Terms of Service for Personal Mentoring with Barak Rosenbloom
Essay Mentors, Inc., d.b.a. EssayQuest
Last updated July 31, 2026
These terms are an agreement between Essay Mentors, Inc. (“Essay Mentors”) and the registering parent or guardian. Personal mentoring is provided by Barak Rosenbloom (“Barak”). These terms describe how the Personal Mentoring Program works, what Barak commits to, and what he asks of students and parents. They replace any prior disclaimer on the registration page.
1. Who agrees to these terms
The registering parent or guardian agrees to these terms and is the contracting party. They are responsible for payment and for the student’s compliance with these terms.
These terms describe what is expected of the student as well as of the parent. The student does not sign or agree to them. Where these terms describe what the student does, the registering parent or guardian is responsible for seeing that it happens.
2. The program and sessions
The student receives what is included in the program selected at registration, as described in the program descriptions on the registration page.
In the unlimited program, sessions are not capped by count. Barak works with the student until the essays are finished, within the term described in section 4 (Term of the engagement). Other programs are limited by a set number of sessions or a set number of essays. The program description for the program selected states which applies.
The unlimited program covers all essays and writing that are part of the college applications themselves. This includes essays for scholarships, honors programs, and leadership programs submitted as part of an application, and the follow-up writing described in section 4 (Term of the engagement). It does not cover outside scholarship essays or other writing that is not part of an application.
A program may be modified at registration. Any limitation, condition, or deadline added to a program is entered by the registering parent or guardian in the additional comments section of the registration form. It forms part of these terms only if Essay Mentors accepts it in writing. Anything else entered in that field has no effect on these terms. Barak confirms that the full modification has been entered as provided.
It is the registering parent or guardian’s responsibility to tell the student about any limitation or condition on the program. Barak also places it at the top of the student’s Next Time Document.
3. Become a Better Writer sessions
These sessions are included in the Personal Mentoring Programs that include Become a Better Writer sessions. They are optional, and there are up to three each semester to support class assignments or writing in general. They expire at the end of each semester and do not carry over to the next one, unless Barak approves an exception.
Become a Better Writer sessions end after the first semester of junior year. From that point the program becomes the standard unlimited college essay program, and work on college essays begins in the spring or early summer of junior year.
4. Term of the engagement
The engagement runs from registration through the end of the student’s application and decision season. Support does not stop when essays are submitted. It continues through letters of continued interest, additional requests for information, waitlist responses, and similar writing tied to the applications. The engagement ends once the student has committed to a college and any waitlist activity is resolved.
The engagement ends no later than June 30 of the student’s high school graduation year. If a student defers enrollment, takes a gap year, or is otherwise still working through decisions, Barak may extend the engagement at his discretion.
A different arrangement may be agreed at registration and noted on the registration form. If a student needs support past that point, Barak and the family can discuss a new arrangement.
5. Scheduling and availability
Barak keeps his student load at a level where the next session can generally be scheduled five to seven business days after the last one, depending on seasonal demand. The exception is the occasional week when he is traveling or on vacation and not available. There are stretches when he can meet more often than that, though he does not promise it.
Barak and the student schedule the next session at the end of each session. Unless otherwise agreed, scheduling is between Barak and the student. Some sessions call for parent involvement in scheduling, including first sessions and Become a Better Writer sessions with younger students.
6. Cancellations and missed sessions
Barak asks that a student let him know as soon as they know they will not be available, and at least 24 hours in advance. If a student cancels or reschedules, he cannot promise a replacement time within the window the student would otherwise have had.
A student who does not appear within 15 minutes of the start time, without notice, is treated as a missed session. Missed sessions and late cancellations reduce what can be finished before the deadlines the student is working toward. More than two missed sessions or late cancellations in a semester is a pattern. If it continues after Barak has raised it in writing, it may be grounds for ending the engagement under section 17 (Ending the engagement).
7. Communication and where the work lives
Communication. Barak communicates with students almost entirely by text message. With parents he communicates mostly by email, though parents are always free to text him. He generally responds within two business days, and often sooner. If a student does not have access to standard text messaging, for example while outside the United States, Barak and the student will agree on an alternative.
Where the work lives. All work is done in Google Drive and Google Docs, in a folder Barak creates and shares with the student. Instructions and deadlines are always in the Next Time Document in that folder. If a student does not have regular access to Google Drive and Docs, Barak and the student will agree on an alternative.
Access. The student may not give view, comment, or edit access to anyone else without Barak’s permission. Parents do not have a right to be added to the folder.
8. Timelines and targets
Barak and the student set specific targets for drafts and finished essays. Doing the work is up to the student. Targets adjust based on a student’s progress and on what they still need to learn, and some students take longer with certain parts of the work. These are targets, not guaranteed completion dates.
