Phillips Exeter Admissions
I offer expert, customized, one-on-one education services, from college essay writing help to education consulting and life coaching. (Starting in 2020, I will also be offering Oxford-style tutorials.)
Most of the new students I work with found me through word-of-mouth recommendations or advice I've shared on my blog. Though they're already familiar with my results, they want to know more about my process.
This can be a complicated question to answer, since I take such an individualized approach to every student. The way we work together depends on your goals, strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and communication styles – meaning it's much easier to describe my process after we've met.
What I can say about my process is that it goes far beyond excellent writing and storytelling.
Yes, I will eventually review your grammar and syntax. Yes, I will help you organize and prioritize your ideas and accomplishments. But in order to find your voice and make your essay unforgettable, I will ask thought-provoking questions designed to help you see connections you might not have even known were there.
I won't regurgitate advice you've already heard, like, "Show, don't tell." I will tell you what I heard you say that would beautifully "show" the point you're trying to make. If you haven't said it yet, we'll discuss it until you do. If you're not sure how to incorporate this story or moment into your essay, I will show you different ways to approach and frame it.
One thing I pride myself on – especially since volunteering at a community essay editing event and seeing confused, stressed out looks on so many students' faces at the other tables, but only smiles at mine – is that my students always know exactly what they need to do next by then end of our meeting. If they aren't sure how to proceed, we keep going until they do. Worst case, the meeting ends something like this:
"Does that make sense? Do you feel like you have what you need to get started, or do you want me to think about it more, then type up some notes and suggestions and send them to you tomorrow?"
Beyond helping you tell the story you already have, I have the background and experience (through time working with admissions officers and completing alumni interviewer training) to help identify ways to make your story more impressive in the short- and long-term future.
If you live in a different part of this country -- or even a different country altogether – I can work with you remotely, via Skype, Zoom, Google Drive, and other online methods.
I am also available to find creative ways to spice up a nearly completed essay, and even for last-minute feedback on applications, resumes, and cover letters.
***
Full Service
From initial brainstorming to final touches, I will meet with you online or in person each week to guide you through the college essay experience.
$6,000 for unlimited help on all of your college applications, including colleges like MIT and the University of California, which do not use the Common Application.
California Dreaming
$3,000 for unlimited help on the U.C. essays and Common App personal statement (~12-15 hours), $600 for each additional college.
Most of the new students I work with found me through word-of-mouth recommendations or advice I've shared on my blog. Though they're already familiar with my results, they want to know more about my process.
This can be a complicated question to answer, since I take such an individualized approach to every student. The way we work together depends on your goals, strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and communication styles – meaning it's much easier to describe my process after we've met.
What I can say about my process is that it goes far beyond excellent writing and storytelling.
Yes, I will eventually review your grammar and syntax. Yes, I will help you organize and prioritize your ideas and accomplishments. But in order to find your voice and make your essay unforgettable, I will ask thought-provoking questions designed to help you see connections you might not have even known were there.
I won't regurgitate advice you've already heard, like, "Show, don't tell." I will tell you what I heard you say that would beautifully "show" the point you're trying to make. If you haven't said it yet, we'll discuss it until you do. If you're not sure how to incorporate this story or moment into your essay, I will show you different ways to approach and frame it.
One thing I pride myself on – especially since volunteering at a community essay editing event and seeing confused, stressed out looks on so many students' faces at the other tables, but only smiles at mine – is that my students always know exactly what they need to do next by then end of our meeting. If they aren't sure how to proceed, we keep going until they do. Worst case, the meeting ends something like this:
"Does that make sense? Do you feel like you have what you need to get started, or do you want me to think about it more, then type up some notes and suggestions and send them to you tomorrow?"
Beyond helping you tell the story you already have, I have the background and experience (through time working with admissions officers and completing alumni interviewer training) to help identify ways to make your story more impressive in the short- and long-term future.
