading silently.

15. Utilize external feedback.

While self-editing is crucial, external feedback can provide new perspectives and ideas that enhance your writing in unexpected ways. This collaborative process can help you keep your essay error-free and can also help make it resonate with a broader audience.

  • Fresh perspectives: Have a trusted teacher, mentor, peer, or family member review your drafts. Each person can offer unique insights and perspectives on your essay’s content, structure, and style.
  • Identify blind spots: We often become too close to our writing to see its flaws or areas that might be unclear to others. External reviewers can help identify these blind spots.
  • Constructive criticism: Encourage your reviewers to provide honest, constructive feedback. While it’s important to stay true to your voice and story, be open to suggestions that could strengthen your essay.
  • Diverse viewpoints: Different people will focus on different aspects of your writing. For example, a teacher might concentrate on your essay’s structure and academic tone, while a peer might provide insights into how engaging and relatable your narrative is.
  • Incorporate feedback judiciously: Use the feedback to refine your essay, but remember that the final decision on any changes rests with you. It’s your story and your voice that ultimately need to come through clearly.

When it comes to refining your college essays, getting external feedback is crucial. Our free Peer Essay Review tool allows you to receive constructive criticism from other students, providing fresh perspectives that can help you see your work in a new light. This peer review process is invaluable and can help you both identify areas for improvement and gain different viewpoints on your writing.

For more tailored expert advice, consider the guidance of a CollegeVine advisor . Our advisors, experienced in the college admissions process, offer specialized reviews to enhance your essays. Their insights into what top schools are looking for can elevate your narrative, ensuring that your application stands out. Whether it’s through fine-tuning your grammar or enriching your story’s appeal, our experts’ experience and expertise can significantly increase your likelihood of admission to your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

college essay editing service reddit

college essay editing service reddit

Improve your college essays through feedback

CollegeVine’s fast and secure essay peer review system lets you:

Learn where your essay is strong and where it can improve

Improve your writing by reviewing other students’ essays

It’s free — learn how

What current seniors are saying

Differentiating yourself is more important than ever.

With more schools going test optional, college essays can help you stand out from the rest, and they can often make the difference between a rejection and acceptance.

Essays are 25% of your application

Grades alone won’t get you accepted to your dream school. The college essay is an extremely important piece of your college application. Essays help you stand out from the rest.

Show your personality

Admissions officers want to better understand who you are through your essays. Showcasing your unique view of the world and the experiences that have led you to where you are is pivotal.

Become memorable to admissions

Admissions officers only spend a few minutes on each application. Ensure your essay will be memorable by getting honest feedback from people who don’t already know your story well.

college essay editing service reddit

Write amazing college essays

Stop guessing what admissions officers will take away from your college essay. Our community of peer reviewers will let you know and provide feedback. You’ll build confidence and improve your own writing by reviewing peer essays, which help you learn to read essays just like an admissions officer.

college essay editing service reddit

Learn what admissions officers are looking for

Get exposed to how admissions officers read and evaluate your essays. Our essay guides provide students with clear, actionable ways to write an authentic essay. We analyze real essays from the past to see what works to get accepted.

college essay editing service reddit

Get your essay reviewed by experts

We've helped with 100,000+ college essays—we've seen it all and we know what works. Submit your own essay or watch our team of experts critique other student essays LIVE. All viewers can ask questions and get help from the expert team at no cost.

The free, all-in-one guidance platform to help you with every step of the college process

Your account unlocks all these free tools to help you apply to college with confidence

Advising livestreams

Join interactive livestreams about nearly every topic in the college process, hosted by college admissions experts.

Essays guidance and peer review

Submit your own essay for a review in less than 6 hours on the world’s first entirely free college essay review system.

Q&A with experts

Ask questions and get quick and helpful answers from CollegeVine experts and a community of supportive peers.

How is CollegeVine free?

We believe that every student deserves expert guidance. To make that possible, access to the CollegeVine platform is free for students. We partner with colleges that pay to join our ecosystem and interact with students via virtual events and 1-1 connections.

There are zero ads on our site and you can rest assured that you are always in control of your personal data. Connections with colleges are student-initiated, meaning your profile is only shared if and when you opt-in.

Essay Writing Service Online: Get Help 24/7

Essay Service Rating

Your rate is:

Why you never make college essay like a pro

college essay editing service reddit

Steps to a winning piece of writing

So, what should you after you create a file and name it? Go online and type “write my essay” in a search bar. Start scrolling through the pages and open websites in order to find the most suitable for you.

Don’t be afraid to compare prices. After all, saving money is the same essential, as saving your time. Essay writing service shouldn’t be way too cheap (if you don’t want your paper to be written by a person without proper education). Calculate the average cost per page, before making the order.

