About

Working with college applicants is an unusual opportunity because the situation makes students extra receptive. They need to figure themselves out and—quickly—learn to write about their mature selves. My goal is to produce applicants confident enough to hold themselves to higher standards. It's an exciting process.

My preparation includes my own education:

• · Ph.D. in English, U.C. Berkeley
• · B.A. in English, Yale

teaching in universities and high school programs:

• · Yale College Bass Writing Program
• · U.C. Berkeley, Department of English
• · Castilleja School, Palo Alto, CA
• · Academic Talent Development Program, U.C. Berkeley

training in the college admission process:

• · Interviewing for the Yale College Office of Admissions
• · Supervision of college applications of more than a hundred seniors at Castilleja School
• · College essay workshops for the Academic Talent Development Program at U.C. Berkeley and for its International Division
• · Western Association for College Admission Counseling
• · Overseas consulting with applicants to American colleges
• · Staying in touch with students to hear their college and work experiences
• · Over ten years as an independent counselor

The result is familiarity with the admission office perspective, knowledge of how various personality types fare in different educational environments, and a sense of how far a student can be pushed to work more ambitiously.