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Expert College Application Essay Consultant, Harvard Grad and Duke PhD
Calina C.

5.0 (30 ratings)

99 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $275
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About Calina

Bio

I am an experienced college essay consultant and writing coach who is committed to supporting students in crafting thoughtful, compelling, and authentic personal statements for college and graduate school admissions. I provide my students with a structured process for drafting their essays and actionable steps for revision; my aim is to take the anxiety and guesswork out of the writing process so my students can bring their full selves to the page. I also support students on a range of...

I am an experienced college essay consultant and writing coach who is committed to supporting students in crafting thoughtful, compelling, and authentic personal statements for college and graduate school admissions. I provide my students with a structured process for drafting their essays and actionable steps for revision; my aim is to take the anxiety and guesswork out of the writing process so my students can bring their full selves to the page. I also support students on a range of academic writing projects, including IB Extended Essays, Theory of Knowledge, and capstone projects.

As a former college English professor, and now as a high school department chair and teacher, I have more than a decade of experience supporting high school and college students at multiple stages in their academic journeys. As a writing coach, my goal is to draw out the powerful stories that each of my students has to tell, whether they are working on college admissions essays or on medical, law, business, and graduate school personal statements. Whatever the context, I am passionate about helping each of my students craft a compelling story in their own authentic voice, a story that they deliver with clarity and conviction.

Students whose application essay writing I have supported have received admissions to Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Cornell, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna, Pomona College, Skidmore, and Smith, among others.

I have taught literature and writing at Duke University, Emerson College, and the US Naval Academy. I am also a published scholar, a former academic journal assistant editor, and the recipient of numerous competitive fellowships. I know what it takes for students to succeed at the high school and college levels and beyond, and I pride myself on fostering one-on-one relationships through which my students build the writing, analytical, and critical thinking skills that will serve them long after they've moved on to the next phase of their lives.

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Education

Harvard
English Literature
University of Cambridge
Masters
Duke University
PhD

Policies

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Approved Subjects

College Counseling

College Counseling

As a former college English professor, and now as a high school Humanities department chair and teacher, I have more than a decade of experience teaching high school and college students and supporting them at a variety of stages in their academic journeys--including the application process. As a writing coach, my aim is to draw out the powerful stories that each of my students has to tell, whether they are working on college admissions essays or on medical, law, and graduate school personal statements. Whatever the context, I am passionate about helping each of my students craft a compelling story in their own authentic voice, a story that they deliver with clarity and conviction. Students whose college essay writing I have supported have received admissions to schools including Stanford, Cornell, the UCs, and Smith, among others.
English

English

I received my PhD in English from Duke University and have taught English literature at the college and high school levels for a decade. I have taught English literature and freshman writing at Duke, literature at Emerson College, and upper-level English and freshman writing courses at the US Naval Academy, where I was a tenure-track assistant professor of English. I emphasize close reading as a tool that empowers students to scrutinize, unpack, and enjoy literary texts.
Proofreading

Proofreading

As an English PhD and former English professor, I have taught writing at Duke University, Emerson College, and the United States Naval Academy. I have extensive experience editing and proofreading through my former roles as an academic journal editor and as a travel guide editor.
Writing

Writing

Through my teaching at both the college and high school levels, I have developed my own highly effective curriculum for teaching argumentative, research, and personal essay writing. I am especially passionate about empowering students to lay claim to their own voice through the writing process, whether they are working on crafting college essays, submitting medical, law, or grad school applications, or making headway on other academic writing projects. As a professor, I taught literature and writing at Duke University, Emerson College, and the US Naval Academy.
Grammar
Literature
Reading
Romanian
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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (30 ratings)
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Reviews

Exceptional college essay writing tutor!

Calina has worked with my daughter over several sessions on college application essays. She is patient and does a wonderful job of drawing out my daughter's voice in her essays by asking probing questions to get her to think deeper and draws out details that make her essays more polished, grab a reader's attention and hold it. Calina has helped my daughter edit essays written prior to working with her as well as helped her get started with essays from brainstorming all the way through final edit. My daughter is very strong in English, but she feels that working with Calina helps ensure that her finished products are the best they can be and these are some of the best essays she has produced. Calina provides clear and actionable feedback and does a great job of keeping my daughter excited & proud of the work she is producing. Our daughter feels that her writing is better because of Calina's guidance and believes her essays will now not only compliment her college applications but will augment their strength. Calina has an exceptional command of writing craft and a great way of working, we highly recommend Calina as a writing tutor.

Suzanne, 14 lessons with Calina

College essay queen

My son enjoyed working with Calina and quickly connected to her. Calina was amazing and helped my son outline and come up with his personal statement for highly selective college summer essay. She gave valuable feedback and very supportive on the whole process . I cannot thank enough and highly recommend to you. We will look forward to working with her in college essay really soon. Thanks again!

Lillian, 3 lessons with Calina

Excellent college essay writing tutor !

Calina is very knowledgeable and patient tutor. My daughter was unsure of the essay prompt rough drafts and had so many questions on what exactly is expected. Calina gave excellent constructive feedback and guided her to revise the essays. With Calina's extensive knowledge and experience, the final outcome was remarkably complimentary to my daughter's personality. We are very grateful that we have chosen Calina as college essay tutor/guide, and we highly recommend her !

Hrishikesh, 4 lessons with Calina

Knowledgeable and Patient Tutor

My son is working with Calina on his college essay. She is very patient and calm and has a good methodology for bringing ideas from him. He really enjoys working with her!

Laurie, 1 lesson with Calina

Great Essay Review

Calina has been helping me write my graduate school application essays, and she is a wonderful reviewer! She's really taken the time to assist me in crafting my personal statements, and I couldn't have done it without her!

Deepika, 5 lessons with Calina

Student

Calina is an amazing mentor and she has been a constructive help all throughout the process of writing my college essays. From brainstorming to drafting, she is passionate about her students and takes time outside of lessons to review work. In the short time I have been working with her, I have become a stronger writer and confident in my college applications. Calina helps develop your craft meaningfully and teaches valuable technical lessons about writing as well. I am so grateful to have chosen Calina as a tutor on Wyzant and I highly recommend her for any English related assignment.

Elizabeth, 23 lessons with Calina

Student

Calina is an amazing mentor and she has been a constructive help all throughout the process of writing my college essays. From brainstorming to drafting, she is passionate about her students and takes time outside of lessons to review work. In the short time I have been working with her, I have become a stronger writer and confident in my college applications. Calina helps develop your craft meaningfully and teaches valuable technical lessons about writing as well. I am so grateful to have chosen Calina as a tutor on Wyzant and I highly recommend her for any English related assignment.

Elizabeth, 23 lessons with Calina

Calina is very knowledgeable and patient tutor.

She improved my writing style and helped with writing stories that really get the reader's attention. Her sessions were informative and whenever I asked for clarification, her responses were very detailed and elaborative.

Shariq, 2 lessons with Calina
Hourly Rate: $275
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