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 (currently enrolling for Fall 2026). The Residency is for you if you have a project you're ready to make (opens Spring 2027). 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 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.
The Residency opens for Spring 2027 — applications aren't open yet, but you can join the list to be notified.
What can I expect from The Residency?
The Residency is ten weeks of independent creative work — a nonfiction essay, a photo zine, a documentary short, a podcast, a graphic essay, or any specific project you're ready to make — with the structure and community to actually finish it. You come in with a clear enough shape for what you want to build, and a small cohort of Studio Mates plus your Studio Guide are with you the whole way, with real feedback built into the rhythm of every week.
There's no grading and no rubric — feedback is about structure, narrative voice, and executing your vision, not fixing your work to fit someone else's mold. It closes with a live Showcase where you present the finished project to the cohort and invited guests — not a critique, the moment the work goes from private to real.