ABOUT ME

I am an experienced college counselor who has consulted with over 150 students, many of whom are currently attending top-tier schools including Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, and UChicago (among numerous other fantastic schools). I like to look at the college application process as an opportunity to engage in reflection and self-discovery, and my passion is for helping students uncover new and amazing things about themselves that they’d never even realized before. I’m proud of having gotten my students into some of the nation’s most selective schools, but my primary motivation as a counselor lies in helping students discover the right fit for them, irrespective of ranking or selectivity.

Colleges (and admissions applications) have been a recurring presence throughout my life. I grew up surrounded by institutions of higher learning- my parents, both graduates of Amherst College, settled in Northampton, Massachusetts, at the heart of the “Five College Consortium” in western Massachusetts. I submitted my first admissions application as a pre-schooler, when I was asked to sit down and solve a puzzle as my final step toward gaining admission into a lab-style elementary school run by Smith College. In fifth grade, I applied and was admitted into Eaglebrook School, an all-boys boarding school where I studied for four years before eventually transitioning into Milton Academy, a highly-selective boarding school just outside of Boston. These experiences have given me ample experience not only in the process of submitting applications, but also in the numerous ways in which schools can differ from one another; they have reinforced for me the importance of “fit,” and of finding the right school for you. My educational background also has given me a robust network of former classmates who have attended and can shed light upon (and in some cases have even worked as admissions officers for) several highly selective schools.

After high school I went on to attend the University of Chicago, where I majored in anthropology, and where I managed to do well enough in my classes that I was inducted early into the school’s Phi Beta Kappa society (at the end of my third year). I graduated with honors, and went to work at a software company for three years before pivoting into my current career track as writer. This career pivot meant more schooling: I attended night classes at UC Berkeley for two years, earning a certificate in writing (with distinction); then I took graduate-level coursework at the University of Arkansas for two years more before transferring programs to attend The New School in Manhattan, where I earned my MFA degree in creative writing. Today, my college counseling work supports my life as an artist: I have written many short stories and am currently at work on a novel; I am also working on a literary translation of the novel “Wild Beast” by the Chinese author Wang Shuo. My book reviews have been featured in the Brooklyn Rail.

My approach to college counseling combines my expertise in written presentation with my passion for motivating students to break out of their comfort zones and pursue whatever they're passionate about to the fullest extent possible. My fundamental operating philosophy is that colleges are looking for applicants who are ready and willing to put themselves out there - on the page (in their essays), in the classroom (by asking questions and working as hard as they can), and in their extracurriculars (by taking risks on projects that could have a legitimate impact on the people around them). I combine this emphasis with a sincere desire to help my students succeed in the long-term -- whatever success may look like to them and their families. I love helping students realize just how many options they have when it comes to college, and then filtering everything down to the options that are right for their own interests and values. The best part of my job is helping students gain admission into their top-choice schools, and knowing that it's their top choice because it speaks to their actual interests and the unique set of things that make them tick.