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Harvard/Oxford Writing Coach for College Essays & Personal Statements
Aneel B.

5.0 (15 ratings)

30 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $100
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Response time: 2 hours

About Aneel

Bio

I am a Harvard- and Oxford-trained writing coach who helps students craft authentic, compelling college essays, personal statements, and application materials. I studied at McGill, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Oxford, where I completed doctoral training in anthropology. I currently teach and mentor graduate students in a global health program at Harvard Medical School, and I will be teaching undergraduates at Princeton as part of my upcoming postdoctoral placement.

I have...

I am a Harvard- and Oxford-trained writing coach who helps students craft authentic, compelling college essays, personal statements, and application materials. I studied at McGill, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Oxford, where I completed doctoral training in anthropology. I currently teach and mentor graduate students in a global health program at Harvard Medical School, and I will be teaching undergraduates at Princeton as part of my upcoming postdoctoral placement.

I have over a decade of experience teaching, mentoring, and coaching students, researchers, and early-career professionals. My experience includes undergraduate and graduate teaching, school-based teaching, one-on-one student mentorship, fieldwork supervision, academic writing support, and application guidance. I have also written successful grant, fellowship, and institutional applications supporting global health and community-based mental health work.

My coaching focuses on helping students find their authentic voice and craft compelling, honest stories. Many students begin with essays that feel too broad, too résumé-like, or too generic. I help them identify the specific moments, questions, commitments, challenges, relationships, or intellectual interests that reveal who they are and how they think. I support Common App essays, supplemental essays, “Why this college?” essays, personal statements, scholarship and fellowship essays, graduate school statements, and academic writing.

My approach is collaborative and ethical. My role is to help students clarify their ideas, structure their writing, revise with purpose, and express themselves in a voice that is polished but still genuinely their own. In a first session, we discuss the student’s background, interests, activities, target schools, deadlines, and essay ideas. If the student already has a draft, I provide feedback on structure, voice, clarity, specificity, and strategy. My goal is to help students produce writing that is thoughtful, memorable, and true to them.

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Education

McGill University
MA Political Science
Harvard University
Masters
University of Oxford
PhD

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $100
  • Rate details: Please provide at least 12 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. Cancellations within 12 hours or missed sessions incur a 50% fee. Exceptions may be made for unforeseen circumstances.
  • Lesson cancellation: 12 hours notice required

  • No background check

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Anthropology

Anthropology

I am an Oxford- and Harvard-trained anthropologist specializing in medical and psychological anthropology, global health, global mental health, gender, GBV, and South Asia. My doctoral (DPhil Oxford) research was based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in India and focused on women’s lives, perinatal mental health, family relations, masculinity, substance use, and community-based mental health care. I also run a nonprofit organization working in maternal and mental health in rural Rajasthan, giving me practical experience with implementation science, intervention design, and community-based research. My teaching helps students understand anthropological theory, ethnographic methods, and applied global health questions through clear explanation, close reading, and grounded real-world examples.
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

I am a Harvard- and Oxford-trained writing coach with experience in academic writing, published scholarship, grant writing, and competitive applications. I studied at McGill, Harvard Medical School, and Oxford, and will be joining Princeton as a postdoctoral scholar. I have over a decade of experience teaching and mentoring students, including current graduate teaching at Harvard Medical School. My background in anthropology and qualitative research has trained me to listen closely, ask strong questions, and help students identify the most meaningful stories in their experience. I help students find their authentic voice and develop compelling, honest narratives for college essays, personal statements, scholarship essays, and other application materials.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

I am a Harvard- and Oxford-trained writing coach with extensive experience in personal statements, competitive applications, academic writing, published research, and grant writing. I studied at McGill, Harvard Medical School, and Oxford, and will be joining Princeton as a postdoctoral scholar. I have written successful personal statements for competitive academic programs, scholarships, and fellowships, and I have over a decade of experience teaching and mentoring students, including current graduate teaching at Harvard Medical School. I help students identify their authentic voice, clarify their motivations and goals, and craft compelling personal narratives for college, graduate school, scholarship, fellowship, and professional applications.
Proofreading

