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I graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Russian Literature. Most recently, I graduated from USC’s #1-ranked School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in Film Producing.
I first dipped my toe into the College Admissions Counseling world as an editor, working with students to help them tell their story in their college essays. My background (and passion) is in writing. Screenwriting, in fact. I’ve written and produced work that has appeared in various festivals, on the Cartoon Network, and on the pages of the world-renowned Harvard Lampoon. I’ve been focused on The Art of The Pitch for some time and cut my editing teeth as a script analyst for Amazon Studios, Team Downey and RKO Pictures, among others.
But editing wasn’t enough for me. I got very invested in my students and wanted to do more to help them not only SHAPE their story, but to develop it. So I eventually joined Admissionado as a Senior Mentor, and have since helped hundreds of students gain entry into schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech and many, many more.
Much like writing, I believe that coaching is an iterative process. It is not my job to tell my students what to do; it is to learn who they are, what they want, and what they have to offer, and to work with them to help them tell their story to college admissions committees. There’s a lot of back and forth and a lot of digging with each student throughout the process as we formulate and execute on the best path forward.
The biggest mistake I see year after year is students trying to be something that they’re not because they think that is what the colleges want to see. And it never works! So my first step in working with students is to undo all of that, and then to uncover who they really are so we can present a real, authentic person in their applications.
I also like to push my students to think outside the box and to take some risks in their writing. Yes, this may go against everyone’s advice -- “How can you take a risk on something so important?!” -- but that importance is precisely why I go this route. When you’re competing against other applicants with equally (or more!) impressive grades, scores, activities, you need to do something else to stand out from the crowd. And taking a (smart, calculated) risk with your essays is exactly the way to do that. Not only does it lead to more memorable essays, but it allows my students to show (rather than just try to tell) the admissions committee who they are as a person.
I am and will always be obsessed with movies: watching them, writing them, making them, critiquing them. I am also a huge fan of taking myself out of my comfort zone and experiencing new things, like the time I just picked up and moved to Beijing on a moment’s notice without knowing anything, anyone, or any word in Mandarin. There’s something very exciting and humbling about stumbling through the challenges, and it’s always nice to remind myself just how much I’m capable of.