I want to talk about what IECs do, if you don’t already know.
These are my first two clients, my kids. I got into this work as they were going through the college application process, and I realized that the more I was learning about the process, the more I didn't know.
At the time, I was teaching undergraduate English and communications courses, writing instruction, and suddenly my kids and my kids’ friends and my friends and my friends’ kids, they were all handing me these college application essays.
And I just fell in love with helping these high schoolers with these college application essays. So that’s what got me started.
I created ESSAY CURE in 2019.
2023 was a big year for me. I published a book, “RIGHT My College Application Essay.”
There are a lot of students who need help who don’t have access to an IEC, and I realized that I can’t get in front of all these students, so I published the book.
In December, 2024, I completed my certificate program in College Admissions and Career Planning from UC Berkeley. It was 16 graduate level credits, I put in more than 250 hours, including a practicum. I wanted that connection with other IECs because the more of us who are working together to help a student, the better we can help students.
IECs help students and their families find schools that are a good fit.
IECs are looking for schools that are a good fit for students academically, personally, and offer opportunities for social growth.
We work with students on their college applications, standardized testing, academic and career planning.
I’m also a certified Maxwell DISC consultant and trainer, so, this is one of the assessments that I use with students that really helps them not just with the college and career planning, but it also helps later with the essays. Download this sample report to get an idea of what this looks like:
All IECs are trained in counseling to understand the family’s system strengths and vulnerabilities. We work with the family and within those constraints that every family has to find the best fit college option for students.
We do this by providing a reality based evaluation of grades, standardized test scores, activities, academic interests, social interests, leadership abilities, activities, the family systems that come into play, and also the family’s ability to pay — because at the end of the day, that’s a really important factor.
A lot of families don’t want to sit down and have a conversation about paying for college and if this describes your family, I encourage you to face this 800-pound gorilla in the room now, before a student starts the process of searching for a best-fit college.
There are IECs who specialize in working with students with learning differences or neurodiverse students. I am not one of those IECs, and this is why I belong to these professional organizations; if a family comes to me that needs extra support in that area, I can funnel them to someone who can give them that specialized help.
What I specialize in is the essays and also students who are interested in aviation. I have partnerships set up with people that they can talk to and get information from if that’s a direction that they’re interested in going.
My professional background is in editorial writing and photography, and that’s the work that I bring to students with the essays.
My goal, is to turn the admissions officers into advocates by showing students how to use academic writing at the undergraduate level to create a college application essay that makes them jump off the page.
Don’t just take my word for it; see what parents and students who have worked with me have to say:
Share this post