Who is Kate?
Kate built The Studio because she kept meeting students with something real to make and nowhere serious to take it. She spent nearly a decade in art school admissions — reading applications, reviewing portfolios, and making final calls as Director of Admissions — and several years teaching writing at the college and high school levels. BFA Film/Video · MA English · Former Director of Admissions · Former GWU Outside Reader · Secondary Teaching Certification.
Which program is right for me?
The Workshop is for you if you want to write personal essays — not as a school assignment, but as a way of figuring out what you actually think. The Residency is for you if you have a project you're ready to make. Both open Spring 2027, with registration opening November 1. You can do both — just not in the same semester.
What if I apply and don't get in?
Both programs have limited seats — twelve for the Workshop, eight for the Residency. You'll hear from Kate directly: what she saw, whether it's a fit question or simply a full room. If it's a matter of space, we'll ask if you want your application to carry to the next open cohort.
Is this affiliated with a school?
No. The Studio is fully independent. No grades, no transcript, no reporting back to school. What you make here is yours.
What does a Workshop essay look like?
Personal essays — built from a specific image, obsession, relationship, or question you've been circling without quite knowing why. Not an argument, not a report. A way of following something until you understand why it matters.
By Week 8, every essay in the room contains something the writer didn't know they were going to say when they started. That's what we're working toward.
What if I'm just starting out?
The Workshop is for students who've been writing for years and students who are just starting. What matters isn't where you are — it's that you write, even privately, and you're curious about going further.
What if I don't know what I want to write about?
That's literally what the Workshop is for. You don't come in with a topic. You find it in the writing.
Is this going to feel like school?
No. No grades, no rubric, no red pen. Kate reads your work to understand where you are — not to evaluate you. The room runs differently than any English class you've been in.
How does sharing work?
In sessions it's informal — a line on the Miro board, a sentence read aloud, a response dropped in the chat. Your full drafts live in a private notebook between you and Kate. The cohort is small and the room gets familiar fast. By Week 7 you're sharing your almost-finished draft with one other person. By Week 8 you read your finished essay — or an excerpt — to the full cohort. The whole semester is built toward that moment.
Is this a college essay program?
No. The Workshop is built around the personal essay as a form — not as a deliverable. But students who've learned to write in their own voice tend to write strong college essays. That's a byproduct, not the goal.
What if I miss a session?
If something comes up — reach out to Kate. A missed session is workable. But this is a small room and it depends on everyone actually showing up.
What do I actually walk away with?
A finished personal essay in your own voice. And the experience of reading it to a room that was writing alongside you all semester.
What does a finished Residency project look like?
Projects vary — that's the point. A Residency project might be a photo zine, a hybrid essay, a serialized podcast, a documentary short, a graphic essay, or something that doesn't fit a clean category. What they all have in common: by the Showcase, it's a real, finished body of work. Not a draft. Something you made that you can stand behind.
Is this going to feel like school?
No. Feedback in the Residency is about structure, narrative voice, and executing your vision — not grammar or line edits. The goal is helping you make the thing you came in to make, not fixing it to fit a rubric.
How does feedback work?
It's built into the rhythm — you don't have to chase it down. Kate moves through every resident's workspace twice a week: Tuesdays to review Sunday ships, Thursdays to respond to anything you've flagged. By the time the Tuesday live session starts, she already knows where you are.
How does the weekly rhythm work?
The studio runs on a consistent rhythm: Sunday you ship your progress, Monday you respond to a Studio Mate's work, Tuesday you're in the live session. These aren't optional extras — they're the structure that makes the room work for everyone. The Residency can absorb an off week, but not silence. If something comes up, reach out to Kate.
What if my project idea isn't developed enough?
You need a clear enough shape to pitch on Day 1 — a direction, a medium, something specific you want to build. It doesn't need to be fully formed. But it needs to be real. If you can't describe what you're making and why yet, wait a semester.
What if my project isn't finished by Week 10?
The scope you set in the first weeks is what you finish — and ten weeks is enough for that. Some projects keep going after the Showcase. But by Week 10 you'll have something done: real work, ready to show.
What happens at the Showcase?
At Week 10, you present your project to the cohort and invited guests. Not a critique — the moment the work goes from private to real. By then, you'll be ready.
How do my parents know what's happening?
At Week 5, you share a short screen-recorded video with them — a 3–5 minute tour of your workspace, your project, and your progress. Not a report card. A creator talking about their own work. Parents also receive a Showcase invitation in Week 9.
What do I actually get?
An admissions reader's honest take on your student's full application — what a committee would actually see, where the voice is working, where it's getting in its own way, and what the most important moves are before you submit. That comes in two forms: a detailed written feedback document, and a 20-minute video of Kate walking through everything she found, screen by screen, in the order it matters. Watch it with your student. Rewatch it.
Is the Audit right for us?
The Audit is most useful once there's a working draft of the personal statement — actual prose, not a concept — and at least a sense of the activities list. Supplements don't need to be finished. If your student is applying to selective schools and you want an honest read of the full picture before you submit, this is what the Audit is for.
It's not the right fit if you're looking for someone to rewrite the essays, or if materials are very early-stage and you have months before any deadlines.
How is this different from an essay editor?
An essay editor makes the writing cleaner. This answers a different question: does this application hold together as a picture of one real, specific person? Kate isn't rewriting sentences. She's telling you what a committee would actually see — and where the most important opportunities are.
What's the activities list translation?
Students with independent creative work almost always describe it in language that undersells them. Kate rewrites every entry that isn't landing — within the 150-character limit — and delivers the revisions side-by-side with the originals. Nothing invented. A translation of what's already there into language that reads the way it deserves to.
What if the essay is already good?
Kate will say so — and give you permission to stop second-guessing it. Sometimes the most useful thing is a clear answer: the voice is there, submit it.
When should we book?
Once there's a working draft of the personal statement — actual prose, not a concept. Supplements don't need to be finished. The Audit opens August 1 and closes December 1.
What's the refund policy?
Full refund if you cancel before submitting your materials. No refund once I've received your file.
Can we talk through the feedback live?
Yes — the Live Call is available post-delivery for $150: a 30-minute conversation after you've had time to sit with the Audit. The written document and walkthrough video are built to be self-sufficient, but if you have targeted questions or are up against an EA/ED deadline, the Live Call is there. The booking link is included with your delivery.