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College Admission Essay Specialist/Advanced Academic Writing
Marianne B.

5.0 (1,901 ratings)

6,996 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $159
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Response time: 2 hours

About Marianne

Bio

My 17 year interaction with NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) and selective college admissions means I know what happens when admission professionals at top undergraduate, graduate, and transfer programs are impressed--and unimpressed--with an essay. Strong grades and scores matter, but authentic, memorable essays strengthen the entire application. This insight motivates me as I guide you through crafting a successful personal statement, supplemental and...

My 17 year interaction with NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) and selective college admissions means I know what happens when admission professionals at top undergraduate, graduate, and transfer programs are impressed--and unimpressed--with an essay. Strong grades and scores matter, but authentic, memorable essays strengthen the entire application. This insight motivates me as I guide you through crafting a successful personal statement, supplemental and scholarship essays, and activities list.
My Master’s in Teaching Writing focused on the personal essay, which means I understand its unique purpose: to show (not tell) the reader how you will intellectually and personally enhance their unique campus environment. We’ll move through each step of the process:

Understanding each prompt’s nuance to generate unique story ideas.

Deciding, through self-reflection prewriting activities, the characteristics and traits that singularly position you as a candidate who stands out.

Discussing your best stories (that are neither cliche nor predictable) that reveal those characteristics.

Polishing each essay so it’s valuable, informative and memorable.

You’ll gain confidence in your writing and yourself as a strong candidate because and have essays you’re proud to submit because they genuinely represent who they are.
And ultimately, that authenticity is what makes an admission reader choose “Admit.”

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Education

Illinois Wesleyan University: English Major & 9-12 Education Minor
BA in English
DePaul University: Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse & Educating Adults
MEd
St. Bonaventure University: High School Counseling
Graduate Coursework

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $159
  • Rate details: LATE CANCELLATIONS: Charged for 30 minutes. NO SHOWS: Charged for full session
  • Lesson cancellation: 3 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 8/3/2020

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

College Counseling

College Counseling

My 13 years in selective college admissions and engagement with NACAC, the National Association of College Admission Counselors means I have the experience of knowing what it’s like to be an admission professional and be unimpressed with an essay. That knowledge is my motivation for my work with students-- from across the US and worldwide-- to produce essays that gain undergrad, graduate, and transfer admission to their dream schools, including the top schools in the US. The knowledge that it's not just about great grades and scores helps me steer my students to speak directly to the admission officer, the one reader who needs to see a distinctive person who will intellectually and personally enhance their unique campus environment. These insights inform every interaction with my students, whether it's crafting successful personal statements, supplemental and scholarship essays, or activities lists, or even wait-list letters. My MA in teaching personal narrative writing continues to inform my work and will help you access your unique stories, strengthen your voice, and boost your confidence. And as we move through each step of the essay writing process, you'll find yourself engaged with the essential elements of college application essay writing: Understanding the nuances of each prompt to generate your unique story ideas. Deciding, through self-reflection prewriting activities, the characteristics and traits that you want to highlight to singularly position yourself as a candidate who stands out amongst your cohort. Discussing your best stories (ones that are neither cliche nor predictable) that reveal those exceptional characteristics, adding credibility to your entire application. Polishing each essay so that the admission committee will not only find it valuable and informative but also memorable. You'll also find yourself staying on track, motivated, and organized because we'll be storing our documents, including my detailed session reports that review what we accomplished and advise you on
English

English

Nearly every year, my AP Lit & AP Lang students beat the national pass rates in AP English Exams by 48%. I've been specially trained to teach AP Lit and AP Lang courses as a high school English teacher, and as a tutor, I develop individual lessons for each student, helping them through their coursework and offering additional official AP materials to guide practice writing exercises. I provide valuable and actionable feedback that moves their writing from the high school level to the level that AP Lit & Lang essay assessors expect-- the college level. My work as a writing tutor at a major university involved being embedded into college courses, from all disciplines, to present writing-based lessons and work individually with students on all genres of writing. I take the same systematic, organized approach to my AP tutoring, creating a plan for each student to identify and strengthen their weaknesses in all phases of their writing, from idea generation to the final proofread and polish.
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

As a top-rated academic writing and AP English specialist, I help students earn 5s on the AP Lit and Lang exams, with a focus on essay strategy, analysis and commentary development, and timing using official College Board materials. And I help all students develop writing that is clear, purposeful, and intellectually engaging. Through targeted materials and detailed, actionable feedback that they can immediately apply to their work, students begin to see how writing actually works: shaping ideas into effective arguments, revising sentences and paragraphs for clarity, and writing with a clear intention and purpose.
Fiction Writing

Fiction Writing

I have extensive experience as a professional and college admission interview preparation expert, supported by formal training at a university career planning and development center. I have worked with individuals applying for a wide range of professional roles, helping them communicate their strengths clearly, confidently, and authentically in interviews. I also prepare students for college admission interviews at institutions where interviews are part of the evaluation process, focusing on thoughtful self-presentation, strong responses, and meaningful engagement. My coaching is strategic, personalized, and grounded in a deep understanding of what interviewers are looking for.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

