5 Questions for Heather Vaughan

Heather Vaughan is the latest addition to the ILUMIN team. We’re so excited for her to contribute her enthusiasm, her deep expertise in essay editing, and her international, multicultural worldview to the important work that we do. We asked Heather five questions to help you get to know her better. 

What is your approach to working with students?

I see my work as an Educational Consultant as a chance to build an awesome relationship with a student and their family. Applying to college involves a lot of self-reflection and soul-searching, and I hope to provide scaffolding for students to learn about themselves, their passions, and the future they hope to create. I do my best to balance two key goals: effectively completing each task to get the student to college, while also keeping the student’s individuality and personhood front and center. The way I see it, they’re in the driver’s seat, and I’m helping them get to the best destination for them, while having fun along the way. 

What advice do you have for students as they start writing their personal statements?

Talk it out! This process can be intimidating, especially when you’re staring at a blank page, so I encourage students to use conversation with others as a way to brainstorm. Strike up a conversation with a family member, a close friend, or even an acquaintance, and tell them about yourself, and what you’re considering writing about in your college essays. You may find that sharing your stream of consciousness out loud, paired with questions and comments from the person you’re talking to, helps you get a ton of ideas on the table. 

Using writing and brainstorming exercises can also be incredibly helpful, since different kinds of essays – like the Common Application Personal Statement, the UC PIQs, and supplements – all have different structures and focuses. Last year, I had one student who was very involved in her community, but was having trouble narrowing down what to write about for her four UC essays. So, we made a list of all of her potential topics, and for each one, we wrote down the traits that the topic illustrated – for example, her volunteering at church showed leadership, innovation, creativity, and commitment. We then chose the four topics that showed the most breadth of valuable traits. To learn more, you can check out ILUMIN’s blog, which has some super insightful articles and recorded webinars about these different types of essays. 

What do you feel is the most important quality for success?

Adaptability. When I was younger, I thought I could plan everything down to the last detail, but my experiences have shown me that this doesn’t always work out. In particular, the college admissions journey will likely throw you some curveballs, so being able to adapt to a new situation is essential. You may find that your dream school, your chosen major, and your vision for your future will change — and though this can be hard, being flexible and adaptable will help you achieve success no matter what happens. 

What advice do you have for underclassmen?

Enjoy the ride! High school can be a challenging time, but it’s also such a fun experience. You have more control over the courses that you want to study; you have new extracurricular opportunities; and there are tons of ways for you to enrich your life. Exploring new interests inside and outside of the classroom isn’t just exciting — it will also help you learn what you’re passionate about, and set you up to have a strong college application when the time comes. 

In particular, I encourage you to make a habit of engaging in your extracurriculars while also keeping up with your studies. You can use strategies like creating a weekly study calendar for each class, reading regularly outside of class to expand your knowledge, and reviewing your course content out loud with others; all of these will help strengthen your abilities so you can thrive as your courses get harder. Ninth and tenth grade are typically less academically strenuous than junior year, so putting the work in now to get used to being involved while also developing strong, consistent study habits will make the later years of high school a lot smoother! 

How can parents best support their children through the college application process? 

The same way that parents can support their kids with anything else — being compassionate, and listening. Your student might want a lot of hands-on support from you, or they might want you to take a backseat — regardless, this process is about your child transitioning into a new chapter of their life, so the best thing you can do is to trust them to communicate what they need.