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You are here because you are applying to a graduate or undergraduate program and are faced with the exciting (and possibly stress-soaked) task of writing about yourself. You’ve selected three, five, or a dozen schools and will be writing one essay (or several) of 250-500 words, and possibly some shorter pieces.
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• You want your writing to make a memorable impression.
• You want it to separate your application from the multitude.
• You want it to be reflective, genuine, and insightful.
• You seek the editorial support of an award-winning essayist.
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 "Advice from a Master" -
A ten-minute tutorial on scope.
Raphael may not have intended to give advice on college-application essay strategy, but we can learn about scope from him and his fresco… Click here to go to Step 1 >> |
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| 1. What is distinctive about you as a tutor? |
Others may be qualified generalists, but I’m a published author with degrees in journalism and creative writing, and more than 20 years of professional writing experience. I specialize in the personal essay as an art form and have won literary awards for my narrative nonfiction, including pieces of the scope and length required of college applicants.
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| 2. How does the process work and what does it cost? |
After an initial phone conversation, most students work with me entirely by email, exchanging drafts of essays per the schedule we have discussed. This is the most efficient and cost-effective method, and it is available to students in any location.
Topic selection (optional) generally takes 1-2 hours. After that, most applicants need 3-5 drafts per essay to produce their best work. I spend 1-2 hours per draft, and provide detailed comments and suggestions (from concept to shape to line-editing) for making the essay at hand an authentic and articulate expression of the writer’s individuality. Ideally, the process develops gradually over a few weeks, though I work with students at any stage.
Most of my students work with me on several essays; some want help with only one or two. Please contact me to discuss an estimate of the cost for your specific needs.
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| 3. Do you tutor non-native speakers? |
Yes. Many of my students speak a language other than English at home. I'm certified (CELTA/Cambridge) to teach non-native speakers and am sensitive to their particular issues.
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| 4. To which schools have your students been accepted? |
After working with me on essays for their applications, students have been accepted to Barnard, Boston University, Brown, Carleton, Columbia, Drexel, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, Mills, Naropa, Northeastern, Northwestern, NYU, Occidental, Pitzer, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence, Stanford, Tufts, UC Berkeley,
UC Davis, UCLA, University of Chicago, University of Redlands, USC, Vassar, Wesleyan, Williams, Yale, and other schools.
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| 5. What do students and their parents say about working with you? |
"Yale considers the statement of purpose the single most important part of the application package; your help was integral to my success." -- Drew L.
"You helped my daughter with her college application essays back in November. We now have some good news to share with you. She has been accepted into Columbia, Princeton, Stanford and Harvard. We thought you would be happy to know this and we wanted to tell you once again that we appreciate your help very much." -- Wendy L.
"Before my son worked with Lisa, he had no idea what to write, or simply had too many ideas but did not know which to use. Lisa does not write for your child, but points out areas to improve or ideas to develop. Magically, she knows what schools are looking for. My son is not a 4.16 GPA student, so his essays really helped him get into his dream school (UC Berkeley) and get wait-listed by other top schools. My next child will start the process in a year and we are lucky to know to whom we will come for help. Thanks, Lisa!"-- Sandy C.
"I set out to look for a tutor that could help me get my words on paper. I had many thoughts, too many actually, and I needed someone to help me organize and put them into writing. Working with Lisa really helped me to do so. She helped me learn not to lose my thoughts in the process of writing an essay and to condense the million ideas that I had, into a pithy piece." -- Darya Z. (USC)
"Lisa was a huge help when it came time to apply to colleges. She is professional and kind, and made the long writing process easier, and surprisingly fun." -- Hanna W.
"I was so overwhelmed by the whole college process, time management for writing essays, and balancing a heavy work load and tons of extracurricular activities. Lisa helped me slow down, breathe, and get organized. What I loved most about working with Lisa was the manageable schedule of due dates for each of my essay drafts. Without the schedule, procrastination would have been very tempting. Her comments for essay revisions were extremely helpful and not generic whatsoever. I loved working with Lisa and will recommend her to future friends and acquaintances struggling with the college essay process." -- Natalia H.
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