I do one thing, and I do it closely.
I’m an independent college essay coach. Not a company, not a franchise, not an app with my face on it — just me, working with a small number of students each year on the hardest 650 words they’ll write.
I believe the essay is the one part of the application where a student gets to be a person instead of a data point — and that most of them are talked out of writing the thing that would actually work. My whole practice is built around helping you write it anyway.
- Applied to
- [PLACEHOLDER: schools applied to]
- Attended
- [PLACEHOLDER: school(s) attended]
- Focus
- Personal statements, supplements, narrative voice
- Also works with
- STEM applicants, international students
Where I started
[PLACEHOLDER: Write about your own application experience — where you came from, what the process felt like, what you didn’t have that you wish you had. Don’t generalize; tell the actual story.]
[PLACEHOLDER: Add a second paragraph — a specific moment from your own process that still shapes how you coach. The more concrete, the more it earns trust.]
What I actually applied with
[PLACEHOLDER: Describe the application you submitted — the essay you wrote, the extracurriculars and research that mattered, the outcomes. This is where credibility lives, so be concrete.]
![[PLACEHOLDER: close-up of handwritten notes and a marked-up essay draft]](/images/about-notes.svg)
A good essay isn’t the one that sounds most impressive. It’s the one only you could have written.
Why I do this now
[PLACEHOLDER: Why coaching, and why essays specifically? What do you see students getting wrong that you can’t stop wanting to fix?]
How I work with students today
[PLACEHOLDER: Describe what it’s like to work with you — the pace, the honesty, the boundaries. Set expectations the way you actually set them with a family.]
How I got here
The long story is above. Here's the shape of it.
I was the student
[PLACEHOLDER: a sentence or two about your own application experience — where you came from and what the process felt like.]
I started helping friends
[PLACEHOLDER: how you began — reading drafts for classmates, a school role, a first paid student.]
I do this full time, for a few students a year
[PLACEHOLDER: what your practice looks like today and why you keep it small.]
The principles I coach by
These aren't slogans — they're the actual rules that shape every session and every margin comment.
I listen for the real story
Most students hand me a resume in paragraph form. My first job is to ignore the impressive parts long enough to hear the thing you tell almost by accident — that's usually the essay.
I never write it for you
Coaching, editing, and strategy — never ghostwriting. Every word stays yours. It's an ethical line, and a practical one: readers can tell, and colleges take it seriously.
I'd rather cut than pad
The best edits usually remove the parts that look most impressive. A tighter, truer essay beats a longer, safer one every time.
I take fewer students on purpose
This is one person's practice, not an agency. I'd rather go deep with a handful of students than spread thin across dozens.
Why students trust me with this
Not credentials for their own sake — the specific experience that makes the feedback worth having.
I've read thousands of essays
Enough to know the difference between one that's clean and one that's memorable — and to spot the buried draft inside a first attempt within a paragraph or two.
I've been the applicant
I went through the highly selective process myself, from the same blank page and the same doubt. I remember what actually helped and what was noise.
I work across systems
International curricula, US high schools, homeschool, gap-year students — I'm used to translating very different records for an American admissions reader.
When I’m not reading essays
[PLACEHOLDER: A short, genuine paragraph about who you are outside of coaching — what you read, where you live, what you’re curious about. Students write better for someone who feels like a real person, not a service.]
A standing invitation
The best way to know if we’ll work well together is to actually talk. The intro call is free, and there’s no pitch at the end of it — just an honest read on whether I’m the right person for what you need.
If any of that sounds like what you’re looking for, I’d love to hear from you.
Book a Free 20-Minute Intro Call
No pressure. Just a conversation about your story.