Kaplan’s Pricing

Kaplan *sigh*

Transparency in Tutoring

You deserve transparency and fair pricing. Test Prep/Admissions Consulting companies blend multiple services into a single package to obscure the value of those services, and to get you to pay for services you don’t need.

I charge $150/hr for live sessions. We can investigate schools, analyze your profile, build themes for your admissions essays and live edit those essays together. Whatever you want to do, we will do. Kaplan charges $1300 to get 3 hours of in-person consulting. Or you can meet with me for 9 hours (for $1350).

Or let’s say you’ve met with me twice, and just want a round of remote editing to finish off your admissions essays. Let’s say four pages of essays. I charge $50/page. That’s $300 for two meetings, then $200 for remote editing.

Kaplan, Spivey, etc. don’t offer options. You buy a mega-package, or you get nothing. That’s called bundling, and it’s not in your interest. South Park infamously called out cable companies for this same sort of consumer manipulation.

You deserve the ability to customize. To pay for what you want, without paying for things you don’t want. And you definitely deserve more transparency from these companies.

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Essay Editing

What Does an Admissions Essay Editor Do?

Infographic titled "Four Types of Essay Editing" with a funnel diagram. At the essay level, stage 1 is "Structural" editing for identifying structural problems. At the paragraph/sentence level, stage 2 is "Substantive" editing for issues with organization and clarity. At the paragraph/sentence level again, stage 3 is "Copy Editing" focusing on mechanics and accuracy. At the word level, stage 4 is "Proofreading" for correcting spelling, grammar, and formatting errors. The stages are color-coded from red to blue and include detailed explanations on the right.

I read for themes, which means I’m going to ask you what themes and personality traits you’re attempting to establish in your personal statement.

I read for narrative structure, i.e. whether your themes are properly enmeshed with a narrative about yourself and your drives. And whether your chronology tracks.

I read for flow. Are you making it easy for the reader to follow your story? Phrase order, word order and effective punctuation drive the flow of an essay.

I read for conciseness: which means I constantly ask whether each word, sentence and paragraph advances your story and enhances your personal statement.

Finally, I read for grammar and spelling. And I will get you to the level of perfection I required for myself in legal briefs.

Or, email me at
quinn.mika@idiosyncraticlsat.com

What Makes a Personal Statement Effective?

(construction in progress)

Anime character with long hair, glasses, and a serious expression.

Personality

Artistic depiction of a flat Earth supported by four elephants on the back of a giant space turtle, inspired by mythology.

Writing Quality

SCP Foundation logo with a brain icon inside a circle and arrows pointing inward

Values

Screenshot from a strategy video game displaying an event titled 'Talented and Ambitious Daughter.' The description discusses a talented daughter in Montferrat being considered for the throne, given her diplomatic skills. Options include accepting or rejecting her as heir, with potential impacts on legitimacy and Papal influence.

Perceived Legitimacy

Writing Quality

Good writing is easy to read. Good writing is easy to follow. Good writing is easy to comprehend.

I estimate that the judge I clerked for, the Honorable (ret.) Christopher S. Sontchi, read between 100-500 pages of text every workday. Dense legal text.

Every. Single. Day.

You know what he appreciated? Readability.
Things like:

  • Lists

  • Cohesive paragraphs

  • Concise sentences

  • Minimal use of passive voice and arcane language

  • Helpful headers and thesis sentences

  • The Rule of Three

  • Effective use of white space

  • An aesthetically pleasing font in a size that doesn’t make him annoyed at you.
    (NOT TIMES NEW ROMAN)

Finding Flow

Readers want to understand the text in front of them. They want to comprehend it, then consider the ideas within it. They don’t want to re-read paragraphs multiple times while puzzling over what the author meant to convey. Confusion is the enemy of comprehension.

Likewise, your admissions officer does not want to feel confused. They want to feel compassion and empathy towards you. They want to read your story and say to themselves, “that’s the sort of person we should have at our school”. They want you to connect with them.

You do not want them confused.

[PLACEHOLDER]

Work in progress

Values

What drives you? Law school is stress city. Lawyering even more so. Why do you want to be an attorney? What will you do once licensed?

Don’t answer. That’s not what we need here. We need testamentary evidence of your values. Stories that show how you became you.

Personality

Admissions officer speak up for the students they become attached to. Every admin finds favorites over the course of the admissions cycle. Someone whose writing creates a feeling of connection. Someone they fight to put on the waitlist, someone they bring up in every admissions round until BAM you’ve been admitted to UChicago Law in late May (me).

That’s not going to happen unless you share yourself in your writing.