I earned more than $17,500 in direct funding as a grad student by applying for scholarships each spring. If you’re writing applications this month, let me help you make them stronger.
It’s scholarship and fellowship season!
Are you a student or researcher applying for tuition or research support? Have a half-written essay? Written the essay but think it’s weak and now worrying about the looming deadline?
I’ve been there, and I can help: when you’ve taken an application as far as you can on your own, you need an experienced writer and reviewer to help you move forward.
Special offer: January 27-February 28
Just for the next month, I’m offering a discounted review service to current higher ed students and active scholars.
Learn more and sign up.
Who’s eligible for this service?
You’re eligible as a student if you’re enrolled part-time or full-time in any accredited college or university program at any level from BA/BSc through terminal degree, including professional post-baccalaureate degrees like business, medicine, and law.
You’re eligible as an active scholar if you’re in the midst of a research project, have made measurable progress on it in the last 3 months, and are seeking new or continued funding to get it done. You do not need to be a tenure-track or adjunct faculty or staff member to be classified as an active scholar or to work with me.
If you’re not sure whether your work is suitable for this offer, write me a short note and let’s talk about it. If it’s not a good fit this time round, no problem. If it is, let’s get to work.
Why I can help you
I know about how to navigate scholarship season because I used it to earn two graduate degrees and graduate with no debt.
I was raised abroad by two immigrants, a nurse and a social worker who believed in hard work and education. I’m also the last of three children, and my father had hit retirement age by the time I began grad school.
The only way for me to study in the U.S. and support myself once I arrived was to work for my university and supplement wages with scholarships. International students aren’t eligible for federal aid and are also restricted from working off-campus: by law, we couldn’t do extra shifts in service jobs between classes and campus work like some domestic students could. Each semester, school officials warned us that anyone caught working unauthorized risked being thrown out of the country and forgoing their degree.
So for 7 years I crunched my spending down to quantum levels and solicited recommendations from faculty members and supervisors every January around this time. I spent weekends writing and rewriting personal essays and resumes for merit scholarships; I used my campus’ writing resources and asked mentors and friends for feedback when they were available.
Between the master’s degree and the PhD, I earned more than $17,500 in direct funding as well as over 80% of the cost of my tuition and fees. I made a good case to scholarship committees and fellowship reviewers each year, and I wouldn’t have had access to that funding if I’d never applied.
I know the drill. I know how much procrastinating can cost, and one of the reasons we do it anyway.
Imposter Syndrome is real. Don’t let it derail you.
Especially for minorities in the academy and research-intensive fields, Imposter Syndrome is real and can be debilitating. It’s not that you’re unqualified or don’t have relevant experience, and it’s not that you do shoddy work, aren’t skilled, or have nothing to add to your field.
It’s that you’re in a context that exerts explicit and latent pressure on students and faculty members and requires high performance from you over long periods of time. That pressure and the self-doubt it engenders doesn’t ease up once you’re credentialed and out in the field. But self-doubt can block you from applying for affirmation through scholarships and grants, or sabotaging your application by waiting until the last minute to work on it.
“Researchers find that impostorism is most often found among extremely talented and capable individuals… [It] thrives when competition is intense and there are few mentors to provide a reality check.” — Ann Friedman
I often talk to clients and friends about developing support systems: a circle of people who encourage them as they work and give them reality checks on their ability, potential, self-perceptions, and writing—particularly during intense periods like scholarship season.
That support is part of what you get with this service. Work with me, and be supported.
Who this service isn’t for
Some of you who’re eligible won’t be a good fit—and that’s ok. I want you to get the help that fits for you.
This service isn’t for you if you’re looking for a proofreader. There are hundreds of more time- and cost-effective ways to find your comma splices and repeated words, including word processing grammar tools and campus writing centers. I do point out basic errors as part of my reviews, but focusing on them when there may be deeper issues with argument and evidence is a waste of your time and mine.
This offer is for you if you have the bandwidth to take on a thoughtful, thorough tear-down of your writing and up to 5 strategies for rebuilding it so it’s cleaner, tighter, and stronger.
This service isn’t for you if you have an “emergency” and your due date is less than 3 days away. Though I do empathize with Last Minute Panic, my standard turnaround is 72 hours, so once you’ve paid, you can expect feedback in 3 days. After you get my feedback on Day 3, you’ll still need to review your work or schedule a call, prep your next draft, and get it all ready to turn in before your deadline. You’ll need more than a day or two for that. Manage your time.
Simply, it takes time to produce good work. When you schedule time to plan, create, process, get feedback, and revise, you’re able to produce a final product that’s of higher quality and that represents you more effectively than a Last Minute Panic job could.
“I do my best work isolated and amped up on caffeine and Skittles” is one of those lies we tell until we’ve nailed down the humane working conditions that truly help us to thrive.
In 15 years of working with writers as an editor, teacher, tutor, and writing center consultant, I’ve not met more than 2 writers who could digest substantive feedback, produce a solid next draft, finalize their work, and submit less than 48 hours before their deadline. If you’re betting on being Writer #3, this service isn’t for you.
This service is for you if you’ll give yourself the time you need to get the help you need.
This service isn’t for you if you aren’t receptive to feedback. I read my clients’ work very carefully, enjoy learning new things from them, and ask pointed questions about the logic of the content, not just the way it’s expressed. One recently said that he loves the way I get into his head and help him to say what he meant to say in the first place.
But this kind of relationship means that you have to be open enough to take on another person’s view. I’m your chance to put your work in front of an informed, supportive, and friendly reader before it goes out into the wider world.
Make the most of this opportunity by loosening your grip on the text and being open to a few strategic improvements. Edits to the text aren’t attacks on your personality and questions about the argument don’t mean that your work is worthless.
This service is for you if you care so much about your work that you’re willing to let it evolve and willing to let me guide you.
You know yourself, what you’re working on, and whether you’re ready to move forward. So again, If this service isn’t a good fit this time round, no problem. If it is, let’s get to work.
Pricing plans
Your due date is more than a week away, and you meet the eligibility and good-fit criteria above. You have three options to choose from:
For $72.50
You get:
- A 30-minute deep read
- A copy of your document with in-text edits, suggested changes, and marginal comments about what works and why
- Up to 2 additional emails for clarification or follow-up questions
This option is ideal for first and second drafts, and for applications due more than 3 weeks from the day we agree to work together and you provide your work. It’s also useful for soon-due applications.
For $135
You get:
- A 30-minute deep read
- A copy of your document with in-text edits, suggested changes, and marginal comments about what works and why
- Up to 2 additional emails for clarification or follow-up questions
- A 30-minute scheduled Skype conversation (Monday-Thursday, 9-8 p.m.; Friday, 9-5 p.m.)
This option is ideal for third and final drafts with deadlines 1-2 weeks away from the day we start working together.
For $275
You get my premium review service, most appropriate for short documents (5-19 pages).
You also get the same comprehensive feedback I give to non-fiction authors and large organizations moving through program accreditation and reaffirmation. Your deadline must be a minimum of 2 weeks away and you’ll need to discuss the project with me first.
Other benefits:
- A 2-hour deep read
- A copy of your document with in-text edits, suggested changes, and marginal comments about what works and why
- Up to 2 additional emails for clarification or follow-up questions
- A 30-minute scheduled Skype conversation (Monday-Thursday, 9-8 p.m.; Friday, 9-5 p.m.)
Work with me
This service will only be available for the next month, and I’m not sure when I’ll offer it again. Don’t let the month slip by: don’t dally until Week 3 and then start scrambling!
Contact me today and let’s make this your best scholarship season yet.
