Jackie Howard Consulting LLC

Hello! My name is Jackie Howard and I am a private college consultant. With 15 years of experience in education, I’ve been guiding young people in finding and expressing their voices and life directions. With this passion and expertise, I provide personalized college counseling experiences for high schoolers. From helping students feel empowered in their college search to breathing life and joy into the college essay writing process, I am by their side each step of the way. If anyone in your network has a teen grappling with the overwhelming process of post-secondary planning, please connect them with me. High school counselors are often swamped with 400 students each and cannot properly advise young people like they used to. The process can be daunting for both parents and teens, and I am honored to help any family I can with this journey. This spring & summer I am offering small group workshops for the college essay at a discounted price to extend this support more affordably. I’ve included some details for you to easily share. Word of mouth goes a long way. If you feel inclined, please share my services with your neighborhood FB groups, LinkedIn network etc. and give my page a follow. Email: [email protected] Website: jackiehoward.org IG: @Jackiehowardconsulting  

Enrollment is now open for essay workshops for 2025! These small group classes are an incredible value, combining both personalized lessons with peer feedback and insights. My college essay workshops guide juniors in creating their Common App essay for college applications, covering every step from selecting a potent topic to developing a polished draft within the 650-word limit. From brainstorming exercises to teaching personal narrative essay structures and providing multiple revision opportunities, I guide students toward a final product they are proud of. My goal is for students to feel empowered to tell their story, discover and develop their voice, and have fun in the process! These workshops includes 8 small group sessions and 2 individual sessions, as well as virtual essay feedback and suggestions. My lessons are tailored to meet the needs of students from all ability ranges (from the gifted/perfectionistic writers to the students who are still developing their capacities) I am able to push each individual to maximize their potential.

Nov 1 application deadline is right around the corner. The hay is in the barn. It is time to breathe, focus, and know when to quit. Don’t wait until the very last minute to submit your application as something is bound to go wrong. Take time this weekend to finalize your applications and get them in with time to spare. You got this seniors! 👏👏👏

Make👏 every 👏 word 👏 count! 👏 650 words is the limit to tell a compelling personal narrative for college applications. After weeks of brainstorming and many drafts and revisions, trimming the fat is essential. The final stage of editing should involve a fight for every last word. Each word must be vital to your narrative and could not be cut. Are there phrases that can be condensed to one or two words? Are some sentences redundant and can be creatively combined? have you deleted the “verys” “reallys” & “thats”? Have you read it out loud to check for verb tense and to make sure it sounds like YOUR voice throughout (don’t overuse the thesaurus!) Trimming the word count is one of my favorite stages in the writing process. It truly involves creative thinking and less is more! I fun and easy tricks to teach and help students identify how to bring their essay to 650 words (or less for supplemental essays). 📩 DM me if you would like help editing your essays!

The “why major” essay is such an important piece of many students’ applications. Discussing your relationship with the subject matter throughout your life is the best way to highlight passion for your major. For younger students… start exploring and developing your passions now! This example “why major” essay does a beautiful job of illustrating this student’s passion for and experiences with storytelling — the crux of her major in communications. Zoe did a phenomenal job writing so many exemplar essays for her college applications and is happily immersed in her studies and social life at University of Indiana now.

Hi! I have some new followers and I want to take a minute to introduce myself. ☀️ I have been an educator for 16 years at Austin schools, and my passion lies in helping students develop their passions and articulate their dreams. Planning and preparing for college is simply the avenue by which I guide students in becoming more confident and comfortable articulating who they are through this coming of age process. Guiding students in vulnerable self discovery is my approach and empowering them in a fun and risk-free environment is the cornerstone of my practice. My work is 100% customized for each teen as I meet them exactly where they are and build an individualized coaching plan to help them discover and achieve their goals. DM me for more info or just to chat/schedule a call! 📩 [email protected]

Developing and generating passion throughout high school (and life) is your life force at work. Turning toward the people, activities, causes, and interests you LOVE and pouring your energy in those directions builds passionate individuals. The more you follow your loves with an open heart, the more your passion grows, leading you down a path which allows you to discover more deeply about who you are. Passion begets passion. And keeps you alive. Colleges care a lot about admitting students who exude passion. Students don’t ever have to even use the word “passion” (and try not to bc it’s super overused). The commitment to pour one’s energy into what they love is just obvious in an application that radiates passionately. Why is passion so important? I wish the answer was benevolent (and of course, underneath the capitalistic cloak, it is…). But colleges are businesses at the end of the day. And alumni who are successful, “made it” because they poured passion into their careers after college. And successful alumni give donations to their alma mater, keep the business of college afloat. But at the end of the day, the spark underneath your passion keeps YOU afloat, and the more you spend your time in ways that feed you, the more opportunities will fall into your lap. Be proactive with developing your passion. 🎇

The Activities List section of the Common App is a critical piece of your college application, and takes some time to get right. Ensure you describe what YOU did, how you made an impact, and quantify, quantify, quantify. You only have 150 characters to describe your involvement in each activity, so to maximize the amount of space given, it’s important to consider carefully what you include to try to reveal something new about yourself that won’t be said in any other section of your application. I have templates and guides to help students work through this section. Now is a great time for rising seniors to begin filling this part out even though you will likely need to review and tweak some of it later once you’ve finished your summer activities. Rising 9th-11th graders: consider your activities and how you spend your time outside of school. How are you giving your time in service to others? Colleges care about knowing if you’re a caring individual, and one way to showcase this is by consistently being involved in volunteer work. DM me for more guidance on this aspect of your college application!

CONGRATULATIONS PACE! 👩🎓 I so enjoyed getting a chance to work with this highly motivated and independent young woman during her senior application process last fall. Here are some of her reflections on the application process for rising seniors. Pace will be attending Purdue University in Indiana to major in Biomedical Science on the pre-med track. I couldn’t be prouder of her! 🙌👏

Celebrating black excellence and supporting black voices this Juneteenth! Juneteenth — June 19th — marks the end of slavery in the United States. The fight for freedom and black equity continues, and, we are not free until we are all free.