When it comes to applying for things we really, really want, dreams and goals can get lost in the shuffle of deadlines, asking for letters of recommendation, deciding where exactly to apply… the list goes on and on.
Oh, and you have to write about yourself.
And be convincing.
You have to be the perfect candidate, while being yourself, stay realistic about your competitiveness while having the courage to go for it, have absolute certainty about what you are doing and why.
Now, put all of that into writing. It is as simple as that!*
*This isn’t simple at all. That’s why I’m here!
Applying to undergraduate programs, graduate schools, crafting an artist statement or an individual grant proposal can all turn into stressful processes full of self-doubt and painful mistakes.
Undergrad Applications
I believe the personal essay can be an empowering and fun experience no matter what a student’s relationship with writing is. For many of my clients, writing the personal essay gives new insight into why they are pursuing college in the first place.
For those who are more confident in their writing skills but want guidance in the application process itself, I offer a variety of options for creating an application plan. Understanding the high school resume, preparing for conversational interviews, selecting schools, and even exploring different major and career paths– these are all areas I can assist you with.
High School Programs
Whether applying to private high schools or looking at special programs or internships while in high school, the personal statement is an important tool for convincing others to give you a chance.
For those who are more confident in their writing skills but want guidance in the application process itself, I offer a variety of options for creating a plan. Understanding the high school resume, preparing for conversational interviews, analyzing prompts, and even exploring different special programs– these are all areas I can assist you with.
Graduate Applications
Whether you have been out of school for a while and are planning to return for a professional degree, or you are looking at staying in academia, I can work with you on any aspect of your graduate school goals.
If writing isn’t your thing, or you haven’t done much of it since your first year in college, I can work with you on personal statement coaching for a wide variety of programs. In the past, I’ve worked on statements for Masters and Ph.D. programs. No matter your reasons for pursuing graduate school, the personal statement can be a powerful tool to prove your readiness for the field you hope to excel in.
Artist Statement & Grants
The artist statement combines the difficulty of writing about oneself with the challenge of translating visual elements onto the written page. What do you want your viewer to focus on? How can you convince gatekeepers that your art has something to say?
I’ve given talks and written articles on artist statements and individual grants. Whether you are a visual artist, a writer, or another creative, let my writing expertise and art background help you craft an effective statement about your work.
For the past eight years, I have been helping all kinds of people, from artists to scientists, future professors to start-up dreamers, submit confident applications. I worked for two years as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon University and judged writing competitions for Boise State University, Idaho’s Scholastic Writing Awards, and literary contests. As a professional writer in both literary and popular magazines, I combine my experience and training from my MFA in Creative Writing to help you harness the power of narrative in your application writing. My work as a college English instructor along with my two years at Boise State’s Writing Center mean my approaches to writing and higher education are based in the powerful combination of peer-reviewed scholarship and “been-there-done-that.”
I am an application coach that provides transparent, informed, and empathetic strategies for future students and creatives all over the world who want to submit confident applications in an increasingly competitive climate. When it comes to navigating application writing, I draw from my wide variety of training and teaching approaches to find a way to make application writing clearer, easier, and (dare I say it?) fun. That’s right, I promise I can make this process fun!
Jackie is an admissions guru. She not only helped me perfect my statement of purpose, personal history statement, and responses to short answer questions, but she guided me through all aspects of the admissions process. She helped me plan out my timeline for taking the GRE, asking for letters of recommendation, and for working on my applications. She advised me on how to approach one of my recommendation writers who seemed to be putting off writing my letter until the very last minute. She has even taken the time to answer my many questions about financial aid, what admissions officers look for, and other aspects of the admissions process and life as a graduate student. I am eternally grateful to Jackie for her honest feedback, her magical ability to help others word things in the perfect way, and for all of her support throughout the admissions process. Thanks to her, I will be starting a masters in my dream program at my dream school in the fall.
I’d thought my statement was in pretty good shape, but when I received Jackie’s edit I was stunned by how immediately and evidently better it was. Jackie responded to what I’d written sharply and sensitively, and with what’s obviously a huge breadth of knowledge about the admissions process. She raised a few possible red flags in my wording that hadn’t occurred to me and suggested how I might remove them while still staying true to my message. A particular concern of mine was how and whether to address my academic transcripts, and she considered this carefully and offered me a great solution.
My statement still feels like something I’ve written, but it represents me so much more clearly and positively than it did. Jackie gave me insightful feedback on my statement both at a word and sentence level and in terms of its overall structure. I was lucky to have found someone who is such a keen editor, as well as having such a deep understanding of the statement’s context and purpose. I was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Alabama, accepted with an extra fellowship at the University of Minnesota, and waitlisted at the University of Wisconsin Madison. I can’t recommend this service highly enough.
Whether you want access to a personal coach throughout a several month application process or you need expert guidance in writing a high-stakes personal statement, I offer flexible coaching that is uniquely tailored to your needs and communication style. Because of my individualized approach, I only work with three clients per day.
Do you prefer speaking over video chat? We can do that. Does video chatting make you uncomfortable but you’re no stranger to emojis? We can use chat boxes for live discussion. I can also communicate strictly through email or comment boxes if you prefer to have more time to think through what you want to say. Any combination of communication will be available to you during your time working with me. No matter your time zone, I’m here to support you.
Your time is valuable. With no bulky forced packages of services you could do on your own time with the right information, I can help you pinpoint exactly where you need more guidance and where you can soar on your own. My ultimate goal is to provide you with the knowledge, confidence, and methodology to tackle any future applications all on your own. Though, if you want to come back and work on something super-specific (like one of those “tell us all of your hopes, dreams, and a time when you failed in 150 words maximum”) I’m happy to help.
