Write a Winning Essay & Become a Better Writer Before College.

Gain Admission and Win Scholarship Dollars with the Write Big Book & Course

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Get the book.

Write Big: From College Application Essay to Storytelling Standout is the only book designed to help you get into college by helping you become a better writer.

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2

Find your winning topic.

Most students have never written a personal essay, much less created one under so much pressure.

This training was created to help students take the guesswork out of writing a college application essay and seize this opportunity to catapult their college admissions success.

Get the storytelling framework that's helped hundreds of students gain college admission and win hundreds of thousands in scholarship dollars
Understand what makes a great topic, even if when you feel lost and overwhelmed
Learn how to write like a storyteller, even if you're not a strong writer

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Write Your Best Essay Ever.

The Write Big 101 Course walks students through a step-by-step process to help them write a standout application essay and become a better writer before college.

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"The application essay is more than your ticket into college—it's your way of explaining how the data points of your life add up and what they mean."

—Victoria Payne, author of Write Big from College Application Essay to Storytelling Standout

Read Winning College Application Essays

Parents of Write Big students love the confidence and results their students receive.

" I work as a professional writer/editor but could not have accomplished what Victoria did for my daughter. Maybe the best part was my input was not needed at all."

—Dana, parent of scholarship winner and University of Oregon Honors College graduate and law school student

"As a non-writer, Victoria is able to help kids appreciate and tell something about themselves that Victoria never could. I don't know how to describe what she does but it's very valuable beyond the production of an essay."
-Deborah, parent of scholarship winner and Sara Lawrence College graduate

"As parents going through the college application process for the first time, but with twins, we are so grateful for Victoria's guidance. Her experience and an educator gave us confidence we needed as a family to ensure optimal results for our kids."

—Mary, parent of two scholarship winners and students at Boston College & The University of Montana

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Write Big Students Attend Great Schools & Advance into Exciting Careers

Essay collections are published in Write Big: From College Application Essay to Storytelling Standout & inside the course, Write Big 101.

Growth Mindset: Don't Leave Home for College Without It

Achieving your dream of getting into college comes with some baggage. Many students have been so focused on achievement that they've sidelined curiosity--a much needed college trait. This article explores how to apply Carol Dweck's concept of a growth mindset to help college students redefine success and become lifelong learners.

How to Develop a Vibrant Vocabulary

Having a luscious lexicon isn't just something for the SAT. When I taught college seniors, even they still wanted more language development. Why? Because they understood that better writers know a range of vocabulary to help them express and explain with versatility. This article includes five fun ways to strengthen your language muscles.

How to Create an Atomic Writing Habit

Struggle with writing procrastination? Not sure where to start? This article outlines how you can use simple practices, inspired by the best selling book, Atomic Habits, to go after an overwhelming writing project.

How to Become a Better Reader

Most students have heard about critical thinking, but this article explores how to apply what Sir Ken Robinson calls 'divergent thinking' to assigned reading. The ability to think creatively and analytically is critical to becoming a capable writer.

A 5-Step Writing Process

Most students believe the writing process is a series of due dates from their teachers. This makes me sad. This article shows writers at every level how to embrace what I call 'messy idea theory' and use your naturally jumbled thoughts to springboard and plan your writing project.

How to Beat Procrastination & Jumpstart a Writing Project

We've all been stuck on a writing project. But how do you get unstuck? This article walks you through three creative tools to help you overcome writer's block, procrastination, maybe even writing anxiety.

Turn Your Passion into a Winning Essay Topic

How do you know what makes a great topic? One student looks at how she translated her passion into a standout topic that helped her win admission into a top college and scholarship dollars.

College Scholarships: Do full rides still exist?

College scholarships continue to be a big way students and their families are paying for school. Learn how one student won a full ride to a top school and get helpful shortcuts to college scholarship resources.

College Visits: Should visit schools before you apply?

Visiting colleges before you're accepted gets expensive. Some families wonder, why bother? This article looks at one student's advice who chose to wait to visit schools until she was accepted. The only problem? She got into all of them.

Writing Confidence: How to use your college apps to up your writing confidence

Writing your college application essays can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if you struggle as a writer. One student looks back on the college admissions process and how writing her essays gave her added confidence.

Get writing strategies to for application essays, scholarship answers, and supplemental application writing.