Your application stays yours.

The rule

Mentors coach; they don’t write. Every mentor agrees, in the code of conduct and the Terms of Service, never to write essays, applications or other work for a student to submit as their own. That is also what colleges expect: when you submit an application you certify that the work is your own.

What a mentor can do

• Help you brainstorm essay topics and find the story that sounds like you.
• Read a draft and give honest feedback on structure, clarity and what’s missing.
• Explain how they approached their own essays, college list, interviews or tests.
• Help you build a balanced college list and understand what different schools want.
• Run a practice interview and give you feedback.
• Help you plan deadlines and keep organized.

What a mentor will not do

• Write or rewrite your essay, or any part of it, for you.
• Fill in your application or write activity descriptions in your place.
• Give you someone else’s essay to copy or lightly adapt.
• Suggest anything untrue on an application.

If a mentor offers to write something for you

Say no, and tell us: use “Get help” next to the session on your dashboard, or email alongside.mentors@gmail.com. A mentor who ghost-writes is removed from Alongside.

A note for students

Feedback makes your writing better without making it someone else’s. The essays that work best are the ones only you could have written, and a good mentor helps you get there.