Students and parents are responsible for selecting schools and for keeping Barak current on school choices and application deadlines.
9. Following the process
Students receive step-by-step instructions and guidance personalized to them. The process depends on those steps being done as designed. If a student does not complete the assigned activities, or takes on additional work or steps that were not assigned, the process is no longer the one built for that student, and Barak cannot be responsible for the results or the timeline.
10. The student’s work
Every essay must be the student’s own writing, thinking, and experience. Barak asks questions, responds to drafts, and teaches a process. He does not write or rewrite essays, and neither does anyone else.
Students may not use artificial intelligence in this work unless Barak gives specific instructions to do so. This includes using generative AI tools to produce or revise draft text, generate ideas or topics, or build outlines.
11. Outside feedback
Barak is the only person who works with the student on their college essays, and the only person who works on or gives feedback on the student’s essays during the engagement. No teacher, tutor, consultant, editor, family member, or other party gives feedback on drafts without his knowledge and approval.
There are points in the process where Barak may suggest that a student seek outside feedback, and that is welcome when it comes at his suggestion or with his approval. If a student is required to submit an essay for a class or to a school counselor as part of a school assignment, that is expected and is not a departure from this section. The student informs Barak when this occurs. What a student submits for a school assignment does not have to be what they submit to a college. Barak may look at any feedback the school provides, and he and the student will decide together whether to bring it into their work.
If someone else is already working with the student on their college essays at the start, the parent tells Barak, and he and the family will decide together how to handle it.
12. Proofreading
It is the student’s responsibility to get Barak’s final review and approval before submitting an essay to a college, and to make any final minor edits he recommends. Approval is not needed again for substantially the same supplemental essay sent to more than one college. He encourages students to have someone proofread at that point. Fresh eyes catch subtle typos and small problems that neither the student nor Barak would notice.
Barak will give the proofreader proofreading instructions on what to look for, and proofreading is limited to the issues named in those instructions. Barak provides those instructions as a document or a link, and they are the instructions and limitations to follow. For anything outside of them, the proofreader leaves a comment the student can address on their own or bring to Barak. A proofreader does not rewrite and does not supply words or language. Barak will approve how the proofreader receives the essay, since section 7 (Communication and where the work lives) otherwise bars the student from granting access.
If a student is considering any change beyond the limitations named in Barak’s proofreading instructions, whether it comes from a proofreader or from anywhere else, Barak needs to see it before the essay is submitted. What a student submits is ultimately the student’s responsibility.
13. What helps Barak mentor well
Barak asks that parents and students share anything that could affect a student’s ability to do the work, engage with Barak effectively, or follow directions. That includes travel, family events, exam weeks, a heavy season in a sport, or any stretch when a student’s time is spoken for, and anything else a family thinks would help him work well with the student. This is a request, not a requirement. Nothing a family shares will cause Barak to decline to work with a student or change what the program includes.
Nearly every student Barak works with carries a full schedule and real demands on their time. The process is built for that. What helps is knowing what is coming and when, so those stretches can be built into the targets from the start rather than adjusted for after the fact. Barak teaches a personalized process, and he can only personalize it around what he knows. If something comes up later, tell him then.
14. Who the engagement is with
The mentoring relationship is between Barak and the student. He sends messages and gives feedback directly to the student. The student shares work and progress with him in Google Drive, by text, or through another channel they agree on. Parents are not part of the process except when Barak invites them in.
Sessions are between Barak and the student. No one else attends, on or off camera, unless Barak and the student have agreed in advance. Neither Barak nor the student makes an audio or video recording of a session without the other’s agreement. Barak may use an automated notetaking tool to produce transcripts and notes from a session. The registering parent or guardian consents to the use of automated transcription tools during sessions, solely to produce notes and transcripts for this engagement. Barak tells the student when he is using one, and shares what it produces with the student.
15. What Barak shares with parents
Barak sends parents regular updates, beginning after the first session and continuing as the student reaches major milestones in the process. He raises concerns with parents directly, and he asks questions or asks for support when he needs it.
He shares a student’s work only with the student’s permission. He does not pass along session notes or the content of what a student tells him in session. The exception is a concern about a student’s safety or wellbeing, which he will bring to parents.
16. Parent questions and concerns
Parents are welcome to contact Barak directly with questions or concerns at any point, and he will respond. Reach him by email or text.
17. Ending the engagement
Parent involvement. If a parent’s involvement interferes with the student’s ownership of the work or with the mentoring relationship, Barak will send written notice describing what happened and what needs to change. After three or more such notices, he may end the engagement for cause. The notices do not have to concern the same issue.
Student conduct. If a student does not do the assigned work, or departs from section 10 (The student’s work) or section 11 (Outside feedback) while work is in progress, Barak will raise it in writing and give the student a chance to correct it. If it continues after that, he may end the engagement for cause.
