Free essay checks

Score your teen’s college essay, free

Get your teen’s full scorecard free - all six scores, emailed to you. Name a target school, and we’ll add one line on how the essay fits what that school says it weighs. Two more free checks are below - a topic score and an activities score.

Curious where your teen stands? Get the full scorecard free.

Paste your teen’s essay below. We’ll score it across the same six questions we use in every audit, and email you the full scorecard - all six scores and the total out of 30. Name a target school, and we’ll add one line on how the essay fits what that school says it weighs. We also run the essay against the 7 red flags we see most - if one trips, the scorecard names the biggest. Scores only: what’s behind the numbers, and what to fix, is the audit. No upsell pressure, just honest numbers. Your scorecard lands within 1 business day.

0 words

One free scorecard per email. Through October 31.

Scored by a former Kellogg admissions reader, not an AI.

Sample scorecard - the exact format of the email you receive

What lands in your inbox

These are the real scores from our published sample review (a "Why Olin" supplemental essay), shown so you can see the shape of the email before you send yours.

23 / 30
All six scores, the total, and two extra lines.

  1. Does it sound like you?

    4 / 5

  2. Did you show, or just tell?

    4 / 5

  3. Does it hold together?

    4 / 5

  4. Did you actually do something?

    4 / 5

  5. Could anyone else have written this?

    3 / 5

  6. Did you earn the ending?

    4 / 5

One line on a target school: name a school on the form above, and your scorecard adds one line on how the essay fits what that school publishes as its priorities.

Red flags: 1 of the 7 red flags we check for tripped. The biggest: a paragraph that could be pasted into an essay for any school.

Scores only - what is behind the numbers, and what to fix, is the audit. Sample essay and scores from our published sample review.

Two more free checks

No draft yet, or want a second angle? Each one is free and honest, and each lands within 1 business day.

No draft yet? Start here

Score your teen’s topic - free

Describe your teen’s topic in 1-2 sentences. We’ll score it 1 to 5 and email the number back, with one line on what’s behind it. No fixing, no upsell pressure, just an honest number. Your topic score lands within 1 business day.

One free check per email. Through October 31.

The other half of the application

Get your teen’s activities score - free

List your teen’s activities below - what they do, how long they’ve done it, and what role they play. We’ll score the list on four questions (depth, progression, distinctiveness, range), 1 to 5 each, and email the total back with one line on what’s behind it. No fixing, no upsell pressure, just an honest number. Your score lands within 1 business day.

One free check per email. Through October 31.

Questions parents ask us

Is my teen’s college essay good enough?

That is the question every parent asks, and a feeling cannot answer it. A score can. The free score check scores your teen’s essay on six plain questions and emails you all six scores, so you can see exactly where the draft stands. Get the free scorecard.

How do admissions officers score essays?

Readers do not grade essays the way teachers grade homework. They read fast, and they look for a real voice, real detail, and a story that holds together. We score the same way: six questions, 1 to 5 each, 30 in all. The free check emails you all six scores, so you can see the full read at once. Try it free.

What is a good college essay score out of 30?

On our scale, the strongest drafts land in the mid-to-high 20s. A lower total is not a verdict on your teen. The six scores point to the questions where the draft needs the most work, and drafts are fixable. The free check emails you all six, so you know where to start. Get your teen’s full scorecard free.

Want a human to score and fix the whole essay? See the sample audit.