per·spi·ca·cious (adj.) having a ready insight into and understanding of things
Hi, I’m Sanibel.
You know how people dream in their native language? I dream in CommonApp personal essays.
Here’s the insipid version of my bio: I went to prep school, Duke, then transferred to Penn. I spent a year in finance before going to grad school. The informative version goes like this: I had a 3.6 GPA in high school. My college counselor had schools like University of Richmond on my list. After one year at Duke, I transferred to UPenn (with the same mediocre GPA). Despite my background in Classical Studies, I was hired to be an analyst at a major bank (it was stultifying.) I got my MFA at the New School (one of the best times of my life) and became a private college counselor (and author.) Stats-wise, I was “underqualified” at every place I was accepted. Essays have enabled me to punch above my weight time and again.
Without the opportunity to share my voice, I could never have eclipsed people who were more qualified (on paper). My specialty is using storytelling to outperform expectations and sell the unquantifiable parts of my personality.
My take on ChatGPT and admissions essays appeared in New York magazine (and thoughts on over-advising appear in Air Mail.) Read more about me here.
*Please note: I only work on personal essays. I do not help with supplemental (“why school”) essays.
Hi, I’m Jerry.
Nothing motivates me quite like the challenge of reach school.
Here’s the milquetoast version of my bio: I graduated as valedictorian of my high school, went to Yale, then worked as a product manager at companies like Google and an artificial intelligence lab. After a 7 year career in tech, I left to go to film school.
The nuanced version goes like this: Even though I went to a competitive STEM high school that deprioritized the arts, I knew my love for performing and storytelling was my greatest asset. Instead of pigeonholing myself in a STEM discipline, I opted for a Computer Science and Art joint major at Yale that exercised both my left and right brain. However, my pragmatism (instilled at a young age) misled me to a career in tech, where I languished in endless meetings questioning if this would be the rest of my life. A deep dissatisfaction (and a FaceTime with Sanibel) convinced me to do the unthinkable: quit my coveted position and move to Chicago to study comedy and filmmaking at the Second City. Writing scripts and producing short films galvanized my creative spirit and I channel this energy into supporting students as a college essay coach.
My super power is injecting personality into (otherwise bland) essays.
My work has been selected to screen at The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes Film Festival and Wicked Queer: Boston’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Read more about me here.
If you found me on TikTok, way to click through. We don’t read/reply to comments so you’re much more likely to find helpful information on this site. (Hint: check out sample essays.)