Immediate termination. Barak may end the engagement immediately, without prior notice, for conduct that makes the work untenable. This includes abusive, harassing, or threatening communication from a student or a parent, and submission to a college of work the student did not write. The notice provisions above do not apply in these cases.
Withdrawal. The registering parent or guardian may end the engagement at any time by writing to Barak. Section 19 (Refunds) governs what happens to fees.
If Barak cannot continue. If illness, emergency, natural disaster, power or internet outage, widespread technology failure, government action, or another circumstance outside his reasonable control prevents Barak from continuing or from meeting a commitment in these terms, he is not in breach of these terms. For a short interruption, sessions and timelines shift accordingly. If it prevents him from continuing altogether, Essay Mentors will contact the family promptly and work with them on a resolution, which may include alternative support or a refund. Section 19 (Refunds) does not limit what Essay Mentors may do in that situation.
18. Payment
Payment is due at registration unless Essay Mentors agrees otherwise in writing. If a payment plan is in place and a payment is missed, Barak may pause the work until it is resolved.
19. Refunds
Fees are non-refundable except as required by law. Essay Mentors reserves the right to make exceptions at its sole discretion. This applies whether the engagement ends by withdrawal or for cause.
Refunds are not issued based on any admission, financial aid, or scholarship result. Refunds are also not issued in any of these situations:
- A student does not do the assigned work, on a recurring basis and after Barak has raised it in writing.
- A student misses or cancels scheduled sessions, on a recurring basis and after Barak has raised it in writing.
- A student or parent has anyone other than the student do the work.
- A parent, teacher, counselor, sibling, or anyone else interferes with the process, or gives the student advice or support that goes beyond what Barak has approved under section 11 (Outside feedback).
If any of these arise, Barak raises it with the student and, where it involves a parent, with the parent. Whether the engagement also ends is a separate question, governed by section 17 (Ending the engagement), which sets its own standard.
This section is also published separately as the Refund Policy for Personal Mentoring with Barak Rosenbloom. If the two ever differ, this section as agreed to at registration governs.
20. Use of student work
Essay Mentors sometimes publishes student work as teaching examples and in marketing, on the website and in materials for students and professionals. This includes finished essays and interim steps in the process: drafts, raw content, notes on personal intentions, and similar material.
All personally identifiable information is removed before anything is published.
This happens only with the student’s written permission, given separately from these terms, after the application cycle is complete, and only once the student is 18 or otherwise of legal age. Permission can be withheld with no effect on the work Barak and the student do together, and can be withdrawn later by writing to Barak. On withdrawal, Essay Mentors removes the material from anything it controls going forward. Materials already printed, downloaded, or distributed cannot be recalled.
21. No guaranteed outcomes
Many factors go into college admissions decisions. Neither Barak nor Essay Mentors is responsible for any admission, financial aid, or scholarship decision, and nothing in these terms is a guarantee of any outcome.
22. Changes to these terms
Essay Mentors may update these terms for future registrations. The version in effect for a student is the one they agreed to at registration, identified by the last updated date shown at the top of this page.
23. Notices
Text messages are used for scheduling and day-to-day communication, and are valid for that purpose. Formal notice under these terms, including notice under section 17 (Ending the engagement) and notice of a claimed breach, means email. Notice to Barak goes to barak@essaymentors.com. Notice to a student or a parent goes to the email address given at registration.
24. Privacy
Personal information collected at registration and during the engagement is handled as described in the privacy policy on the Essay Mentors website.
25. Limitation of liability
The total liability of Essay Mentors and Barak arising from these terms will not exceed the amount paid for the program. Neither is liable for indirect or consequential losses. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
26. Essay Mentors materials
All mentoring materials, exercises, frameworks, templates, worksheets, checklists, handouts, videos, and instructional content provided during the engagement remain the property of Essay Mentors. Students may use them for their own work. They may not be copied, shared, distributed, or used commercially without written permission.
The student’s own essays and writing belong to the student. Section 20 (Use of student work) governs when Essay Mentors may publish them.
27. Resolving disagreements
If a disagreement arises, the parties will first raise it directly with each other in good faith and try to resolve it. If that does not work, they will attempt mediation before either brings a claim in court.
28. Entire agreement
These terms, the description of the program selected, and any modification accepted under section 2 (The program and sessions) are the entire agreement between Essay Mentors and the registering parent or guardian. They replace any prior discussion or correspondence.
Once registration is complete, this agreement can be changed only if the registering parent or guardian and Essay Mentors both agree to the change in writing. Section 22 (Changes to these terms) applies to the published terms for future registrations and does not change an agreement already made.
29. Severability
If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
30. Governing law and venue
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington. Any dispute is brought in the state or federal courts located in King County, Washington.
By checking the box on the registration form, the registering parent or guardian confirms that they have read these terms and agree to them.