The least difficult person you will ever meet.
ABOUT Dr. Pat Wilk
Dr. Pat Wilk spent most of her career as a high school English teacher at Paramus High School in Paramus, New Jersey. She taught every writing course in the school, including several electives she created. She earned an Ed. D. in English Education, with a concentration in the teaching of writing, from Teachers’ College, Columbia University, in 1996.
In 2005 she was one of 15 teachers chosen to participate in a summer reading and creative writing seminar at The New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. In 2004, she wrote a grant for a research project pairing experienced mentor teachers with new teachers, and received funding through Montclair State University and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. In 2003, she was awarded a full-tuition scholarship by the Dodge Foundation for a poetry workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center, a writer’s community in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In 2002, she was chosen by the Paramus school district to receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the high school level.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter, written a nonfiction how-to book about antique cars, published some poetry, written press releases for Columbia University, and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses at the college level. She has more than 25 years of teaching experience.
Mostly, she’s been working with high school kids on improving their writing. Every year, dozens of students came to her scared, stuck, angry, or blank, and asked for college essay help. They all left happy. They got into great colleges, they were proud of their essays, and they learned something about writing.
College Essay Boot Camp began as a suggestion from Paramus High School students who were coming back after school every afternoon to work on their essays. College Essay Boot Camp was created in 2008--an amazing 16 years ago! Dr. Wilk hired one of her most tech-savy students to design the first web site. An art student drew a boot footprint logo. Her buddy Dennis Dalelio--a fabulous photography teacher--shot the images. Today, a beloved guidance counsellor at a highly-respected Bergen County high school, who is a former student of Dr. Wilk's, sends his kids to work with her whenever they ask for essay help. "It's a joy to share you with my students," he said recently.
Dr. Wilk is now retired from full-time teaching for ten years. She lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in a house a couple of blocks from the edge of the Williams College campus. She shares her house with three miniature dachshunds. Ellie, an AKC Grand Champion, has had two litters of puppies and is now retired. Petunia, an AKC Champion, had her first--and last--litter in January. Violet, a puppy from that litter, loves everybody and is still learning about the world. Sometimes these dogs travel to the live workshops. Dr. Wilk also has a huge vegetable garden, five apple trees, a foldable kayak, and a 16-foot Airstream camping trailer.
She personally teaches every College Essay Boot Camp workshop.
ABOUT THE DAY What exactly happens at the workshop?
We start with introductions, and some journal writing about who you are. There are no more than three or four people in each in-person workshop. Online workshops are almost always one to one--but if you want to share an online workshop with a friend, that will work. Both families get a discount.
We talk about what a college essay is supposed to accomplish. We talk about the difference between "high stakes writing" and "low stakes writing" and how a relaxed, informal mindset helps you to be more insightful and more creative.
We spend the morning doing loose writing activities in response to the Common Application essay prompts. We break each one apart and reflect on what it means, and what it implies. You do NOT share your writing.
We take breaks. In person, there's fruit, Trader Joe's goodies, candy, and a few different drinks. Online, you take some time to gather your favorite snack.
We read some fabulous essays aloud and discuss the writing techniques which make them so successful. Dialog? Yes! Flashbacks? Why not? A metaphor? Go you!
You get advice about how to decide which topic is the best one for you. HINT: focus on the message. Your job is not to tell a good story. Your job is to GET IN--and hopefully get some money while you're at it.
I teach you a very simple outline technique, and you outline your favorite topic.
We get lunch. (In person, it's pizza. For virtual classes, you raid the fridge.) During lunch, Dr. Wilk reads every word you wrote in the morning, and prepares to give you some intelligent advice. She works on a possible outline. So do you.
After lunch, we start by collaboratively deciding on the structure. Once you know what you're doing, the writing is actually the easiest part! The afternoon is all one-to-one coaching as you work on your laptop to draft the essay. We have a clear purpose for each paragraph--and we edit it together before you go on to the next one.
You suffer but you persevere. You may need some candy or peanut-butter- stuffed pretzels in order to continue.
You finish! Dr. Wilk does a final line-by-line edit of your essay, and together, we take it down to no more than 650 words.
You are exhausted but proud. You are relieved, and you can't wait to show everybody your essay.