Sway Essay provides expert admissions essay assistance to craft honest and memorable personal statements.

Brainstorming

A brainstorm session is an hour-long meeting by Zoom or in person in which we identify your most impactful stories and develop an outline.


Critiquing

Critiquing involves a deep edit of your work with actionable steps to help you improve your piece. After the first round of edits, we continue to go back and forth to refine your essay.


Polishing

Polishing involves making sure your essay is pristine before submission. It includes grammar, spelling and sentence structure help.

Let’s tell your story.

I think I know how you feel. You’ve worked hard. You have dreams for the future. You are ready to go after them.

But you have this personal statement you must write to complete your school application. This evil, ugly personal statement.

I know how you feel, because I am a writer. I’ve been facing (and filling) the blank page for 20 years. Along the way, I’ve learned there is a trick to writing an admissions essay or personal statement, whether it is to get into college, med school, law school, business school or grad school.

Ready for it? The trick is to not write an essay.

It’s to write your story.

I can guide you how to write a great one. So the most personal part of your application shines. So you can get rid of your self-doubt and stress. So your personal statement doesn’t just state. It sways.

Let me help you make schools say yes.

Stand out to make your dream a reality.

Since I began Sway, I’ve helped all kinds of students preparing for the next step in their careers. Each year, I work with many students applying to med school as well as those going after careers in all aspects of health care: pharmacy, dentistry, physician
assistant, PT, OT, etc. I also guide dozens of med students each cycle as they apply to residency. I’m additionally pleased to work with aspiring law students, vets, and those pursuing master’s degrees in everything from business to computer science.

You’ll learn quickly that I provide more of a boutique-style service. My brainstorm sessions involve me asking you about everything from your family to how you’d spend your ideal Friday night. And my edits are aimed at pushing you and your story. The goal is for you to produce something both authentic and unique, and, ultimately, something you feel proud of.

Personal statements, unfortunately, accompany each step of higher education. Fortunately, together, we can make this process as painless as possible.

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"I wanted to follow up after journeying through the application season with my phenomenal personal statement (huge thanks to you!) I received so much positive feedback about my personal statement from residents and program directors at programs across the country. A few PDs told me it was one of the best they've ever read. I had an amazingly successful interview season; I know my personal statement played a big part.
Fast forward to MATCH, I received 1 of 2 seats at the University of Cincinnati's 5-year combined family med/psychiatry program, which was my #1 program! I am the only DO student to match the FMP specialty this year for the 14 total available seats nationwide, so I am extremely grateful and excited for this incredible opportunity!
Thank you so much for all your support in the personal statement crafting process! It was a pleasure to work with you. We did it! Go, Sway Essay!"
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Lashonda Payne, OMS-IV profile picture
Lashonda Payne, OMS-IV
2025.04.07.
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“I can’t begin to thank you for all the help you gave me along the way and making my application that much stronger. Thank you for helping all of my friends too!”
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Maqsood Khan profile picture
Maqsood Khan
2019.04.26.
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"Thank you for the support you provided with my personal statement and optional statement. I have good news! I was accepted to four schools with scholarships ranging from 25% to 95% of tuition. I decided that I will be attending Belmont University with a 95% scholarship, which totals $162,000 over three years. I truly believe my written materials helped secure that scholarship."
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Alana Perez profile picture
Alana Perez
2025.04.07.
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“I had some ideas to how I wanted to create my statement, and Tara was able to tie them together in a manner that flowed beautifully and succinctly. She was incredibly patient, timely and constructive.”
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Tim Bazil profile picture
Tim Bazil
2019.05.04.
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"I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know that I was accepted into the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Rural Physician Leadership Program! I couldn’t have done it without you, and I want to thank you for all the hard work and editing that you did. Your skills set allowed me to stand out and show the committee who Keenan is. Thank you again and going forward, I will be recommending everyone going through this process next year to you!"
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Keenan Conley profile picture
Keenan Conley
2024.07.16.
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"With her exceptional editing skills, she transformed my personal narrative into a compelling piece reflective of my journey while allowing my unique voice to shine through. Her level of professionalism is unmatched, and she made a stressful and challenging process very easy. I wholeheartedly recommend her services to students seeking assistance with their application essays."
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Jordan Jones profile picture
Jordan Jones
2021.06.25.
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"I have gotten so many interview invitations, and everyone compliments my personal statement! I have been invited to interview at places I’d never dreamed I’d be invited to (Harvard, Dartmouth, UVA, UNC, Emory, Wash U, and Vanderbilt, to name just a few). I cannot thank you enough for your help. I would not have been able to write a personal statement even remotely as great without it.”
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Jennifer Dennison profile picture
Jennifer Dennison
2020.11.18.
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"Sway Essay not only helped me prepare my personal statement for residency but also helped me discover new things about myself as a person. I had the utmost confidence in my written pieces for residency applications after working with Tara Kaprowy."
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Cameron Bixby profile picture
Cameron Bixby
2023.04.12.
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"Before I started working with Tara, I spent countless hours worrying about what I should write. I felt like I had a story to tell, but I truly didn't know where to begin or how I could possibly fit it within a character limit. But Tara was always there when deadlines piled up or when difficult cuts had to be made. I can't wait to have our next brainstorming session when I am applying for residency!"
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Michael Shaw profile picture
Michael Shaw
2024.04.26.
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"I just wanted to let you know that the acceptances have started to come in, and I couldn't have done it without you. The dean of one school called to let me know I was accepted and said that they actually read my essay out loud to the admissions committee, something they'd never done before. He said someone cried! Crazy... You were incredible to work with and I hope I get the privilege of writing with you again in a few years on my residency essays. Thank you again, I owe you one.”
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R. Bauer profile picture
R. Bauer
2023.08.17.
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“Writing a personal statement was not something I was looking forward to. Tara encouraged me to enjoy the process, and she helped guide my scattered ideas into a well-flowing essay that I was proud to submit.”
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Ali Daher profile picture
Ali Daher
2018.01.13.
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“Thank you so much for your help (and encouragement). I was complimented by literally every place on my personal statement. Several program directors said it was the first statement that made them laugh in years. You have seriously amazing skill here. I will certainly spread the word and I will be a returning customer if I decide on a fellowship!”
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Trent Roberts profile picture
Trent Roberts
2019.10.08.
Shake that essay stress off your back.
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