About

Meet

Hi, I’m Donna Valenti! I enjoy helping students make a meaningful impression on Admissions Officers with insightful and creative essays that transform their vulnerabilities into strengths in ways that reveal their unique values and goals.

My Values and Goals:

I believe that students’ stories are more accessible and impactful than they think.
I know that the personal narrative essay is often the last chance that a student has to make a lasting impression on Admissions Officers, all else being equal, such as GPA and test scores.
I practice a personal approach to the writing process with 1:1 Mentoring because each student presents with different wants and needs at different points in the process.
I provide a variety of assistance, whether students are starting from scratch, have already written a draft of an essay or are looking for polishing techniques.
I organize students and help them manage their time more efficiently and effectively throughout the process.
I guide students as they decide on the parts of themselves that would best suit their personal narrative essays and their supplemental writing, so that Admissions Officers gain a better, more complete perspective of the applicant, rather than a repetitive one.

My Experience:

I have taught different kinds of students over the course of 25 years: AP seniors, honors sophomores, and heterogeneously mixed students (freshmen, sophomores and juniors). I have enjoyed helping both the enthusiastic and reluctant individuals uncover and articulate their vulnerable experiences, which Admissions Officers are seeking, in a variety of written formats.

At this time in my career, I am confidently helping students outside of the classroom channel the essence of their unique stories into insightful, meaningful responses to the college essay topics, whether the inspiration is a challenge, an experience, a memory, an object, or a place… The process is a matter of alchemy.

My Credentials:

Having transformed my own experiences and challenges in the form of poems, short stories, vignettes and books, I would look to use them, and my approaches to writing them, as models and motivation for students to move beyond the obvious and the cliché in the direction of their own insightful, impressionable and memorable selves.

My Education:

B.A. in English and General Literature from Binghamton University
M.A in Teaching of English from Teachers College, Columbia University
EDL Certificate from Stony Brook University

My Writing:

Part of my motivation to help students throughout the writing process stems from my own interest in and enthusiasm for writing about vulnerable situations.

Books:

Truth & Trysts: The Innocence of the Iris
Truth & Trysts: The Mystery of the Iris

Vignette / Play:

My Father’s Secret Room
Four Wives and a Funeral

Poem:

Because My Godfather Was Chosen During a Poker Game

Short Story:

In the Nick of Time from A Kind of Mad Courage:
Short Stories About Mothers, (S)mothers & Others

Are You Ready To Get Started On Your Application Process?
Let’s Chat.

How does it work?

1

Begin by scheduling a free consultation (30 minutes).

2

We’ll have a conversation to decide if working together is a good fit for both of us.

3

We’ll schedule your first one hour session and get to work on selecting a topic for your Personal Narrative, discussing Schools that interest/suit you, if early enough in the process, and ways to augment your Resumé with experiences and adventures.

4

Over time, we will meet either in person, via zoom or google meet, to draft and hone your writing. We will spend time both directly and indirectly on producing the finished product.

SCHEDULE A FREE 30 MINUTE CONSULTATION

Philosophy:

I desire to help all students of all cultures and backgrounds put their best selves forward into view for the Admissions Officers, so that they can either gain admittance to their school of choice, or mitigate any potential regrets.

Uniqueness is a valued part of the process. We don’t discriminate against any race, religion, or ethnicity.

Despite best efforts, it is widely acknowledged, and can happen, that students are involuntarily steered in a different direction, away from what they believe to be their school of choice in favor of a different college or university setting that might ultimately meet their wants and needs similarly or possibly better. This is largely due to the fact that Admissions requirements are always changing and can vary from school to school; year to year; and region to region; thereby, surprising students with their acceptances and rejections, sometimes with disappointment. These changes can only be known in hindsight, if at all, after the Admissions process in a given year is completed. Therefore, Write For Admission and anyone working under its LLC cannot be liable for the results of the Admissions Process associated with any public or private school.