The Write Stuff: Nassau Man Helps Kids' College Dreams Come True

As college admissions have gotten more and more competitive, students need every advantage to make themselves stand out. When an applicant has a list of extra-curricular activities as long as their arm and hundreds of hours of community service, students really need something special to make them seem like the right choice for the college.

That's where Randy Levin comes in.

Levin, a Salisbury resident, has been advising students on how to write college application essays for more than a decade. And now he's published a book to help even more people get a competitive edge.

A former English teacher at Great Neck High School, Levin has lots of experience with writing. He left teaching after a few years and started working for the state Unemployment Office to help people with their resumes. While doing that, he would moonlight with helping students with college application essays. Then, he said, a friend lit a fire under him to start working for himself and go full-time with helping students. So he started his business, Write to College.

Levin doesn't write the essays for his clients -- that's not his job. Instead, he helps students conceptualize their essays and draw out the best responses from them.

"I get to work with really smart kids and really good kids," Levin said. "f you tell a smart kid to write an essay on the Treaty of Versailles, they know what to do. If you ask the to write about themselves, they don't. They've never been asked."

The common college application has a series of essay questions, and students need to pick one. Levin said he works with the students to find out which question resonates best with them, then helps them come up with what their answer will be. After the students have written their essay, Levin helps them edit and refine it.

"My job is to first put you on the right path," he said. "Then when you have that draft, it's editing. Often students will send me 600 words, and I'll send them back 200 and show them how to build upon it."

Levin's book, "College Application Essays: Stand Out, Get In," capitalizes on his years of experience and offers tips, suggestions and dos-and-don'ts for students applying to college. It also comes with access to an online video series that Levin did, based on talks he gives at colleges around the tri-state area. Levin's presentation, "The 10 Ten Mistakes Students Make On Their College Application Essay," is a hit with schools. The Jericho School District invites him to speak every year.

Levin has helped his clients get into Ivy League schools and schools all over the country. Many parents come back with their younger children to seek his help again. And Levin said he knows he did his job well when the admission letters students receive reference their essay.

"Every kid's transcript looks identical," said Levin. "They're taking 12 AP courses, playing six sports and doing 4,000 hours of community service. So the essays have become more important, because it's how the college figures out, who are you? Who's coming to live in my house for the next four years?"

Levin's book, "College Application Essays: Stand Out, Get In," is available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel and from publisher Lulu.

Photo courtesy Randy Levin