About
Sara became a college counselor after discovering the unique satisfaction of helping her students get into their dream schools. She'd been tutoring for five years already, and a few of her students asked for help with their college essays. When the acceptances began rolling in, she knew that she wanted to provide this service to others.
Four years later, with a few thousand hours of experience, Sara is confident she can guide you through every step of this process, and teach you the techniques necessary to get into the school of your choice. In addition to her own Ivy League education, she's honed a results-focused method over the years that has helped students earn ac...
Sara helped students get into:
Sara helps with…
Fun Facts
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My process
This is a tested and true concept, and lies at the core of my approach to college advising. I am happy to help you build your lists, look through scholarships, and every other aspect of college advising—but the core of what I do is that I make sure your essay is something the college admissions officials won't be able to put down. When that reader goes before the admissions committee and argues your case, I want them to care. I want them to be invested. Frankly, they have to be. When an application is being considered, three things can happen. First and most rarely, a student with an exceptional application may get passed directly to the admission director—in which case that essay will still need to be emotionally compelling. Second and most commonly, those who clearly don't make the cut will be rejected by the first essay reader. But most students will fall in between, and the reader who likes your application will have to argue your case in front of the admissions committee.
I want you to be the student that reader truly wants to admit. The one they fight for. The one they care about.
In our sessions, my approach depends on what you want and where you are at in your applications. In broad strokes, if you are at the start of things, then I will begin by discussing your entire application. We'll go over grades, extracurriculars, test-scores. We'll build a list of reach, target, and safety schools, and I'll build a schedule to get everything done by the desired deadlines (be that ED, EA, or regular decision). We'll begin brainstorming for the common app, and set aside stories that are likely to come up in supplementals. Together we'll map out a story, and you will then go write it out. Afterward, I will edit it, leaving comments to explain every suggested change. We'll repeat this process until we have something that you are truly proud of.
I'm also available to help with scholarship applications.
Please see my packages below for more details. If no packages are visible, it is because I am fully booked.
Packages
Safety
10 hours
Target
20 hours
Ivy League
40 hours
Advising hours
College admissions advising
Set a focus for each session or get help with any aspect of the admissions process.
Build Your Admissions Narrative
Let's craft your admissions narrative—and learn why you need one!
Profile Review (May Request as Free Consultation)
Find out if we're a compatible match, with a review of the student's admissions profile. This is what the free inquiry is for, so feel free to reach out!
Transform Your Essay Draft
Let's evaluate your current draft together over video! May include structural revisions or line-by-line polish
Essay review
Full Review
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 4 hours +$200.00
Description
For anyone and everyone with concerns about your essay—this is for you! Whether you've just finished a first draft or you've polished until your eyes cross and need someone else to take a look, I will provide a full and complete breakdown of your essay's strengths, weaknesses, and what exactly you need to do next. This includes detailed line-notes, if possible (if an essay needs extensive structural changes, line notes are sometimes not productive).
FOLLOW UP - For Return Students Only
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 4 hours +$200.00
Description
For return students who want me to take a look at how you've implemented my notes on an essay that I have ALREADY REVIEWED—this is for you! You'll get 25% off my base price when submitting THE SAME ESSAY for a second round of feedback. Please do not try to submit an essay that I have not already provided feedback on.
Topic Check
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 4 hours +$200.00
Description
For students who have a few ideas or who aren't sure if their essay answers the prompt—this is for you! Feel free to submit partial or complete drafts, and I'll let you know if your essay works on a conceptual level. If it doesn't, I'll explain why and tell you what questions/concerns a college admissions officer is likely to have. I won't provide line notes, but after this you will qualify to submit a Follow Up Review if you'd like more help.
Recent reviews
“Thank you! Quick turnaround and thorough attention to essay, with overall comments and specific edit suggestions provided—exactly what was hoping to receive. Definitely think this expert review added huge value. Would use Sara Larner again and highly recommend! "
Julie T.“Very helpful. Ms. Larner provides a very comprehensive analysis. "
Keith M.“The review was very helpful. They went into detail and also provided exampled to help me understand what to improve. "
Noelle G.