How cheap essay writing service should be? It depends on the type of work and the status of college you plan to be enrolled. For example, best educational institutions of the state are in high demand, so your work should be quite outstanding to be remarkable.

Are you ready to follow the path leading to a bright future? Don’t waste another minute, type “write my essay for me” and enjoy your life!

100 Maxwell St, Boston, MA 02124,USA

I was really impressed with the essay writing service provided by this website. The quality of the essay was excellent and it was delivered on time. I would definitely recommend this service to anyone who needs help with their writing assignments.

I used this essay writing service for a research paper and I was really impressed with the quality of the work. The writer did an excellent job of researching the topic and the paper was well-written and well-organized. The only issue I had was with the price, which was a bit higher than I expected, but the quality of the work was worth it.

I was in a tight spot and needed an essay written quickly. This service was able to deliver a high-quality essay within 24 hours. The essay was well-written and free of errors. I was very impressed and would use this service again.

I was skeptical about using an essay writing service at first, but after using this one, I am a believer. The quality of the work was outstanding, and it was delivered on time. I received an A on my paper and couldn't be happier. The customer service was also top-notch. Highly recommend!

I've used several essay writing services before, but this one is by far the best. The writers are knowledgeable and skilled in their respective fields, and the customer service is exceptional. I appreciate the attention to detail and the prompt delivery of the work. The pricing is reasonable, and there are no hidden fees. I highly recommend this service to anyone in need of high-quality academic writing.

I was struggling with a difficult essay assignment and turned to this service for help. I was impressed by the professionalism of the writer assigned to me and the quality of the work produced. The writer was able to clearly and concisely articulate my ideas, and the paper was delivered on time. I received an A on the assignment and couldn't be happier. I will definitely use this service again in the future.

I was struggling with my essay until I found this amazing essay writing service. I was really impressed with the quality of the work they delivered, and the customer service was excellent. They were very responsive and made sure all of my concerns were addressed. I highly recommend this essay help service to anyone who needs assistance with their writing assignments. I am so grateful to have found this essay writer online.

I have been using essay writing services for years, and I have to say that this essay help service is one of the best I have ever come across. The writers are highly skilled and knowledgeable, and they always deliver top-quality work on time. What I really appreciate about this service is their attention to detail and their willingness to work with me to make sure I get exactly what I need. They are always responsive and professional, and they have helped me improve my writing skills immensely. If you are looking for an essay writer online, I highly recommend this service.

I was hesitant to use an essay writing service at first, but I`m so glad I did. This essay help service has exceeded all of my expectations. The writer assigned to my project was extremely professional and knowledgeable, and they delivered a high-quality essay that was perfectly tailored to my needs. What impressed me the most was their ability to complete the work within the given deadline. I will definitely be using this essay writer online again in the future.

Recently I had to write an important paper for one of my university courses. I knew this project was going to take a lot of time and effort, and I wasn`t sure I could handle it on my own. So I decided to seek help from a professional writer. After a thorough market research, I chose this service, which offered a high-quality essay writing service. I contacted their manager and told them about my requirements and deadlines. They were very professional and sociable, and were able to arrange the order very quickly and efficiently. When I received the finished work, I was pleasantly surprised by its quality and style of writing. The writer took into account all my requirements and created a work that met all my expectations. He used only up-to-date and reliable information, which was very important to me. In general, I was very satisfied with the work of this service and the result obtained. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for help in writing important papers or essays. If you have a complex project or you want to achieve maximum results, I am sure that professional services of writers can be a great solution.

A story about how I saved my ass on the course thanks to an essay writing order :) I don`t like to write long papers at all, especially if they require careful research and analysis. Therefore, when I was given the responsibility to write an important essay on history, I immediately began to look for options on how to get rid of this problem. A friend of mine recommended this site to me, said that they would help me in writing essays and other academic papers. I didn`t really believe it at first, but I decided to try. After all, what am I missing? I left a request, the guys contacted me, and we discussed all the details of my order. I was even able to choose a writer to work on my essay. During the writing process, I was in contact with the writer and could make my own edits and requirements. When they sent me the finished work, I couldn`t believe my eyes. The work was of high quality, informative and met all my requirements. I was just blown away how they could write such a cool essay!

These guys helped me find a great service. I outlined what I wanted to see and a few days later they sent me the finished work. Several fixes and bingo)) I wish it was a little cheaper, but the quality is equal to the cost.

In general, a good attitude towards the client. The work is carried out on time and efficiently. But I had to communicate for a long time and explain exactly what I needed before the work was started. Considering the low cost, this is the best offer.

