Central Maryland College Essay Coaching

Personalized, proven support for standout application essays.

About me:

With 10+ years of experience teaching AP Lang and AP Lit, and in advising award-winning student newspapers, I love helping students discover the best way to tell their story.I've also had 5 years of experience reporting, writing and editing for newspapers, magazines, and book publishers.In 2023, I was named River Hill High School's 2023 Teacher of the Year.I'd love to be a part of helping you or your student put together an application essay that helps them get where they want to go through the development of their written voice.

Choose from 3 essay help options:

One session: Most effective for a session focused on feedback and revision for one complete essay draft.Three sessions: Best for undertaking a full process approach to one Common App essay (including brainstorming, drafting, and revision).Five sessions: Ideal for full process guidance in developing and revising drafts, especially across multiple application prompts and supplementals.

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What students say:

"Mr. Perraud helped me organize my essay from a scattered list of experiences to a compelling story I was excited to submit." - Student, UPenn Class of 2028
"Mr. Perraud was one of the best teachers I've ever had...I submitted one of the essays I wrote in class as a supplement to Williams College and got admitted. Needless to say, Mr. Perraud certainly improved my overall essay writing skills even beyond college applications" - Student, Yale Class of 2028
Mr. Perraud - Student, Harvard Class of 2027
Mr. Perraud - Student, Vanderbilt Class of 2027
Mr. Perraud - Student, University of Maryland Class of 2028

My advice on supplemental essays

A collection of some advice for popular supplementals.

UMD Supplemental Advice

Towson Honors Prompt Advice

UMBC Honors Prompts Advice

How to respond creatively and effectively to the University of Maryland supplemental essays

UMD's freshmen short answer questions prompt students to craft brief but effective responses on travel, research, academic interests, a memory from the previous Friday, and something unknown about the author.

To nail UMD's supplementals, focus on using travel, research, curiosity, and last Friday to capture your impressive essence.

In addressing these short answer prompts, you’ll want to brainstorm ideas that demonstrate your depth as a person, humanizing you for the reader by explaining the connections between your personality, intellectual interests, and cultural experiences.As with any admissions essay, one of the keys to picking the right topic or response is to find something that you truly care about.Whether it’s fixing old car engines or One Piece, the breadth of your knowledge on the subject is what matters. By unpacking niche interests or domain-specific topics, the reader will understand a few things: first, that you’re a passionate person who puts themselves fully into an academic pursuit, hobby, or cause (in other words, the kind of person who makes a campus a better place). Second, that you absorb details and master topics, ideas, or processes (the kind of focus competitive schools like Maryland expect admitted students to exhibit in their studies). This is especially relevant in considering the “last Friday” question, but you’d be wise to find ways to work in your deep interest in the travel, academic interests, and something you may not know about me prompts.Let’s look briefly at each short response prompt here.First, the