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LIVE ONLINE WORKSHOP
Build Your Personal Statement with a Former UChicago Admissions Officer
Work directly with a Former University of Chicago Admissions Officer, to find your essay direction.
Your workshop includes:
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Individual review of your personal statement outline or essay draft
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Optional office hours to ask specific questions about your own essay
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Live feedback on your ideas or outline
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5 hours of live teaching and brainstorming
$400 | Maximum 8 students
LIVE ONLINE WORKSHOP
Build Your Personal Statement with a Former UChicago Admissions Officer
Work directly with a Former University of Chicago Admissions Officer to find your strongest essay direction and understand how it may read from the admissions side of the desk.
Your workshop includes:
-
Individual written review of your own personal statement outline or essay draft
-
Optional Saturday office hours to ask Roscoe specific questions about your own essay
-
Live feedback on your ideas, outline, or draft in a group capped at 8 students
-
5 hours of live teaching, brainstorming, and working sessions
Your application already shows what you've done. What should your essay tell them about you?
Grades, activities, awards, leadership, research, service, and internships can fill an application quickly.
The personal statement has a different job.
It needs to leave the admissions reader with a clear sense of who you are, how you think, and what they should remember after moving on to the next application.
You'll explore several possible directions, test them through guided discussion, and hear how they may read from the perspective of someone who has actually evaluated applications at a highly selective US university.
Session 1
24 Sep | 7–9 PM
Session 2:
27 Sep | 9 AM - 12 PM
Live Online
What you get from the workshop
Understand how admissions officers read
Learn from someone who reviewed thousands of applications at UChicago.
Work through your own ideas
Bring your topics and outline into a group capped at eight students, with live feedback and optional office hours.
Get individual feedback after the workshop
Submit one outline or essay draft for a personal, high-level written review from Roscoe.
Learn to read your essay like an admissions officer
Roscoe will take students inside the admissions reader's perspective:
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How admissions officers read personal statements
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What they are trying to learn about the student
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What can make an essay memorable or difficult to distinguish
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Common problems such as generic topics and formulaic structures
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How to decide what you want the reader to take away
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How to approach the Common App personal statement and relevant US application prompts
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Get unstuck before Session 2
Roscoe will hold optional group office hours for workshop participants.
Students can use this time to ask follow-up questions, discuss ideas that are still developing, or get guidance before bringing their work into Sunday's session.
Put your ideas in front of a former admissions officer
This is the working session.
Students will bring their ideas or outlines into a small-group discussion facilitated by Roscoe.
The group will work through questions such as:
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What does this idea reveal about the student?
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What might an admissions reader remember?
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Is the central idea clear?
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Where are the most interesting or distinctive details?
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Which experiences or themes belong together?
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What should receive more or less emphasis?
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How could the essay develop from here?
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How the workshop works
Meet Roscoe Nicholson
Former University of Chicago Admissions Officer and Writing Instructor
Roscoe has reviewed thousands of university applications, including applications within one of the most competitive admissions pools in the US.
That means he can help you assess your essay from the reader’s side: what stands out, what feels generic, what the reader is likely to remember, and where your intended message may not be coming through.
He also spent five years teaching in the University of Chicago Writing Program, so he can help you turn that admissions perspective into a clearer structure and stronger draft.
Since 2020, students Roscoe has worked with have received offers from more than 100 universities.
Session 1:
24 Sep | 7-9 PM
Session 2:
27 Sep | 9 AM - 12 PM
Live Online
Your application already shows what you've done. What should your essay tell them about you?
That is where many strong students get stuck.
You will explore several possible directions, test them through guided discussion, and hear how they may read from the perspective of someone who has actually evaluated applications at a highly selective US university.
$400 | Maximum 8 students
Understand how admissions officers read
Learn from someone who reviewed thousands of applications at UChicago.
Work through your own ideas
Bring your topics or outline into a group capped at eight, with live feedback and office hours.
Get individual feedback after the workshop
Submit an outline or essay draft for personalised high-level written feedback.
Ask about your own essay between sessions
Join optional Saturday office hours to raise specific questions, test an idea that isn’t working, or get unstuck before Sunday’s working session.
Agenda
Thursday, 24 September, 7:00–9:00 pm SGT
Session 1: Learn what an admissions officer may actually take away from your essay
Understand how an admissions officer reads your essay and work through your strongest possible direction.
Saturday, 26 September
Optional office hours: Ask specific questions about your essay
Ask Roscoe specific questions about your own topic, outline, or draft before the Sunday working session. Timing will be shared with registered participants.
Sunday, 27 September, 9:00 am–12:00 pm SGT
Session 2: Put your ideas in front of a former admissions officer
Bring an outline or draft and get direct feedback on what an admissions reader may understand, remember, question, or want developed further.
Meet Your Facilitator
Roscoe Nicholson
Former University of Chicago Admissions Officer and Writing Instructor
Roscoe has reviewed thousands of university applications, including applications within one of the most competitive admissions pools in the US.
That means he can help you assess your essay from the reader’s side: what stands out, what feels generic, what the reader is likely to remember, and where your intended message may not be coming through.
He also spent five years teaching in the University of Chicago Writing Program, so he can help you turn that admissions perspective into a clearer structure and stronger draft.
Since 2020, students Roscoe has worked with have received offers from more than 100 universities.
Your workshop with him includes:
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5 live hours
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2 optional office hours
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Live feedback in a group of no more than 8
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Individual written review of one outline or essay draft
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The workshop is designed to begin before the drafting stage. Session 1 includes guided brainstorming to help you identify and examine several possible directions.
Yes. You can use the workshop to test what the idea communicates, what an admissions reader may take away from it, and how you might develop it before investing further in the draft.
No. A finished draft is not required.
Roscoe will adapt his feedback to where you are in the process. Students with an outline can pressure-test the central idea and intended takeaway. Students with a draft can examine whether that intended message is actually coming through and what to revise next.
Yes.
During the small-group workshop, Roscoe will respond directly to students' ideas and outlines.
After the workshop, each participant may also submit either one outline or one essay draft for one round of high-level written feedback from Roscoe.
No. The live sessions use a small-group format and are facilitated by Roscoe.
The group is capped at eight students so that each participant can contribute and receive direct feedback.
The follow-up written feedback is individual.
The workshop depends on discussion.
Roscoe needs enough time to understand each student's thinking, respond to individual ideas, and allow the group to learn from one another's examples.
Once eight paid places have been confirmed, registration will close.
A recording of Session 1 can be provided to paid participants who miss it.
Session 2 will not be distributed because students will be discussing personal ideas and application material.
Please refer to the workshop terms and conditions for the full recording, cancellation, and refund policies.
Your place is confirmed once Sedifly has received your completed registration form and verified your S$400 PayNow payment.