Zen College Prep

Turning your college dreams into reality — personalized guidance from application to acceptance

At Zen College Prep, we provide personalized college admissions support to students around the world, helping students gain acceptance to schools like USC, Loyola Marymount, Baylor, the UC campuses, Pepperdine, Purdue, UPenn, Reed, Lehigh, UW, Colorado School of Mines, UMichigan, Brandeis, Stanford, Barnard, Northeastern, and more. Services include:

College Admissions Counseling
Prospective College Research
Application Essay and Personal Statement Guidance and Editing Services
Scholarship Essay Guidance and Editing
College Interview Preparation
Passion Project Planning
Middle and High School Academic Planning
Elementary and Middle School One-on-One Tutoring

Premier College Admissions Sucess Package

Recommended for: Students applying to private and state colleges and universities through The Common Application, University of California campuses, and California State University campuses.
Ideal Timeframe: Fall of Junior Year- Spring of Summer Year

Initial student and family assessment, profile creation, and evaluation to determine goals, intentions, and college and career preferences.
Frequent meetings with the student to assess progress toward goals.
- Monthly during Junior year and weekly during Senior year
Review assessments and collaborate on Senior Year school coursework and activity plan.
Evaluation and discussion of academic, testing, and extra-curricular history.
College major and career mentoring.
Personalized Passion Project guidance and mentoring.
In-depth research and personalized college recommendation list.
Best practices for college visits and tours.
Activities List brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
College application guidance and schedule management.
Guidance for Early Decision and Early Action applications when applicable.
UC Personal Insight Question brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
Common App Essay brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
Supplemental Essay brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
SAT/ACT Test prep information and schedule guidance.
Final college application review.
College interview preparation (if required).
College admittance decision guidance.
Semester evaluation and discussion of academic results, testing, and extra-curricular activities.

Package Total: $7,000

Common App Only College Admissions Success Package

Recommended for: Students applying only to colleges and universities on the Common Application (no UC campuses)
Timeframe: Ideal Timeframe: Fall of Junior Year- Spring of Summer Year

Initial student and family assessment, profile creation, and evaluation to determine goals, intentions, and college and career preferences.
Frequent meetings with the student to assess progress toward goals.
- Monthly during Junior year and weekly during Senior year
Review assessments and collaborate on Senior Year school coursework and activity plan.
Evaluation and discussion of academic, testing, and extra-curricular history.
College major and career mentoring.
In-depth research and personalized college recommendation list.
Best practices for college visits and tours.
Activities List brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
College application guidance and schedule management.
Guidance for Early Decision and Early Action applications when applicable.
Common App Essay brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
Supplemental Essay brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
SAT/ACT Test prep information and schedule guidance.
Final college application review.
College interview preparation (if required).
College admittance decision guidance.
Semester evaluation and discussion of academic results, testing, and extra-curricular activities.

Package Total: $5,500

Golden State College Admissions Success Package

Recommended for: Students applying to University of California campuses and Cal State University campuses
Ideal Timeframe: Fall of Junior Year- Spring of Summer Year

Initial student and family assessment, profile creation, and evaluation to determine goals, intentions, and college and career preferences.
Frequent meetings with the student to assess progress toward goals.
- Monthly during Junior year and weekly during Senior year
Review assessments and collaborate on Senior Year school coursework and activity plan.
Evaluation and discussion of academic, testing, and extracurricular history.
College major and career mentoring.
In-depth research and personalized college recommendation list.
Best practices for college visits and tours.
UC Activities List brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
College application guidance and schedule management.
UC Personal Insight Question brainstorming, review, and editing sessions.
Final college application review.
College admittance decision guidance.

Package Total: $4,500

Session-Based Packages

Recommended for: Seniors applying to private colleges and universities, University of California campuses, California State University campuses, and out-of-state institutions.

This package is designed for students who prefer a session-based approach to their college applications and essays. All work is completed together during live online sessions with the counselor. Unlike other packages, this option does not include behind-the-scenes editing, email drafting, research, or counselor work completed outside of meetings. Instead, students receive real-time guidance, feedback, and structured support during each session to keep their applications and essays on track.

1 Session: $150 ~ 5 Sessions: $650 ~ 10 Sessions: $1200

Essay Editing Services and Packages

Recommended for: Students needing essay editing/revision support with the Common App Personal Statement, college-specific supplemental essays, UC Personal Insight Questions (PIQs), honors college applications, scholarship essays, and applications to private universities, UC campuses, CSU campuses, and out-of-state institutions.
Timeframe: Summer before/ Fall of Senior Year

Reviewing completed essay drafts for clarity, coherence, and flow.
Strengthening narrative structure to ensure the essay tells a clear, compelling story.
Enhancing voice and tone while maintaining the student’s authentic writing style.
Identifying sections that need elaboration, trimming, or reorganization.
Refining introductions and conclusions to create stronger impact.
Ensuring prompts are fully answered with depth and insight.
Improving transitions and paragraph structure for smoother readability.
Editing for grammar, sentence structure, and word choice without over-correcting voice.
Providing targeted revision suggestions and commentary directly on the draft.
Offering final polish to ensure essays are concise, compelling, and ready for submission.

Essay Editing Services Pricing

Common App Personal Statement (up to 650 words): $100 per draft edit
UC PIQ (up to 350 words): $75 per draft edit, $200 to review all four PIQs
School-Specific Supplemental Essay (up to 250 words): $50 per draft edit
Short Answer Response (up to 100 words): $25 per response

Discount Bundles :

5 Supplemental essays (up to 250 words): $200
10 Supplements: $400
Common App personal statement + 5 Supplemental essays (up to 250 words): $350

Meet Megan

Lead College Admissions Counselor

In addition to working as an Independent College Admissions Counselor, Megan Weitzen has over fifteen years of experience teaching at the High School Level.

Some of Megan's credentials and accolades include:

College Counseling Certificate (2022) from The University of California, San Diego
Bachelor's Degree in English with a Minor in Speech Communication: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Single Subject Teaching Credential: English
California Technical Education (CTE) Credential: Public and Legal Services
Single Subject Teaching Credential: Family and Consumer Science
Activities Director 2015-2022
2020-2021 Teacher of The Year
Instructional Leader
2019 Regional Teacher of The Year Nominee

At Zen College Prep, we believe that the college admissions process shouldn't be stressful and overwhelming. We assist college-bound students and their families in navigating this journey with ease. We provide continuous support through the entire college admissions process, from preparing applications and writing essays to ensuring all deadlines are met. Our goal is to make each student's college dreams a reality, creating a successful and enjoyable admissions experience.