Policies

Ethics

We are on a mission to empower young people with an active voice. Anything that undermines this effort—cheating, plagiarizing, or sneaking an illicit shortcut—not only compromises our integrity and cheapens our work, but it robs students of an opportunity to reach their potential.

We do not write for students. We help students produce their best writing.

Privacy

We maintain confidential records and share working documents only with students and their family members.

Cancellations and Missed Sessions

There is no charge for cancellations made more than 24 hours before a scheduled tutoring session (video and/or document review). Missed sessions and cancellations that are made fewer than 24 hours before a session are billed at the standard hourly rate. Packaged tutoring hours will be deducted at the discounted rate from the package balance for missed sessions and cancellations that are made fewer than 24 hours before a session.

Enrollment in all seminars and summer intensives is fully refundable before June 1. After June 1, seminar and summer intensive tuition is non-refundable, though Active Voice Writing will honor a 100% credit toward future tutoring services.

FAQ

What is a document review session?

A document review session is an asynchronous editing appointment (not a live video call). At the time you select on the scheduling page, we will begin providing written feedback—a mix of in-line suggestions and marginal comments—on the current draft in the student’s shared document. If a full hour is not required, sessions will be rounded to the nearest 15 minutes and prorated. The minimum turnaround time for a document review session is 24 hours.

What is the difference between summer and fall High School Admission Essay seminars?

Students produce brilliant essays in both seminars. Choosing between the summer and fall is a matter of working style—some students prefer an intensive, distraction-free week to focus on writing before school begins, while others prefer to space out their writing time across weekend sessions throughout the fall. Some application questions may not be updated until the fall, but summer students are still able to use their drafts to answer any personal narrative question that comes their way (and, as a reminder, seminar tuition includes ongoing editing support).

How can I make up a missed seminar session?

Since each seminar runs according to the same curriculum, students are welcome to attend the same session during another series later in the fall (say, replacing a third session in the summer with a third session in the fall). Even if students are unable to make up a missed seminar session, they will have full access to the lesson materials and will continue to receive ongoing feedback. Please feel free to contact us if you’d like to talk through any other scheduling concerns.

Do you help with parent essays for high school admission?

Absolutely. We are humbled to be included in your thought process and happy to offer another set of eyes on your parent essays. After a document review session, you can either read through our feedback solo and make changes on your end or we can meet via video or phone call to talk through your work in more detail. Whichever option works best for you will work for us—just let us know your preference. For scheduling and payment details, please review information about one-on-one tutoring.