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Ivy & Top-Tier Essay Coach | English PhD | Former UCLA Instructor
Gabriel M.

5.0 (726 ratings)

1,973 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $375
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Response time: 1 hour

About Gabriel

Bio

I am an English PhD, former UCLA instructor, and highly experienced college essay coach specializing in essays for selective colleges and universities. For the past seven years, I have helped students craft Common App essays and supplemental essays that are vivid, strategic, and unmistakably their own.

My students have been accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, MIT, Caltech, Chicago, the UCs, USC, Michigan, and many other top colleges and universities. In the 2025 cycle...

I am an English PhD, former UCLA instructor, and highly experienced college essay coach specializing in essays for selective colleges and universities. For the past seven years, I have helped students craft Common App essays and supplemental essays that are vivid, strategic, and unmistakably their own.

My students have been accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, MIT, Caltech, Chicago, the UCs, USC, Michigan, and many other top colleges and universities. In the 2025 cycle alone, my students earned admission to Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, USC, NYU, UCLA, Berkeley, and Emory, in addition to a range of other selective schools.

Before becoming an independent coach, I earned my MA and PhD in English from UCLA, where I taught for a decade. My writing has appeared in academic and literary journals, and I have also coached and written admissions-related material for the College Essay Guy team and boutique counseling services in Los Angeles.

My work is not about producing polished but generic essays. It is about helping students find a distinctive personal story, structure it powerfully, and develop a voice that feels specific, intelligent, and authentic. Whether a student is beginning with scattered ideas, a rough draft, or a nearly finished essay, I help them move toward writing that is more personal, memorable, and effective.

I work with students applying to highly selective colleges, the UCs, liberal arts colleges, honors programs, and specialized programs. I also work with applicants to medical school, law school, and other graduate programs.

My approach is rigorous, collaborative, and practical. I help students clarify what they want to say, understand what the essay needs to accomplish for selective admissions committees, and revise toward the strongest possible version of the piece—without losing the student’s own voice in the process. I also provide steady support and clear accountability throughout what can be a stressful, high-stakes process.

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Education

Reed College
English - Phi Beta Kappa
UCLA
PhD
UCLA
Masters
  • Licensed teacher

Policies

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Approved Subjects

Classics

Classics

I hold a PhD in English, and have a broad range of knowledge concerning English and European classics.
College Counseling

College Counseling

As an experienced college admissions essay coach, I have a demonstrated track record of helping students achieve admissions success. I hold a PhD in English Literature from UCLA, where I spent nearly a decade teaching, and where I gained a keen firsthand understanding of elite admissions committees. In addition to my independent coaching work, I spent several years working with students and writing about college essays for College Essay Guy, and I have also worked with boutique admissions counseling services in Los Angeles. My clients have gained admission to the full range of Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, and many other schools. Year after year, I help students craft outstanding essays that capture their voice and vibrancy, and allow them to truly stand out from those of other applicants. I also work with graduate, medical, and law school applicants.
English

English

I hold a PhD in English literature from UCLA, where I later served as a faculty member. I am deeply versed in America, British, and international literature. I also have years of experience in helping students brainstorm, craft, and edit essays for maximum clarity, argumentative power, and stylistic excellence. I am skilled at advising at a range of educational levels, from high school to graduate and professional school.
Literature

Literature

I hold a PhD in English literature from UCLA, where I later served as a faculty member. I am deeply versed in American, British, and world literatures. I have years of experience in helping students brainstorm, craft, and edit essays for maximum clarity, argumentative power, and stylistic excellence. I am skilled at advising at a range of educational levels, from high school to graduate and professional school.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

For the past seven years, I have helped students and professionals develop powerful, successful personal statements for college, graduate/law/medical school, and summer program admissions. As a PhD in English, a former professor, and a longtime higher education professional, I have expert writing skills as well as a deep understanding of admissions committees. I take an engaged, hands-on approach to collaborating with students to help them emerge with the strongest essay possible. Year after year, student after student, my clients see the results in their admissions journey.
Writing

Writing

I hold a PhD in English literature from UCLA, where I later served as a faculty member. I have years of experience in helping students brainstorm, craft, and edit essays for maximum clarity, argumentative power, and stylistic excellence. I am skilled at advising at a range of educational levels, from high school to graduate and professional school.
SAT Writing
Vocabulary
Gabriel M.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

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5.0 (726 ratings)
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Reviews

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

The BEST essay tutor you will find

Gabe was a huge help with the personal statement. Thoughtful, patient, and gave specific, actionable feedback that made it much stronger without losing the authentic voice. Clearly understands what admissions readers are looking for. Highly recommend.

michelle , 3 lessons with Gabriel

Great tutor, helps organize and refine the writing process

Mr. Gabriel really took the time to understand the specific direction I wanted to take my PIQs and personal statement in, and he helped me with the brainstorming and refining process! I highly recommend him!

Akshat, 6 lessons with Gabriel

Helpful and thorough essay coach

During the sessions I've had with Gabriel so far, he has been extremely helpful in fixing my UC PIQs. I approached him with drafts already pre-written, and he did not hesitate to tell me to rewrite one of them. He points out mistakes that I never would've noticed otherwise, and often helps me with my wording , progression, and concept of my essays, changing them into a way that presents my character to colleges more effectively. Overall, he has been very thorough in his work, and is patient when explaining specific suggestions and answering my questions. He is someone that I would not hesitate recommend to others.

Kyle, 3 lessons with Gabriel

Knowledgeable and expert Tutor

He is extremely knowledgeable and has been a great help to my daughter with her essay. He guided her in selecting the right topic and is now helping her develop it into a strong and impressive piece of writing. His knowledge, experience, and thoughtful guidance is making the entire process much easier and more effective.

Lena, 4 lessons with Gabriel

Medical school personal statement tutor

Gabriel was a pleasure to work with on my medical school applications. He helped me clarify my ideas, communicate them effectively, and improved my flow. Overall, I feel like not only did my personal statement improve, but so did my general writing ability. I learned a lot from him, and I highly recommend reaching out!

Elias, 4 lessons with Gabriel

Great experience

Gabriel takes the time to understand the writing project and work with you to refine it as many times as possible. It has been a great experience! Highly recommend!

Elizabeth, 3 lessons with Gabriel

Great experience

Gabriel takes the time to understand the writing project and work with you to refine it as many times as possible. It has been a great experience! Highly recommend!

Elizabeth, 3 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
Hourly Rate: $375
Response time: 1 hour
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