COMMON APPLICATION® ESSAY: THE STAGE PROGRAM
Meet Staci, our Student Success Coach! She is also one of several coaches that will help you with your STAGE work!
All of our students move through the college essay process using our original, meticulously-designed STAGE essay writing program. This method allows students to break down a complex process into manageable stages, and we lead them all the way from the brainstorm to the final draft.
The assignments that lead up to the actual writing of the essay include brainstorming exercises, story ideas, and themes centralized around key information the student wants the admissions office to learn (beyond test scores, activities, and awards). Ultimately, students will write at least three essay drafts with substantial feedback along the way.
At DC College Counseling, all Common Application® essays are reviewed by at least two staff members during the writing process, and each final draft undergoes an extra level of review from a coach that has never seen the essay during its development. This fresh look from a new perspective helps ensure that the essay has been cleared by a diverse audience, and that the piece is "17-year-old-perfect”!
HOMEWORK OR NO HOMEWORK?
Most of our students complete assignments at home between their coaching sessions. In that case, they will follow the following schedule with modifications as needed:
STAGE 1: Setting the Stage - Sample Essay and Character Assignment
STAGE 2: Auditioning Your Ideas - First coaching session with any essay coach
STAGE 3: Casting Your Role - Brainstorming Assignment
STAGE 4: Blocking the Structure - Second coaching session with any essay coach
STAGE 5: First Rehearsal - Draft #1
STAGE 6: Run Through - Third coaching session with any essay coach
STAGE 7: Second Rehearsal - Draft #2
STAGE 8: Intermission - Remote Essay Review
STAGE 9: Dress Rehearsal - Draft #3
STAGE 10: Final Performance - Fourth coaching session with any essay coach
STAGE 10+: As many additional meetings as necessary to get your essay to “17-year-old perfect”!
Some students will have a different schedule, because they will complete all work during the meetings. Comprehensive students with more hours to use may prefer to complete all essay work with a coach during meetings; if that is your situation, please disregard the timeline below and refer to this timeline instead.
we suggest the following TIMELINE FOR STUDENTS COMPLETING ASSIGNMENTS AT HOME During their junior year:
Your first coaching session should take place about 3 days after you plan to turn in your STAGE 1 writing assignment - feel free to start next week or next month, whichever is easier for you!
Your second coaching session should take place about one week after your first session during the school year, or about two days after during the summer.
Your third coaching session should take place about one week after your second session, or about two days after during the summer.
Your fourth coaching session should take place about two weeks after your third session, or about one week after during the summer.
This sets you up to complete the entire process in about five weeks, which allows you to work at a manageable pace. Students completing the process during the summer or during senior year will follow a more condensed timeline, with only a couple of days between meetings.
SAMPLE APPOINTMENT TIMELINE FOR STUDENTS COMPLETING ASSIGNMENTS AT HOME DURING JUNIOR YEAR:
March 1: Turn in STAGE 1 homework via form
March 5: First coaching session with any coach
March 12: Second coaching session with any coach
March 19: Third coaching session with any coach
April 2: Fourth coaching session with any coach
We recommend that students book all or most of their essay coaching sessions in advance of the process. This helps them stick to a specific timeline and secure preferred meeting times. However, if you prefer to book sessions as you go, you are welcome to do that as well!
THE STAGE PROGRAM
