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Home
No topic yet? Start with a conversation, not a blank page.
You're more than your application.
Applying to college can bring up stress, uncertainty, family pressure, identity questions, financial concerns, or mental health challenges — all of that is a normal part of this process, whether or not you use any of the resources below.
Support & resources (financial aid, career, identity, family, mental health, safety, and more)
Mental health
- NAMI HelpLine (mental health info & support) — 1-800-950-6264, weekdays
- SAMHSA National Helpline (mental health & substance use) — 1-800-662-4357, 24/7
- National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline — 1-866-662-1235, weekdays
LGBTQ+ students
- The Trevor Project — call (866) 488-7386 or text START to 678-678, 24/7
Sexual assault & abuse support
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline — 1-800-656-4673, 24/7
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline — 1-800-422-4453, 24/7
- National Domestic Violence Hotline — 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, 24/7
- National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline — 1-866-331-9474, 24/7
- National Human Trafficking Hotline — 1-888-373-7888, 24/7
If you're worried someone might get hurt — including yourself
- Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (Sandy Hook Promise) — report a safety concern about yourself or someone else, including a threat of violence or a warning sign of self-harm. Reviewed 24/7 by trained crisis counselors.
Crisis support
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, 24/7
- Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741, 24/7
For the essay itself
- Common App — official prompts, account, and submission
- Common App writing tips — starting-point guidance straight from the source
Financial aid & scholarships
- studentaid.gov — official FAFSA & federal financial aid
- QuestBridge — connects high-achieving, low-income students with full scholarships
- Bold.org — exclusive scholarships, free to search and apply
- Fastweb — the original free scholarship search engine, still going strong
Career & gap year exploration
- CareerOneStop — free U.S. Dept. of Labor tool for exploring careers and assessments
- Gap Year Association — the accrediting nonprofit for legitimate gap year programs
First-gen & undocumented students
- I'm First! — community & guidance for first-generation students
- Immigrants Rising — college & scholarship guidance for undocumented students
- TheDream.US — scholarships for Dreamers/DACA students
Learning & thinking differences
- Understood.org — guidance on ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences, including the shift from IEP/504 support in high school to requesting accommodations in college
Academic pressure
- The Jed Foundation — mental health support built around the pressures of this exact transition
Bullying & harassment
- StopBullying.gov — federal resource on bullying & cyberbullying, including your rights
- PACER Teens Against Bullying — written for students, not just parents/educators
If your family's story is part of your essay
- Foster Care to Success — scholarships & support for students with foster care experience
- National Runaway Safeline — 1-800-786-2929, for housing instability or running away
- The Dougy Center — grief support for children & teens
- Alateen — support for teens affected by a family member's drinking
If you or someone you know is in crisis: call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line), or call 911 if it's an emergency. More crisis, safety, and support resources are in the accordion above.
Brainstorm your essay
🧭 Prompt Compass
This is the first step for every essay: we make sure you understand what the prompt is really asking before you start. Brainstorming unlocks once you've set and confirmed it.
Pick your prompt above, then just tell me a little about yourself to start — I'll ask questions to help you find your story. I won't hand you a topic; we'll find yours together.
Next: a quick Prompt Compass check, then shaping.
Shape your essay
🧭 Prompt Compass
This is the first step for every essay: we make sure you understand what the prompt is really asking before you start. Shaping unlocks once you've set and confirmed it.
Tell me the topic or moment you're planning to write about, and I'll help you think through how to structure it — what to open with, how to build it, where it could land. I'll never write it for you, just think it through with you.
Next: a quick Prompt Compass check, then your draft & feedback workspace.
Your shaping conversation hasn't settled into a plan yet. A little more back-and-forth here will give you a structure to draft from — that's the whole point of shaping.
Draft and get feedback
🧭 Prompt Compass
This is the first step for every essay: we make sure you understand what the prompt is really asking before any feedback. Feedback unlocks once you've set and confirmed it.
Optional: already had this reviewed elsewhere? Skip straight to line editing →
Margin notes
Your feedback will show up here, like comments in the margin of a paper draft.
Paste your essay, pick your prompt, and I'll read it the way a mentor would — closely, and on your side.
Prompt Compass
🧭 Prompt Compass
Before we start writing, let's make sure we understand what this prompt is really asking. Most college essays go off track long before the first sentence.
My bookshelf
Not draft numbers — the essays you've actually written this season.
Your essays
Reflect on my progress
A step back from any single essay — a read on your writing as a whole, across everything you've worked on this season.
Need at least one saved draft before there's anything to reflect on. Come back after your first feedback pass.
Ask your own question
"What's my biggest strength?" "Am I walking a fine line anywhere?" "What have I improved the most?" — ask anything about your process so far.
Your season letter
Not feedback on any one essay — a real letter, once you've got a body of work behind you.
How your writing is processed by AI
Margin gives you feedback by sending what you write to Anthropic's API — the AI service that produces the responses you see. Each time you brainstorm, shape a draft, paste in a prompt, or ask for feedback, that text leaves Margin and is processed by Anthropic to generate a reply.
A lot of what you write here is personal. An essay can touch on your family, your identity, your immigration status, your mental health, or other things that matter to you. We want you to know exactly where those words go before you decide what to share.
How your writing is stored and used, and how you can delete it, is described in our Privacy policy.
Margin isn't a crisis or counseling service. If you need urgent help, the crisis line on your home page and the Support & resources section can point you to people who can help right now.
Start a fresh essay?
Starting fresh gives you a blank slate — it clears the prompt, Prompt Compass, any brainstorm or shaping conversation, the current draft, your feedback choice, and any results showing now.
Anything you've already run a feedback pass on is safe in your Bookshelf, and you can reopen it any time by picking its prompt again. But unsaved writing in the current draft will be cleared.