Working with me on applications and personal statements means being vulnerable, and sharing many aspects of yourself, so I feel it is only fair for me to share a vulnerable memory of my own. My first graduate school acceptance came after a dog-walking shift in San Francisco where I was earning less than minimum wage. I distinctly remember crying in my car as I stared in disbelief at my acceptance email. The previous six months of writing my applications, completing painstaking research, refreshing my email, and worrying no one would ever say yes had all been worth it. I ended up attending a different program that contacted me several weeks later, but my point is, I’ve been there. I understand the stress, the risk, and even needing to change your day-to-day routine temporarily so that you can give your applications your all.
Figuring out what you want to do is difficult enough, but following through on every step of the research, application, and waiting can feel impossible if you don’t have the right support.
I love helping people discover their passions and revel in the confidence achieving clear goals can bring. I believe in my mission of giving people an insider understanding of how application committees work. By understanding your audience, whatever special program, college, university, artist gallery, or fellowship committee you are presenting yourself to, you can learn to think from their perspective and figure out how to frame yourself in the best possible light while staying true to who you are.
Jackie is an admissions guru. She not only helped me perfect my statement of purpose, personal history statement, and responses to short answer questions, but she guided me through all aspects of the admissions process. She helped me plan out my timeline for taking the GRE, asking for letters of recommendation, and for working on my applications. She advised me on how to approach one of my recommendation writers who seemed to be putting off writing my letter until the very last minute. She has even taken the time to answer my many questions about financial aid, what admissions officers look for, and other aspects of the admissions process and life as a graduate student. I am eternally grateful to Jackie for her honest feedback, her magical ability to help others word things in the perfect way, and for all of her support throughout the admissions process. Thanks to her, I will be starting a masters in my dream program at my dream school in the fall.
With Jackie’s help, I was able to create a project proposal that earned me funding for my summer.
It felt as if Jackie was leading me through dangerous territory. I came out the other side with a new artist statement and all in one piece! I worked much harder with her help than I would have on my own. She made it interesting and fun. I’d recommend her to all my friends.
Last month’s Wyoming Women’s Business Center Roundtable speaker, Jackie Sizemore, CEO and Owner of Point of View Consulting, spoke on Crafting Strategic Artist statements & Biographies. Her material and guidance was fantastic. In fact, some of the best insight I have learned all year. Her presentation revealed key strategies for discovering your core values as a writer and using them to effectively engage and motivate people.
I’d thought my statement was in pretty good shape, but when I received Jackie’s edit I was stunned by how immediately and evidently better it was. Jackie responded to what I’d written sharply and sensitively, and with what’s obviously a huge breadth of knowledge about the admissions process. She raised a few possible red flags in my wording that hadn’t occurred to me and suggested how I might remove them while still staying true to my message. A particular concern of mine was how and whether to address my academic transcripts, and she considered this carefully and offered me a great solution.
My statement still feels like something I’ve written, but it represents me so much more clearly and positively than it did. Jackie gave me insightful feedback on my statement both at a word and sentence level and in terms of its overall structure. I was lucky to have found someone who is such a keen editor, as well as having such a deep understanding of the statement’s context and purpose. I was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Alabama, accepted with an extra fellowship at the University of Minnesota, and waitlisted at the University of Wisconsin Madison. I can’t recommend this service highly enough.
I felt overshadowed by fellow students and bewildered by expectations.
College applications were very novel to me, and very difficult. I didn’t know what to give and not to give attention to on my applications. I was paralyzed by how any aspect fell into how admission offices perceived my application. Knowing whether I was scrubbing and shining my application or grinding it with sandpaper was beyond comprehension.
Jackie’s help and suggestions guided me in putting together brilliant applications. Applications I sent with confidence, confidence I never would have envisioned. Her advice and knowledge did wonders more than any book or website could hope.
A better resource and more resourceful than any other help I sought, as well as a splendid person to work with, she molded a miserable time into an acceptance letter from my first-choice University. I’d recommend her help to any student moving along in the college application process.
Jackie takes writing essays to a whole different level. She digs deep to make the essays very personal and unique. I like Jackie’s style as she’s not afraid to give feedback until she knows you’ve put in your best. [Her] response time is simply amazing!
As a prose writer applying to graduate programs for creative writing, I was sure I wouldn’t have a problem writing the statement of purpose. But after putting together a decent statement, I was still unsure if it was in the place it needed to be for my applications. I had almost resigned myself to that merely “decent” statement when I decided to reach out to Jackie. The in-depth feedback and edits I received reinvigorated an application process that can be so daunting and draining.
Jackie helped me pinpoint an underlying structure for my statement, honed in on certain ambiguities and questions I wasn’t addressing, and encouraged me to be more direct with my intentions. More than anything, I was worried that the drudgery of the application process had stripped my statement of its full passion, but Jackie helped me to reclaim that passion and make it the star of the statement.
It was easy for me to trust Jackie’s judgment, considering her extensive experience with admissions and teaching, as well as her graduate degree in the field to which I am applying. She does the work, and she is thorough and kind while doing it.
Jackie’s comments on my personal statement were very thorough and spot on. She was able to distill what I was trying to say and give me great advice on how to make it even better. She also took into account my specific concerns and goals for the statement. I’m so glad I enlisted Jackie’s help for my personal statement!
Jackie gave me a thorough and specific critique on my application materials. She provided a set of objective eyes and helped me identify areas in my essay that could be misinterpreted. Beyond just critiquing the mechanics of my essay, Jackie pushed me to examine and state my objectives more clearly. As someone who knows how an admissions department works, she was able to offer very specific feedback. Jackie also communicated clearly about her timeline and gave her feedback very quickly, which I appreciated very much!