If you live in a different part of this country -- or even a different country altogether – I can work with you remotely, via Skype, Zoom, Google Drive, and other online methods.
I am also available to find creative ways to spice up a nearly completed essay, and even for last-minute feedback on applications, resumes, and cover letters.
***
Full Service
From initial brainstorming to final touches, I will meet with you online or in person each week to guide you through the college essay experience.
$6,000 for unlimited help on all of your college applications, including colleges like MIT and the University of California, which do not use the Common Application.
California Dreaming
$3,000 for unlimited help on the U.C. essays and Common App personal statement (~12-15 hours), $600 for each additional college.
Opening the gate to Brown University
Hourly Consults
We will schedule meetings as needed to go over essay topics, structure, content and other questions. We can meet in your home, at Stanford, or online.
$250/hour for meetings in Stanford, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola, Redwood City, Woodside or online.
$260/hour for meetings in San Carlos, Belmont, Foster City, San Mateo, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
$260/hour for meetings in Burlingame, San Bruno, Millbrae, South San Francisco, Santa Clara, Cupertino and Campbell.
$260/hour for meetings in San Jose, Saratoga, Los Gatos, La Honda, South San Francisco, Daly City, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Pacifica.
Other cities, please inquire. I will travel to other parts of the state or country for special packages.
Please note: If you need to cancel within 24 hours of a scheduled appointment, you will be charged 50% of the total fee.
Fresh Set of Eyes
This is for students who are nearing the final draft. I will carefully review each essay, and then provide a Skype call and writeup with my questions, edits and suggestions.
$250/school
***
Don't hesitate to contact me with additional questions.
We will schedule meetings as needed to go over essay topics, structure, content and other questions. We can meet in your home, at Stanford, or online.
$250/hour for meetings in Stanford, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola, Redwood City, Woodside or online.
$260/hour for meetings in San Carlos, Belmont, Foster City, San Mateo, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
$260/hour for meetings in Burlingame, San Bruno, Millbrae, South San Francisco, Santa Clara, Cupertino and Campbell.
$260/hour for meetings in San Jose, Saratoga, Los Gatos, La Honda, South San Francisco, Daly City, San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Pacifica.
Other cities, please inquire. I will travel to other parts of the state or country for special packages.
Please note: If you need to cancel within 24 hours of a scheduled appointment, you will be charged 50% of the total fee.
Fresh Set of Eyes
This is for students who are nearing the final draft. I will carefully review each essay, and then provide a Skype call and writeup with my questions, edits and suggestions.
$250/school
***
Don't hesitate to contact me with additional questions.
New for 2020 - Oxford-Style Tutorials
The world is going through a collective trauma right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is suffering in one way or another, but among the groups I feel worst for are graduating high school seniors and current college students.
When I reflect on how valuable each day of being on-campus at Stanford, Oxford, and Phillips Exeter Academy was to me, I understand why so many students are doing anything they can to avoid spending an entire semester of their experience online.
I have always been a proponent of gap years, and find it ironic that now that students are finally taking them in larger numbers, most programs have been canceled – whether for Summer 2020, Fall 2020, or the entire 2020-2021 academic year.
This is why I have launched Paved With Verbs Oxford-Style Tutorials.
One of the most educational and enriching experiences I had as a student was studying abroad at Oxford. There, I completed a tutorial – one-on-one courses between a student and a professor that are designed collaboratively for each individual student – in gifted education. Tutorials engage students in rigorous and dynamic academic discourse; essays are presented weekly and form the basis of tutorial discussions.
In response to COVID-19, I have partnered with graduate students and postdocs at some of the nation's most prestigious universities to offer you the opportunity to continue growing and exploring, even in these strange times.
If you are scrambling to make a new plan because your scholarship, internship, service opportunity, summer/semester abroad, or residential learning experience has been canceled or postponed, fill out this contact form to learn more about Tutorials.
Speaking on a panel at Phillips Exeter Academy on The Future of Education.