Asked on almost every call

Junior spring is ideal — it leaves room for testing, essays, and a summer of real writing. We still take seniors through October and rebuild the plan around the time that is actually left.

Dr. J. Every session is with the founder, not an associate or a junior coach. That is the reason the roster is small and the reason the package costs what it does.

No. We brainstorm, question, and edit. The student writes every word. Admissions officers can tell the difference, and so can we.

No one honestly can, and anyone who does is selling something. We guarantee preparation, a real reply between sessions, and applications submitted on time and in good shape.

Depends which one. The Writers' Workshop runs both ways, but a student picks one and stays with it — Saturdays in Raleigh, capped at 5 students, or Mondays online, capped at 10. A session is an hour either way. The comprehensive month runs over video throughout, including the SAT, ACT and AP work, which keeps scheduling sane across school, work, and time zones.

As many as you need, and no more. It bills monthly with no fixed term, so what really decides the length is when you start. A family joining in junior spring runs to decisions — about a year. Joining after the essay summer is closer to half that. There is no separate fee on top: the month is the price, and the rate follows the workload rather than the calendar, so the busy stretch from June through November costs more than the quieter months after the submissions go in. Dr. J gives you both figures on the call, along with what the year ahead actually asks of your student — which is the part that decides whether either figure is worth paying. Nothing renews on its own, so the length stays a series of your decisions rather than one commitment made at the start.

It depends what you need. One-to-one hours with Dr. J are $250. Inside the comprehensive month there is no hourly billing at all: the list work, the essays, the supplements, the SAT, ACT and AP prep, the weekly office hours and the deadline tracking are all in the one price, and not one of them is a separate purchase. The workshop is $95 for a one-hour session — take one, or take four together and the fourth is most of the way to free. Buy a session or two if the writing is the one thing. Buy the month if you need the year handled.

Nothing renews on its own. The comprehensive package bills monthly — if you need to stop, you finish the month you have paid for. The workshop is booked by the session: take one, or book up to four together for 15% off. A block covers the sessions you bought and then stops. There is no multi-year contract anywhere, and no package you have to buy four of to get a fair price.