Open role · Counseling · Remote · Part-time, seasonal

Essay Specialist

You’ll guide 11th and 12th graders through the writing that carries the most weight: personal statements, supplements, and everything else in the application. Your job isn’t to make essays sound impressive. It’s to help students find what’s true and interesting about themselves, and teach them to write it well. It’s a seasonal role: about 20 hours a week from summer through January.

Apply now
  • 11–12Grades you’ll work with
  • Summer–JanSeasonal role
  • ~20 hrsA week during the season
  • RemotePart-time

Section 01

Who we are

INSPIRATE helps motivated students punch above their weight class and earn acceptances at selective schools where they’ll actually thrive, without the “Ivy or bust” pressure cooker. Founded in 2023, we work with students from 9th grade through application season.

Our students

Motivated high schoolers, 9th through 12th grade, aiming for selective schools. Their families want a clear plan, not more pressure.

What we do for them

Activities and summer programs early on. Then school lists, application strategy, personal statements, and supplements. One team from 9th grade to decision day.

How we work

Regular 1:1 meetings with a written recap after each one. Progress tracked for every student. Monthly quality reviews so nothing slips, and a student portal that keeps it in one place.

Where you fit

You come in when essay season starts, and you own the writing from first brainstorm to final submit.

Section 02

What you’ll own

You own every student’s essays for the season: finding the topics, guiding the drafts, and getting everything in before each deadline.

Core

Personal statements

Help each student find a topic that’s actually theirs, then guide them through drafts until it’s ready.

Core

Supplements

Plan and guide the supplements for every school on the list, so “Why us?” essays sound specific, not copy-pasted.

Core

Teaching, not just editing

Explain why something works or doesn’t, so students get better with each draft and the voice stays theirs.

Seasonal

Deadline planning

Map every essay to every deadline, from early rounds in November through regular decision in January, and keep students on track.

Ongoing

The rest of the application

Review activity descriptions, short answers, and anything else in the application with the same care.

The short version: Find the story. Teach the craft. Hit every deadline. The essay should sound like the student on their best day, not like you.

Section 03

What great looks like

Three ideas sit behind every essay we help with.

Pillar 01

Their voice

Admissions readers can tell when an adult wrote it. The best essays sound like a real 17-year-old who thinks clearly.

Pillar 02

Specific beats impressive

A small, true moment told well beats a big accomplishment told flatly.

Pillar 03

Everyone has a story

When a student says they have nothing interesting to write about, that’s where the work starts.

Section 04

How you’ll be measured

We look at the essays themselves, and at how the season felt for students.

Essay quality

  • Essays that get thereClearly the student’s voice, clearly specific, and finished on time.
  • Admissions resultsWhere your students get in, especially at highly selective schools.

Student experience

  • On time, every timeEvery essay finished and submitted on time.
  • Student and family feedbackStudents and families rate their experience after every session, so you always know how it’s going.

Section 05

Who this role is for

We need someone who can teach writing, not just fix it.

You’re a fit if

  • You know what makes an essay work for highly selective schools, and you can explain it
  • You’ve helped students get into schools you can name
  • You can teach a student to write better, not just edit their draft
  • You have real availability from summer through January
  • You can share an essay sample, with names removed, that shows your work

This isn’t for you if

  • Your instinct is to rewrite a student’s essay in your own voice
  • You can’t make time during the summer-to-January rush
  • You’re looking for steady hours all year
  • You think every essay should be about a big accomplishment

Section 06

Schedule & structure

This role is fully remote, part-time, and seasonal: it runs from summer through January.

  1. Fully remote

    Work from wherever you do your best work.

  2. Seasonal: summer through January

    Expect about 20 hours a week from summer through January, while students are writing. Outside those months there’s no essay work, so there are no hours.

  3. Part-time employee

    This isn’t a contract position. You join as a part-time employee because we’re building a long-term partnership with you, not something short-term.

  4. Getting started

    Your first two weeks are mostly onboarding and training: how we work, the tools we use, and the standard we hold. Then you start working with your own students, with the team behind you.

Section 07

Apply now

A short application, plus a short Loom video. The Loom is where we learn the most about how you think. If it looks like a fit, we’ll reach out with a short work sample.

An essay you helped with. Google Docs or PDF, set so anyone with the link can view.

Google Drive or Dropbox, set so anyone with the link can view.

Record a 3–5 minute Loom answering these three questions, in order:

  1. Background: Walk us through how you work with a student on an essay, from the first brainstorm to the final draft.
  2. Role-play: Act this out, talking to the camera as if we’re the student. A senior tells you they have nothing interesting to write about, and their deadline is three weeks away. Run the start of your first session: what you’d say, the questions you’d ask, and what they’d leave with.
  3. Why this role: What do you know about INSPIRATE, and why do you think you’d be a fit for this role specifically?

Be specific. Stories from your own work tell us far more than general claims. (Loom is free at loom.com.)

Trouble with this form? Apply on Google Forms instead (opens in a new tab).

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