Several times I have already ordered writing from different writers from those offered here. Everything has always been great, but the last job required a lot of improvements. I understand that the performer is directly to blame for this, and not the service itself, but the sediment remained. I almost failed the deadline)) It's good that everything went well, the support department intervened, and allocated me a separate person who supervised my order. Now I will choose the writer more carefully. But the quality and support here is definitely at the highest level!

Really cool and affordable student paper writing service. I have applied here several times already, and what I like the most is the minimal investment of my time. I explain in thesis what I need and then only get the result. There is no need to control or correct, the completed work meets all the requirements. This shows that writers have experience and know the current requirements of educational institutions for writing different types of papers.

I almost blew off the session..... Initially, I turned to a popular service essayp** (censored), which promised a deep dive into the topic of research and provide a written paper with all the revisions in the agreed upon deadline. Not only did they fail to meet the agreed deadline, but they also used AI to write the paper. Which was immediately determined at my uni.I was very lucky that I was able to find bestwritemyessayfor and these guys stepped in. They promptly corrected errors, supplemented my essay with new literature and chapters. After that I managed to pass the work on excellent! Now I know for sure that I will always order essay writing and other works exclusively here!

I wanted to order editing of my dissertation, but I was refused. Said there were no writers available. Well, at least thank you for being honest

It was a Sunday. I had to write a term paper by Monday. I tried to write it on my own, but I failed because it was my girlfriend's birthday that weekend. I turned to this service for help. They promised to help me (although they said that they were unlikely to be able to do it by Monday). On Monday morning I went to the university, not prepared, and thanks to my professor, who went to meet, and allowed to pass the work the next day... When I returned home in the evening, I already had a finished term paper on my email, which I successfully handed in to my lecturer on Tuesday. As a result, I received an "excellent" grade. Earlier I thought that such writing services fulfill orders within a few hours. But having tried to use such a service, I realized that it is desirable to apply in advance. However, I will tell you honestly - the quality of writing is on top. I will order writing papers again. Thank you for your efforts!

IMAGES

  1. 5 Essay Writing Services That Reddit Users Love (Best Essay Writing

    college essay editing service reddit

  2. Best Essay Writing Service: Reddit Users’ Recommendations In 2023

    college essay editing service reddit

  3. Best Essay Writing Service Reddit: The Best Kept Secret

    college essay editing service reddit

  4. Essay editing service reddit! Best Essay Writing Services on Reddit

    college essay editing service reddit

  5. 5 Best Essay Writing Services: Reviews from Reddit Experts

    college essay editing service reddit

  6. Best Essay Writing Services Reddit 2022

    college essay editing service reddit

VIDEO

  1. Use This FREE College Essay Editor to Get Into Your Dream School

  2. I Paid An Essay Writing Service To Edit My Rizz Paper!

COMMENTS

  1. What are the best editing services for college admissions essays?

    I may suggest Essaymarket - they helped me and I thank them for this. By the way, the written essay received an A+. I am currently finishing my application essay to get into a few schools on the Common App essay. I have seen quite a few editing companies online….

  2. Best Essay Writing Service Reddit 2022-2024 : r/collegehub

    For those scouring Reddit in search of the best essay writing service, the consensus among users points to a few standout communities known for their reliability, quality, and ethical standards. Subreddits like Essay_Writing_Service and PaperMarket are frequently mentioned for their comprehensive lists of verified academic writers and ...

  3. best college essay editing service? : r/ApplyingToCollege

    Hey there, I'm a bot and something you said made me think you might be looking for help! It sounds like your post is related to essays — please check the A2C Wiki Page on Essays for a list of resources related to essay topics, tips & tricks, and editing advice. You can also go to the r/CollegeEssays subreddit for a sub focused exclusively on ...

  4. 4 College Admissions Essay Editing Services Reviewed

    Services like EssayEdge and TopAdmit can run you close to $200 for editing a single essay of fewer than 400 words. I've seen prices as high as $379 after various upsells. Word for word, that's ...

  5. Scribbr's College Essay Editing & Coaching

    Amy. Originally from Maryland, Amy headed west to attend Scripps College in California, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music and gender studies. In 2009, she began working for the admissions office of her alma mater, where she focused on reviewing applications and interviewing prospective students. Excellent Based on 13,478 reviews.

  6. 8 Best Essay Writing Services According to Reddit and Quora

    Students can benefit from their insight on any semester assignment, coursework, or help with research to help them prepare to pass an exam. 5. Studyfy. Free essay writing tools seem to be another favorite among Reddit and Quora users among reliable essay writing services. Studyfy is a one-stop shop for students.

