Nicole works at an hourly rate which she will share during your consultation Zoom. She works in two hour chunks with students so they can do a deep dive and make material progress in each session. Operating hourly (as opposed to a package) ensures that parents only pay for the exact amount of time Nicole spends with each student. Nicole only charges for sessions; emails and texts in between sessions are complimentary. To secure a spot for your student, Nicole requires a deposit that covers your student's first two-hour session. After that, parents will be billed on the 1st of every month for your student's previous month's sessions. Credit card payments are taken through QuickBooks.

Parents who are unfamiliar with today's college admissions landscape and seek earlier guidance start their students with Nicole during their freshman year so she can guide them on high school course selection, summer programs and internships, and meaningful extracurricular activities. Nicole will meet with these students once a quarter for check-ins.

Most students start midway through junior year. This allows time to develop the best college list, visit schools of interest, and create well-polished, engaging essays. At the latest, Nicole suggests starting over the summer between junior and senior year. If you wait until the fall of senior year, Nicole can help you do excellent, expedited work, but you can expect a more intense process.

Nicole takes on 25-30 students per admissions cycle. Her work produces the best results when she has the opportunity to work deeply and closely with each of her students, which is only possible with a small roster. This also means Nicole will always be available to meet with you.

Nicole meets with Dallas, Texas area students at her home office near Northwest Hwy and 75 and with all other students via Zoom. Meeting times are designed to work around the schedules of high school students, so they are generally on weekday afternoons starting at 4pm and during the day on weekends.

Great question! Since one of the by products of the college admissions process is growing your student's independence, executive skills, and agency, Nicole prefers to work directly with students on all aspects of their applications. After the initial consultation with the parent, she includes the parent on a group text where the parent can see when their student is scheduling meetings with Nicole. Nicole also shares the Google Drive folder with parents so they can check in on their student's work at their convenience. Please note: Nicole does not want parents to edit their student's essays in any way! This puts a wrench into the delicate and involved writing process and undermines the end result. Nicole is available for parents to call or email throughout the process should they have questions or concerns they need to address.

In general, we encourage student autonomy and responsibility. We also take responsibility for motivating your student and keeping them on track. Trusting your student and speaking with Nicole periodically is the best way for you to support this process.

Nicole is a believer in all students at least attempting to do well on either the ACT or SAT as a strong test score can be a huge asset, even in today's test-optional admissions climate. Nicole can help pair you with test prep experts- she does not do test prep.

Authenticity, personal growth, self-actualization, and verbal acuity

For students with a small list of schools that don't require supplemental essays and have generous acceptance rates, a school counselor will suffice. However, ambitious students with lists that include reach schools with low acceptance rates will benefit from in-depth, one-on-one guidance from an independent consultant who will coach them through determining the overall story of their applications as well as sit with them as they execute each individual element and essay required. Your Best Essay is comfortable complementing the school counselor's advice- for example, it saves time when students arrive armed with a near-finalized college list that comes from working with their school counselor. Then YBE can home in on the writing elements.

Your Best Essay is a sole proprietorship rooted in its founder, Nicole Stewart's, profound love for mentoring teenagers. Her work is always personalized, with a foundation of unconditional support and respect for her students, their families and their goals. Nicole's warm heart, ability to maximize her student's strengths, and refined expertise in storytelling make her stand out as a very special advocate for teenagers as they transition from high school into college.