I’ve worked with students from across the US and worldwide to gain undergrad, graduate, and transfer admission to their dream schools, including the top schools in the US. These results come from my 13 years in selective college admissions and my engagement with NACAC, the National Association of College Admission Counselors. It's not just about great grades and scores; the admission committee wants to see a distinctive person who will intellectually and personally engage with their unique campus environment. This specialized insight informs my approach to guiding each student in crafting successful personal statements, supplemental and scholarship essays, activities lists, and wait-list letters. My Master's degree-level expertise in teaching personal narrative writing informs my ability to help students access their unique voice, thus bolstering their self agency by engaging in each step of the application essay process: Understanding the nuances of each prompt to generate a unique idea. Deciding, through self-reflection prewriting activities, the characteristics and traits that they will highlight to singularly position themselves, making them stand out amongst other candidates. Finding the best story (one that is neither cliche nor predictable) that reveals those exceptional characteristics, adding credibility to their essay. Polishing it into an essay so original that the admission committee will not only find it valuable and informative but also memorable. I keep students on track, motivated, and organized by storing all documents, including my detailed session reports that review what we accomplished and advise them on the next steps to move forward, in a shared google document. This helps reduce stress-- in fact, my students tell me that working with me is fun, and that they've learned a lot about themselves throughout this process because of our collaboration on choosing the best topics, style, and structure, as well as from my targeted feedback that helps find interesting intersections th
Proofreading

Proofreading

I am a highly qualified, professionally trained academic editor with 20 years of professional editing experience and expertise in all high-stakes business and academic writing: university undergrad and graduate admission essays, university assignments, master's thesis, PhD dissertations, and manuscripts for journal submission. I am efficient and effective, providing suggested in-text and actionable margin comments that adhere to all conventions of excellent writing: Organizing for logical flow of ideas for clarity Identifying and correcting sentence-level issues in terminology, tone, and syntax by rephrasing awkward sentences Correcting formatting issues My collaboration with your writing project will improve the value of your work for the reader, so you can focus on your writing and submit your final draft with confidence.

Examples of Expertise

Marianne has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 1 question submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Marianne B.'s Photo

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Response time: 2 hours

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (1,901 ratings)
5 star
(1,865)
4 star
(20)
3 star
(5)
2 star
(2)
1 star
(9)

Reviews

Spectacular college essay tutor/coach

Marianne helped my daughter tremendously, to brainstorm, edit and craft her college personal statement and supplemental essays. Her feedback was extensive and detailed. Marianne was helpful in keeping my daughter, a notorious procrastinator, on track by reaching out to her periodically, checking with her to see how her final drafts were coming along. Marianne truly made the entire essay writing process fun and rewarding rather than intimidating or strenuous. She’s an excellent college essay coach! The very best! Thank you for being so patient with my daughter!

Inoka, 10 lessons with Marianne
Tutor responded:

Thanks for your incredibly kind words! I was thrilled to hear about her acceptances to her reach schools and that she'll be attending her dream school--the highly competitive UC Berkeley M.E.T. Program that has a 3% acceptance rate. I had no doubt about her accomplishments, dedication, hard work, and remarkable abilities, and it'd been clear all along that she had great stories to tell. I'm grateful to have played a role in turning her experiences into compelling essays that reveal her qualities to the admission readers. Marianne

Excellent Initial Session: Instills Confidence and Trust

Great introductory session. Set son at ease and got him to give an honest and thorough account of his struggles with AP English. Son is otherwise excelling at school. Marianne seems to be the right person--both in terms of compatibility and teaching acumen--to get him back on track here.

George, 7 lessons with Marianne

Excellent Advice, Support, Saffolding

Marianne’s advice and support were invaluable to our son. She was able to help him develop ideas, elevate his writing, and guide him toward producing a much improved personal statement. Our son appreciated Marianne’s approach and enjoyed working with her. In the end, he was proud of his work and credits Marianne with pushing him toward success.

Mary Bush, 8 lessons with Marianne

Excellent tutor for College Essays!!

Marianne assisted both my daughter and son with their college essays. She provided invaluable ideas to make their drafts more competitive and also expertly proofread their work. The final results were extraordinary essays. Thank you Marianne!!

Vignes, 4 lessons with Marianne

Amazing tutor!!

Marianne is helping our daughter with her personal essay and she is simply amazing!! We highly recommend her for any student!! Lovely and extremely experienced tutor!

Camilla, 4 lessons with Marianne

Amazing college essay consultant!

Marianne is an amazing college essay consultant! She provides detailed, thoughtful feedback that is both clear and actionable. Unlike others, her guidance makes it easy for students to take concrete next steps and improve their essays with confidence.

Liz, 6 lessons with Marianne

She is an excellent tutor!

Marianne was very prompt, and her advice was excellent. The feedback we received from her proofreading session demonstrates her expertise. We look forward to working with her again.

Miyuki, 4 lessons with Marianne

Insightful and Encouraging

Marianne guided my daughter, was able to talk to my daughter and look at her ideas, fine tune them and point her in the right direction to expand further. She was positive and encouraging! Marianne pointed out my daughter's passions and encouraged her to do a "free write" to get all of her ideas in her head written down. This was extremely helpful and my daughter enjoyed doing them!

Shannon, 13 lessons with Marianne

Knowledgeable

She was able to easily identify issues with my son’s college admission essay. She helped my son rethink ideas and helped him organize his thoughts in a concise way. Very impressed.!

Ana, 6 lessons with Marianne

Knowledgeable and encouraging tutor

Marianne had a well-crafted and thoughtful lesson to help my daughter formulate ideas for her essay topic. Marianne is genuine and sincere, and that helped my daughter to focus on her true and authentic voice.

Anonymous, 1 lesson with Marianne
Hourly Rate: $159
Response time: 2 hours
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