  7. Proofreading & Editing Services

    With delivery as fast as 9 hours, our proofreading and editing services are available 24/7. Our highly qualified editors have years of editing experience and a combined expertise in more than 2,000 fields. Your documents are handled in strict confidence and with the highest ethical standards. Professional proofreading and editing by subject ...

  8. 14 Best College Essay Services for 2024 (40 Services Reviewed)

    Research conducted by Emily Kierkegaard, PhD, and expert-reviewed by Kevin Wong, PrepMaven Co-founder. Not sure which college application essay coaching and editing service is the best? We compared the top 40 services, created in-depth reviews for 14 of them, and narrowed it down to the 4 best that will help guide you through the process of writing amazing college application essays.

  9. Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don'ts

    Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College) Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay.

  10. Admissions Essay Editing

    America's Premier Admissions Essay Editing Service. We are a global admissions consulting firm with an edge: we only employ Harvard-educated editors. Since 2009, we have helped thousands of clients identify their strengths, craft compelling personal narratives, and transform their application essays. College Medical MBA Graduate Law

  11. college essay editing services? : r/ApplyingToCollege

    It sounds like your post is related to essays — please check the A2C Wiki Page on Essays for a list of resources related to essay topics, tips & tricks, and editing advice. Please be cautious of possible plagiarism if you do decide to share your essay with other users.

  12. America's Premier College Editing Services

    A week of access to a knowledgeable experienced editor via email who will work with you to help improve your essay even more. A second full Elite Service edit of the same essay, incorporating all of the changes you discussed with your editor. Turnaround time: 24 or 48 hrs. Prices start at: $199.00+. Buy Now More Info.

  13. Is this editing service legit???

    https://claritasessaypolishing. / So, I provided the link above to this editing service I found online. I'm in desperate need of editing and overall help because I feel my personal statement for the common app is very weak and my grades are already on the cusp of the selective schools I'm applying to… However, I do not want to get scammed out of my money so if anyone could vouch for this ...

  14. Scribbr

    Whether we're proofreading and editing, checking for plagiarism or AI content, generating citations, or writing useful Knowledge Base articles, our aim is to support students on their journey to become better academic writers. We believe that every student should have the right tools for academic success.

  15. College Essay Editing Services

    Then our hourly plan is perfect for you. This efficient service gets right to the business of fine-tuning your essay, and it's priced by the hour, so you'll only pay for what you need. Here's how it works: Step 1: Broad Review. You'll send the personal statement draft you've already created to your consultant.

  16. 15 Tips for Writing, Proofreading, and Editing Your College Essay

    This variation helps to keep the reader's attention and allows for a more engaging narrative flow. 9. Revisit your essay after a break. Give yourself time: After completing a draft of your essay, step away from it for a day or two. This break can clear your mind and reduce your attachment to specific phrases or ideas.

  17. Questions about College Essay Editing Services.

    In reality, they do exactly what your admissions counselor pointed out: guide you on how to structure your essay. In addition, they may be even cheaper and more thorough than hiring a personal counselor. This is me speaking from personal experience, and I'm not endorsing using these services, but I don't think it's what you make it out to be. 6.

  18. College Essay Help

    We believe that every student deserves expert guidance. To make that possible, access to the CollegeVine platform is free for students. We partner with colleges that pay to join our ecosystem and interact with students via virtual events and 1-1 connections. There are zero ads on our site and you can rest assured that you are always in control ...

  19. 13 Essay Writing Services Reddit Users Recommended as the

    Stressays is a great community of essay writing services for people who need some encouragement. 7. r/HomeworkCentral. As a newer subreddit, HomeworkCentral is a budding essay writing service on ...

  20. College essay review service : r/ApplyingToCollege

    In the rare instances where I needed revisions, https://essaymarket.pro/ had a transparent and accommodating revision policy. This demonstrated their commitment to customer satisfaction and the willingness to refine the work until it met my standards. 7. Reply. true.

  21. College Essay Guy

    College Essay Guy believes that every student should have access to the tools and guidance necessary to create the best application possible. That's why we're a one-for-one company, which means that for every student who pays for support, we provide free support to a low-income student. Learn more.

  22. Affordable, but Quality Essay Editing Service? : r ...

    PaperBlazer is known for high quality, fast, affordable editing. The service has been around for years, and I suggest checking that out. Hope that helps! 1. Reply. guechananbau • 5 yr. ago. Not only is it important to trust checking your academic paper to another person, but you should make sure to give it to a specialist.

  23. Write my Essay

    Go online and type "write my essay" in a search bar. Start scrolling through the pages and open websites in order to find the most suitable for you. Don't be afraid to compare prices. After all, saving money is the same essential, as saving your time.