Our Workshops
The Kickstart U Summer College Application Workshop
An innovative program designed to help students tell their unique stories to the colleges they aspire to attend. Our program employs proven strategies for developing compelling application essays and a winning application packet. Students will benefit from individualized attention in an enthusiastic environment that promotes engagement, reflection, and creativity. The workshop size is limited to 12 or fewer participants to ensure that all students receive the attention they deserve. Upon completion of the KICKSTART U College Application Workshop, Students Will Have:
Strategies for Fresh and Vibrant Essay Ideas
Multiple Application Essay Drafts / Personal Feedback on Every Draft
Toolkit for Polishing Successful Application Essays
Brag sheet and Academic Resume Support
The Common App Preparation
Tools for Finding the Right Schools and Scholarship Opportunities
In-Person or Online Participation is available
Registration Fee: $385
2024 Summer Schedule
At KICKSTART U Workshops, students benefit from individualized writing instruction and application coaching in an enthusiastic environment that promotes engagement, reflection, and creativity.
Click on the workshop to link register
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About Us
As a teacher at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, AZ, Mr. Tim Evans noticed that students were not using the application essay to give themselves an advantage in their college application. Mr. Evans teamed with Mrs. Lynn Ossowski, a college counselor at Salpointe, to developed the Kickstart U Workshop to help kids turn the drudgery of their application essay into difference-maker.
Kickstart U is a workshop style program meant to help students tell their unique story to the colleges that they want to attend. Employing activities of deep reflection combined with keen rhetorical strategies the Kickstart U workshops guide students toward a successful and confident application experience. Mrs. Ossowski and Mr. Evans have over 30 years of combined teaching and counseling experience. Most of it right here in Tucson.
A Student's Perspective
I enjoyed the time spent with my tight-knit class. Bouncing ideas off one another through group discussions, brainstorms, and editing advice really helped me gain a vision for my college essay. Kickstart was an amazing, easy way to set my college essay on the right path.
- N. Dyson , Class of 2024
The competition for getting in the college has reached a new peak in the past couple of years, and managing all the anxiety that comes with the entire process can be a daunting task. However, getting the appropriate guidance to gain that competitive edge and to optimize the application process can certainly make for a better and more relaxed senior year.
The KickStart U program offers just that. I can guarantee that you will walk out of that workshop as a better writer and with a more confident approach as to exactly where and why you want to apply to college. This workshop will teach you some of the tools of the trade in making your essays stand out from the piles of easily disregarded “stock” essays, improving your chances of getting in to your desired schools. You will also complete most of the components that make up your bragsheet, greatly diminishing your senior year workload as far as the application process goes. You may think you can get the same sort of help and advice somewhere else, but trust me when I say it is completely worth your time.
Thanks to the help and attention from Mr. Evans and Mrs. O, I was able to get into UC Berkeley, UCLA, Santa Clara, Boston College and Georgetown University. I cannot recommend this program enough. The workshop leaders are excellent at what they do, and you will receive personalized help germane to your individual situation and circumstances and you will not regret it.
- Tino C. Class of 2015