Featured Review:
Exceptional essay tutor!
Rummana, 7 lessons with GabrielI cannot recommend Gabriel highly enough to anyone looking for a college essay tutor who truly understands storytelling, admissions strategy, and the human side of this process. In just a few days, amidst an impending deadline, he helped me completely transform my Common App essay into something I’m genuinely proud of. What I believe sets Gabriel apart is his incredible ability to guide authentic self-reflection. While clarity, structure, and grammar are all important aspects he is skilled...
College essays are a crucial part of the application process. They are your opportunity to make a lasting impression on admission committees, and to distinguish yourself from other applicants through creative, skillfully written, and memorable essays. Working with a proven, experienced coach will make a huge impact on reaching your top choices—and on having a genuinely rewarding writing experience along the way.
I hold an MA and PhD in English from UCLA, where I taught for a decade. My...
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Exceptional essay tutor!
I cannot recommend Gabriel highly enough to anyone looking for a college essay tutor who truly understands storytelling, admissions strategy, and the human side of this process. In just a few days, amidst an impending deadline, he helped me completely transform my Common App essay into something I’m genuinely proud of. What I believe sets Gabriel apart is his incredible ability to guide authentic self-reflection. While clarity, structure, and grammar are all important aspects he is skilled at, most importantly, he helped me figure out who I am, what actually makes my story stand out, and how to articulate that in a way admissions committees will care about. He has an incredible instinct for identifying the moments, insights, and themes that differentiate an applicant, and then helping shape them into a compelling, authentic narrative. Gabriel is also extremely efficient, responsive, and reliable. Every session was focused and productive, and he always came prepared with thoughtful feedback and clear next steps. He also went overtime (when it was needed) and that too during his vacation. Beyond his skill, he’s genuinely kind, encouraging, and invested in his students, which made an otherwise stressful process feel manageable and even empowering. I came into this process feeling uncertain about my essay, and I left with confidence, not just in my writing, but in how I was presenting myself as a person!
Rummana, 7 lessons with Gabriel
Excellent and knowledgeable essay advisor
Gabriel helped me refine my commonapp and supplemental essays, which contributed to my admission to Harvard. His feedback demonstrated a wealth of experience in the field, so I would highly recommend.
Adrian, 3 lessons with Gabriel
More Confidence, Better Writing!
My child has been working with Gabriel on her college essays for the past five months, and it has been such a positive experience. From the very beginning, Gabriel explained his approach with students, which helped my daughter feel comfortable right away. He’s also been great about replying to my messages promptly and patiently answering any questions. Trust me, I have a lot of questions as a first-time parent going through this process, and he always made me feel heard and supported. My child was initially reluctant to work with a tutor, but after her first session with Gabriel, she realized it wasn’t as bad as she thought. After a few more sessions, she even began looking forward to them. She also really appreciates how straightforward and direct Gabriel is. It helps her understand exactly what she needs to work on and how to improve. With Gabriel’s support, she has learned a lot about herself as a writer, and she always leaves their meetings feeling more confident and encouraged. She has mentioned many times how much he has helped her write more clearly and effectively. I’ve read many of her essays (the ones she was willing to show me!), and they feel so authentically her. Watching her growth has been incredibly rewarding. One moment that really stood out was just a few days before she submitted her EA applications. She suddenly started doubting one of her essays. She had read it so many times that she couldn’t see it clearly anymore. Gabriel made time to meet with her on short notice and helped her revisit her original thinking. That reassurance was exactly what she needed, and she was able to submit everything with ease. We are truly grateful for Gabriel’s guidance and would gladly recommend him to any family looking for a tutor who is kind, thoughtful, straightforward, and genuinely invested in helping students shine.
MEIYING, 18 lessons with Gabriel
The Best Writing Coaching I've Received – Elevated My Application!
Look No Further. This is the only essay coach you will ever need for your undergraduate or postgraduate applications. Here is my completely honest review: Gabriel is genuinely exceptional in his writing abilities. As a transfer student, I am very familiar with the application essays and have worked with 7+ essay professors, and none matched his level of sophistication or proven expertise. Based on my essays alone, I feel confident about getting into top-tier schools thanks to him. In my search for the best essay tutor, I had high expectations given his PhD in English and experience with College Essay Guy, and when I finally found him, he still exceeded them. His teaching approach brings out ideas I didn’t know I had. He’s truly a writing genius, and he doesn’t just hand you an outline, make small edits, or give surface-level advice—he works with your ideas to shape your story and convey your voice in ways you wouldn’t be able to achieve alone. I’m genuinely grateful to have found him. He is incredibly down-to-earth and fully committed to helping you portray yourself at your best. Worth Every Single Penny, I promise.
Stephanie, 14 lessons with Gabriel
UC PIQ Sessions
Gabriel has been an exceptional tutor throughout my college application process. He guided me thoughtfully through my UC PIQS and provided detailed, constructive feedback on my UC PIQs. I especially appreciate how open-minded and attentive he has been. He always taking the time to listen to my ideas while offering insightful suggestions that strengthened my writing without changing my voice. His support has made a real difference in my applications, and I’m truly grateful for his guidance.
Tanish, 7 lessons with Gabriel
Outstanding college essay tutor
Gabriel did an excellent job working with my daughter on all of her essays. He pushed her to think deeply and come up with ideas that were truly meaningful, while also guiding her to express them clearly and effectively. He had her rewrite each essay until they reached the level expected at top universities like Stanford. Gabriel also provided invaluable support with her supplemental essays, making sure her voice came through while keeping the writing polished and compelling. We are very happy with how the essays turned out and highly recommend Gabriel to any family looking for expertise and guidance in the college application proces
Rupa, 13 lessons with Gabriel
Excellent tutor!
Gabriel instantly connected with my son to better understand him as a student navigating the application and essay process. He was able to help my son transform his essay and supplementals to better reflect him as a person and student. Highly recommend Gabriel to anyone looking for guidance and expertise in the college application process!
William, 8 lessons with Gabriel
Great tutor
My daughter has lessons with Gabriel multiple times now, and I think he helps her tremendously on her essay writing, we appreciate him very much and looking forward to working with him more!
Yunlu, 12 lessons with Gabriel
Amazing Tutor/Coach for my HS Senior - College Applications, Personal Statement
Gabriel spent 5 sessions (on-line) working with my high school senior to brainstorm, develop, edit, and strengthen her personal statement for college applications. We are so thankful for his help and are very happy with the final version of her essay! He spent the first two sessions getting to know her background and interests, talking about college essays as a genre, discussing different sample essays he sent her to illustrate what works and doesn’t work, reviewing a personal draft statement she had already put together, and discussing her ideas and other ideas for the personal statement. In the next session, Gabriel reviewed drafts of two new personal statements she had written and they picked one to move forward with. He weighed what was working and what could be developed, and laid out ways for her to develop the most interesting themes in her essay. Then went back and forth a couple more sessions to further develop, edit, and strengthen the essay. We highly recommend Gabriel to anyone looking for help developing a personal essay or statement for college applications.
Mimi, 11 lessons with Gabriel
Knowledgable and Patient Tutor
If you're looking for a writing tutor who’s honest, knowledgeable, and deeply committed to helping you improve, I would most definitely recommend Gabriel. He offers wise, thoughtful critiques--always constructive and geared toward making your work the best it can be. He's an excellent writer with a sharp eye for detail and clarity, and he’ll challenge you in the right ways.
Kaitlyn, 11 lessons with Gabriel