Proofreading

I am a published author, researcher, and ethnographer with extensive experience writing and editing research articles, op-eds, personal essays, and application materials for college, graduate school, law school, and medical school, as well as for grant and scholarship opportunities. My approach is flexible, ranging from detailed copy edits to advice on overall structure and cohesion, strength of argument and narrative, and broader questions around voice and motivation. I aim to help writers improve the work in front of them while also building writerly skills and confidence.
Thesis Writing

Thesis Writing

I have extensive experience with thesis and dissertation writing, having completed an undergraduate honors thesis in political science, an MA thesis in political science at McGill, a master’s thesis in global health at Harvard Medical School, and a doctoral dissertation in anthropology at Oxford. I currently teach and mentor graduate students at Harvard Medical School and have supported students and early-career researchers with research design, argument development, structure, revision, and academic writing. My doctoral dissertation was based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, and I am especially strong at helping students organize qualitative research, develop arguments from complex material, and write clearly about human experience, culture, and social context. My approach helps students move from scattered ideas and research materials toward a clear argument, coherent chapter structure, and manageable writing plan. I am especially helpful for students who need support clarifying their central contribution, organizing complex material, and revising long-form academic work with purpose and momentum.
Writing

Writing

I am a published author, researcher, and ethnographer specializing in crafting compelling personal narratives. I primarily work with college applicants on admissions essays; with prospective graduate, law, and medical students on personal statements; and with anyone applying for scholarships and grants. My approach focuses on finding the most distinctive and meaningful aspects of a person's story while building writerly skills and confidence.
Aneel B.'s Photo

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Response time: 2 hours

Ratings and Reviews

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Reviews

Phenomenal Tutor! Highly recommend!

Aneel was a fantastic tutor! He assisted me with application essays for competitive international scholarships. He was extremely knowledgable. I would highly recommend Aneel to anybody who needs assistance with writing. He is fantastic at editing essays, while still ensuring that your voice and thoughts shine through in the text. I worked with him for only a week and my essays were transformed!

Neha, 4 lessons with Aneel

Went above and beyond

Aneel was very helpful. He clearly cared about helping me improve my application and consistently went the extra mile to try to help me put my best foot forward.

Isaac, 4 lessons with Aneel

Excellent and Thoughtful Writing Tutor

I had a wonderful experience working with Aneel on my college application personal statement. He was extremely patient, knowledgeable, and thoughtful throughout the entire process. Rather than simply correcting my writing, he helped me think more deeply about my story, identify the most meaningful parts of my experiences, and express my personal growth more effectively. His feedback was always clear, constructive, and insightful. I especially appreciated how he respected my original ideas while helping me make my essay more authentic and compelling. I would highly recommend Aneel to anyone looking for guidance with their college application essays!

Shuochen, 2 lessons with Aneel

insightful and supportive essay reviewer!

Aneel reviewed our personal statement and supplemental essays for college applications. His feedback helped us improve the essays so much. He offered suggestions on surface-level details, such as word choice, flow, and grammar, as well as on the deeper meaning and messages each answer conveys. We feel very lucky to have found him, and highly recommend him to anyone looking for help with college essays.

Edward, 1 lesson with Aneel

Extremely high level insights that truly transformed my writing

Aneel was awesome to work with. He provided me with really high-level insights into how to improve my college transfer applications while also being a kind and attentive tutor. In the end, I felt proud and confident in my essays and felt that his ideas pushed me to produce high-level writing that fit the prompt perfectly. Aneel was also extremely responsive and continuously provided feedback throughout the process. A great person and extremely smart tutor!

Oliver, 1 lesson with Aneel
Hourly Rate: $100
Response time: 2 hours
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