Who is ELLIS?

What is ELLIS?

ELLIS is an AI college essay coach.

Isn’t that just ChatGPT?

Yes and no.

ELLIS uses a large language model like ChatGPT, but it is not just ChatGPT out of the box. I have been a college counselor since 2011, and after asking students versions of the same questions over and over again, I eventually realized that machines are extremely good at doing things over and over again.

Somewhere around the 5,342nd time I asked a student the same question, this finally occurred to me.

My wife and daughter would probably point out that this is evidence that I am not especially bright. "You're just a simple sponge," they tell me.

So what did you do?

In September 2026, I started turning the questions I ask students, the things I look for in essays, and the way I decide what a student should work on next into an essay-coaching manual.

This was probably inevitable. I'm also a real estate attorney, and I enjoy a comprehensive definitions section in a lease. Why not apply this precision to essay coaching?

What makes ELLIS different from ordinary AI feedback?

The best essay feedback gets the student writing again as fast as possible.

From what I've seen, students don't need twenty revision options. They need a handful of high-value things to work on. And the things have to be clear and concrete enough to be achievable.

I am developing ELLIS around that idea. If you have two hours to work on your essay tonight, then you'll make more progress responding to 5 rounds of 85% quality feedback from ELLIS than you will responding to 1 round of 99% quality feedback from someone else. (That assumes that you have access to someone who can give that level of feedback.)

Does ELLIS write the essay for the student?

No.

ELLIS helps the student discover what they actually want to say, recognize the strongest material they already have, and make the next revision manageable. The point is to produce a draft that the student is proud to show a parent, teacher, counselor, or other trusted reader.

That said, ELLIS does have the capacity to rearrange student material into a more compelling order. In addition, at late essay stages, ELLIS may suggest sentence rephrasing that is consistent with the student's style and writing level.

That is not going to be a popular choice with everyone. But college counselors edit essays for their clients all the time. Ask me how I know. Editing isn't morally good because a (highly paid) human does it, and morally bad because an LLM does it.

That said -- hang on, let me dismount from my very high horse -- there are lines ELLIS should not cross. ELLIS might ask you what an experience meant, but it won't tell you what it meant. That's your job. I'd like you to try.

Why build this at all?

It's a question of access. Good college counseling is often expensive. Even if you hire a good one, they might not be available when you need them.

I mean, also, maybe it is a question of money. It's possible I'll have a paid tier at some point for a higher number of reviews per day.

Why the name ELLIS?

I don’t know.

It’s just what ELLIS wanted.

How do I know you're human?

I'm absurd. Cheers.