College Essay Camp

That’s a good thing to know! We’ll be working on your Personal Statement—the 650-word essay required on the Common Application, which is the application portal the majority of colleges and universities use to evaluate your admission to their school. We won’t work on supplemental essays together—you’ll have to work on those this fall!

The College Essay Camp is four weeks long. Groups meet once per week for 1.5 hours, but also plan to complete homework in-between meetings (on your own time) to stay on track.

Although it would be our dream to REALLY make this a camp, swimming, s’mores, hiking, and all—for now, this essay camp is just on Zoom.

Alas—it’s not a real summer camp, in the sense that we’re not IRL, jumping into lakes, pitching tents, and making s’mores. It’s probably more apt to call it a workshop or bootcamp—but that’s not as fun, and we’re not here to be military commanders sucking the soul out of the college application process. We’re here to write and be creative together—leaving you with that same feeling of having made new friends and accomplishing something you’re proud of, like hiking 100 miles on the Appalachian Trail (but much easier).

Life happens. Although the best way to make the most out of this workshop is to come every day, we will be recording sessions that you can watch on your own time. We just ask that you still complete your homework on time!

Absolutely! In fact, we’ll give you $100 off the cost of the essay camp for every friend you invite who also signs up.

Time. When we work with students 1-on-1, we will often work with them over the course of 6-12 months (perhaps even years!) This workshop condenses that timeline into four focused weeks of work, just to complete your Personal Statement.

Money. Although we love working with students 1-on-1 and believe there’s so much value in mentorship, we know our services aren’t accessible to everyone. In the workshop model, the price is lower—and students will get all the same advice and structure as they would 1-on-1—including personalized feedback and edits.

Collaboration. In a workshop model, there’s a feeling that you’re “all in this together.” It’s a chance for high school students to work with their peers, have something to do over the summer, find connection through vulnerability, and challenge each other to write high quality essays. We also think it makes a sometimes less-than-fun process significantly more enjoyable.

Advising. We will say—if you’re looking for help building your college list, learning specific ways to leverage your chances of admission, staying on track of all your application materials and deadlines, 1-on-1 work might be a better fit. Learn more here.

Of course. This workshop is designed to help you grow as a writer, no matter your ability. Writing is a practice; the more you do it, the better you get.

The essay you walk away with will be the best version YOU can write. This means you probably won’t walk away suddenly transformed into a NY Times bestselling author—or the best applicant Harvard has ever seen in its 300 year history—but you will feel like you’ve done everything you can to have an essay that you feel proud of.

The founder of Uncommon Futures took a gap “semester” to travel solo to Nepal for five months before starting college—so we’re big supporters of untraditional paths to higher education.

We always tell our students it’s better to set yourself up with as many choices as you can. Even if college might not be your future next year or the year after—don’t take that opportunity away until you’re sure.

This workshop will help you check things off the application to-do list. If you think you might apply in the fall, it’ll bring you closer to that reality.

For the most part, this workshop caters to students who just finished 11th grade and will be high school seniors next fall. However, we think any student in high school would benefit from learning more about the college essay process and getting their creative juices flowing, so we welcome anyone in 9-11th grade too!

Of course! We know that grades are not always the best representation of who someone is—or their capacity to succeed in the future.

Although we will happily share our knowledge on college admissions as it pertains to written applications, we will not officially advise or counsel students during this workshop about transcripts, grades, and college lists. If you’re seeking more information about those topics, we recommend looking into our 1-on-1 college counseling services.

While we’d love to chat with you, we’re pretty busy! We only offer free consultations for anyone signing up for our 1-on-1 services.

Hang in there! We’ll do our best to respond to each person within 1-2 business days with more information about completing your payment and what you’ll need for camp. If you still don’t hear from us, please reach out to info@uncommonfutures.com.

The deposit is $150 and non-refundable. We accept credit or debit cards or ACH transfer. You can find the deposit here—just make sure you also fill out the sign-up form!

The total cost of the workshop is $950, which includes your $150 deposit. We will give you $100 off for every friend that you refer who signs up.

Invoices for the remaining payment will be sent separately after you pay your deposit. Full payments must be received before the workshop starts to confirm your spot. If there is an extenuating circumstance, please reach out to us. We accept debit or credit card, checks, or ACH transfer.

Please see our Policies and Terms of Service for more.

We believe every student deserves support on their path to higher education, no matter their income status, race, ethnicity, physical ability, sexuality, gender, citizenship status, or other marginalized identity.

If the cost of this workshop is a limiting factor based on your family’s income or other extenuating circumstance (including if you are a First Gen/Low Income student), we will do our best to offer scholarships on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to email us at info@uncommonfutures.com.

Yes, on a case-by-case basis. You can read our refund policy here.

We’ve supported students on their path to Ivies, state schools, liberal art schools, international schools, art schools, big universities, small colleges—and everything in-between. So, yes—that includes Harvard. But also Colorado College, UVM, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, University of Washington, CU Boulder, Oberlin, MIT, UW Madison, Bucknell, Columbia, Lewis and Clark, Reed, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Puget Sound, and more.

Here’s what we can tell you: If you’re applying to college, you need to submit an application. Those applications are reviewed and scored by an Admissions Office based on various criteria—a portion of which includes your written materials and overall potential to succeed at a school. So, yes—essays matter! This workshop will help you create an essay that represents you authentically and helps you stand out as an individual, which ultimately will help you get into college. Also, sometimes the hardest part of this process is just getting it DONE. That’s what we’re here for.

On the other hand, this workshop doesn’t change or improve the past three years of high school. If you’ve gotten good grades, been involved in your community, and explored your passions—you’ve already done the hard work. If you’ve struggled in these arenas, this workshop can only do so much to help you get into your dream school.

It’s always our priority to help ease the burden of families during the college application process. Parents/guardians will be looped into email communications so you know what your student is working on. Ultimately, your student’s success depends on their involvement. If a student repeatedly fails to complete their work and meet deadlines despite support, we cannot guarantee a positive outcome. You can read more about that on our Policies & Guidelines page.

We do not share students’ Google Drive folders with parents/guardians. Having them take ownership of their work is part of the process. If you feel you need access to it, we encourage you to work that out with your student.

In general, it’s usually better to have “less cooks in the kitchen,” at least initially. When students start to ask family members, friends, and guidance counselors for advice, we find that their final work is compromised by conflicting feedback. Sometimes it’s best to read your child’s essay as a moment of celebration—and not as an editor.