Welcome to Write For Admission, the personal coaching space where stories rise, evolve, and find their most memorable form. Built by Donna Valenti, this platform exists to help students transform lived experiences into compelling essays that impress a clear sense of their stories, identities, and values upon admissions officers.
The motivation behind Write For Admission is based on the observation that students often miss the opportunity to see the potential to convey their life experiences with meaning, intention, and appeal. After 25 years of working extensively with students from many different backgrounds, I repeatedly witness how the narrative of an individual, when carefully crafted with vulnerability and direction, can provide a powerful advantage to an applicant. As a college essay writing coach, I created Write For Admission because I want to provide every applicant with compassion, integrity, and individualized attention required to receive expert guidance and support in the Personal Narrative writing process.
I developed my coaching model through the use of empathetic listening to ensure that students feel comfortable and confident with their concept such that they can share their voice and the value of their experiences, while articulating their stories effectively and appealingly. From my years of serving as a writing coach, I have learned that when a student has a realization or discovery about themselves, it creates an “a-ha” moment, in which they, and others, finally see themselves and their experiences through a slightly different lens.
I’m Donna Valenti, and assisting students in identifying their individual voices has been my primary focus throughout my entire career as an educator. From students who enjoy writing to those who are unsure of which direction to take, I view each student as a person with their own life experiences, talents, and challenges whose stories deserve to be examined and shared.
My passion for this work comes from my own relationship with storytelling. As someone who has written poems, short stories, vignettes, plays, and books, I understand the courage it takes to confront personal experiences in order to shape them into something memorable and transformative. I bring that understanding to every student who joins Write For Admission.
As an experienced college essay writing coach, I help students move away from the traditional college essay format and find ways to express themselves in order to reveal the most and best about them to the college admissions committee.
At Write For Admission, the coaching process is built on values that shape both writing and personal development:
During my career as an educator, I have worked with H.S. seniors, particularly AP students, who are applying to college; H.S. graduates who are transitioning into or transferring to another college; as well as H.S. students who are hesitant writers, but find themselves surprised by unexpected bravery on the page. I have helped students create essays from challenges, treasured objects, and surprise moments. No experience is too small to matter and make a difference in the application process.
In addition to being an educator, and a mentor throughout the college application process, I have been a writer throughout my adult life. As an author, I use my writing as a tool to help me make sense of my experiences. I put “pen to paper” for pure enjoyment of and appreciation for the writing process; it is my passion.
Outside the classroom, I write because the process brings clarity to the most vulnerable corners of life. My works include:
Truth & Trysts: The Innocence of the Iris
Truth & Trysts: The Mystery of the Iris
My Father’s Secret Room
Four Wives and a Funeral
Because My Godfather Was Chosen During a Poker Game
In the Nick of Time (featured in A Kind of Mad Courage)
These projects daily remind me that writing is an act of courage, the same courage into which students tap with the help of Write For Admission.
To guide students toward an honest, powerful expression of their lived experiences through thoughtful mentoring and individualized essay coaching, helping them reveal their strongest, most authentic selves.
Write For Admission is about helping students from different backgrounds develop confidence and skills with words so that they have the tools they need to create a compelling story about their past and current identities, along with a map of where they want to go in life.
Book a free 30-minute consultation.
We discuss your goals and decide if we’re the right fit.
We begin with topic exploration, school interests, and résumé-building ideas.
We meet, either in person or online, to shape, revise, and polish your essays until they reflect the truest version of you.
Every step is collaborative, intentional, and shaped around your individual needs.
Write For Admission welcomes every student, every story, and every cultural or personal background. It’s important that we take the time to provide guidance, set realistic expectations, and give students opportunities to write; however, the importance of writing isn’t about admissions outcomes. Admissions outcomes are not always the same from year to year.
Therefore, while students and families may have certain expectations about admissions, I can’t promise any specific result regarding admissions. But I will promise that the work we will do together will be a true reflection of you and what you have to offer.
Your story matters. Let’s bring it to life.
