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College Admissions Strategic Positioning & Essay Coach (Harvard EdM)
Kenneth O.

5.0 (1,598 ratings)

3,534 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $320
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Response time: 16 minutes
Meet Kenneth O.
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About Kenneth

Bio

Here's a tightened version that hits the key phrases and fits the limit:
A Harvard Ed.M., I specialize in college admissions essays, personal statements, and overall strategic application positioning.
The real challenge for high-achieving applicants is standing out — not just writing a polished admissions essay, but building an application where every piece reinforces the same identity. Your college admissions essays need to create a memorable, differentiated picture of how you think, lead,...

Here's a tightened version that hits the key phrases and fits the limit:
A Harvard Ed.M., I specialize in college admissions essays, personal statements, and overall strategic application positioning.
The real challenge for high-achieving applicants is standing out — not just writing a polished admissions essay, but building an application where every piece reinforces the same identity. Your college admissions essays need to create a memorable, differentiated picture of how you think, lead, solve problems, or move through the world.
Together, we build a cohesive, high-signal application — one where your admissions essays, supplementals, and activities all work together.
Your personal statement stops being a random story.
Your supplemental admissions essays stop feeling disconnected and become extensions of the same coherent identity.
Your activities list stops reading like a list of tasks and starts reinforcing the same signal your essays deliver.
The goal: a strategy where your college admissions essays actively distinguish you from thousands of other qualified applicants.
I work with:
Common App personal statements
Supplemental admissions essays
UC PIQs
Transfer and graduate school admissions essays
I don't use templates or generic edits. As an admissions essay coach, I use a strategic process that helps students identify the patterns, qualities, and positioning themes that make an application memorable.
Whether starting from scratch or refining a final admissions essay, I help you move from guesswork to clarity — so every part of your application works together.
Students I've worked with have earned admission to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Penn, Brown, Duke, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and more. Working on a college admissions essay for any of these schools? I can help.

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Education

University of Utah
Mass Communications
Harvard Grad School of Education
MEd
National University
Masters

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $320
  • Rate details: NOTE: 12-hour cancellation policy enforced.
  • Lesson cancellation: 12 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 12/22/2021

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

College Counseling

College Counseling

My college counseling experience covers the entire admissions process, including college list development, school selection, SAT and ACT prep, Common App guidance, admissions essays, supplemental essays, extracurricular positioning, and mock interviews. A successful admissions essay has one primary goal: to positively differentiate the student from a highly competitive applicant pool. The same principle applies to supplemental essays and school-specific responses. I help students develop essays that go beyond strong writing and instead communicate a clear identity, distinctive perspective, and memorable intellectual signal. My experience includes all aspects of college admissions counseling, from building a balanced college list to strengthening personal statements, refining supplemental essays, preparing for alumni or admissions interviews, and ensuring the entire application feels cohesive and strategic. I hold two master’s degrees in education, including one from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and I bring that high-level strategic training into every stage of the college application process.
Creative Writing

Creative Writing

With an EdM from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MFA in Creative Writing from National University, I bring extensive academic expertise to guide students toward discovering and refining their unique writing voices. My experience includes teaching at the post-secondary level in Singapore, allowing me to develop effective, adaptable instructional methods tailored to diverse learners. As a produced screenwriter whose work has been adapted into an indie film and a playwright with productions featured in a Manhattan festival, I provide real-world insight into creative writing across multiple media. My creative writing has earned me membership in The Dramatists Guild, WGAe, and BMI
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

As a published author, screenwriter, lyricist, and composer, I have decades of experience as a writer. Equally importantly, I have a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing which qualifies me to teach writing. From high school essays to college admissions essays to college to grad school, I have assisted clients in finding their voices, obliterating writer's block, and creating written work at the highest level of their potential.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

My experience with personal statement coaching spans college admissions essays, Common App personal statements, supplemental essays, graduate school statements of purpose, transfer essays, scholarship essays, and mock interview preparation tied to essay themes. The purpose of a strong personal statement is not simply to be well written. Its main goal is to differentiate the applicant positively from other highly qualified candidates by revealing how the student thinks, what they value, and the perspective they bring to a campus community. The same strategic principle applies to supplemental essays, short responses, and school-specific prompts. I help students move beyond generic storytelling and build personal statements that create a clear, memorable signal for admissions officers. This includes topic selection, structure, narrative clarity, voice development, revision strategy, and alignment with the broader college application. My experience extends across all aspects of admissions counseling, allowing me to ensure that the personal statement, supplemental essays, activities list, and school strategy all reinforce the same cohesive identity. I hold two master’s degrees in education, including one from Harvard Graduate School of Education, which informs both the pedagogical and strategic depth of my essay coaching. Reach out today for expert help with personal statements, Common App essays, supplemental essays, statements of purpose, and admissions essay strategy.
Writing

Writing

My writing coaching experience includes college admissions essays, Common App personal statements, supplemental essays, academic writing, persuasive writing, narrative writing, revision strategy, and interview preparation tied to written applications. Strong writing is not just about grammar or sounding polished. The real goal is clarity, precision, structure, and distinctiveness. Whether the project is an admissions essay, academic assignment, scholarship essay, or personal narrative, I help students develop writing that communicates ideas clearly while preserving an authentic voice. I specialize in helping students transform generic or over-explained drafts into writing that feels intentional, memorable, and strategically structured. This includes brainstorming, outlining, organization, revision, sentence-level clarity, argument development, and strengthening overall flow. Because my work also includes college admissions strategy and personal statement coaching, I help students understand not only how to write well, but how to write with purpose for a specific audience and outcome. I hold two master’s degrees in education, including one from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and I bring that combination of teaching expertise and high-level writing strategy into every lesson. Reach out today for expert help with writing, essay development, revision, academic writing, personal statements, and high-stakes admissions essays.

Examples of Expertise

Kenneth has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 10 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Kenneth O.'s Photo

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Response time: 16 minutes

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (1,598 ratings)
5 star
(1,592)
4 star
(6)
3 star
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Reviews

Exceeded all expections

I came to Kenneth filled with self-doubt about my abilities as a writer. He filled me with confidence and assured me that he was going to help. And boy, did he help. He helped me write one of the deepest, insightful, and raw essays I've ever come across. I know that the college admissions committee will have all they need to know that I'm the right fit. By the way, he's so funny, so I highly recommend him if you need a laugh along with the best academic help you'll ever receive.

Shira, 2 lessons with Kenneth

Strong Direction and Quick Thinking

Kenneth helped me revise my essays and influenced my decision to completely change one of them. He was direct and clear with his advice which helped me make quick and informed decisions.

Rohan, 2 lessons with Kenneth

Outstanding essay writing tutor

Kenneth brought amazing improvements to my son’s essays. He knew what parts to cut, what to highlight on, and how to end in a striking way. Thank you!

Joey, 2 lessons with Kenneth

Best teacher ever!

Mr. Kenneth is superb - he gets you thinking in a completely different way and connects seemingly different ideas in such a smooth way you are left shocked at how he did that. I was very stuck on what to write and how I should format it, but in two lessons, he had my common app personal statement ready to go. No matter what stage you're at, he will meet you there and help you break through it.

Sitara, 4 lessons with Kenneth

Understanding and personable tutor

Kenneth showed me how to edit and polish my essay to make it more appealing to a college admissions officer. I came in super nervous but he made me pre confident and met me where I was.

Rebecca, 3 lessons with Kenneth

Amazing admissions essay writing tutor!

Kenneth helped me write essays for admissions to a graduate program. He was honest, kind, and extensively knowledgeable about the admissions review process and what the counselors are looking for in these essays. Worth every penny! Thanks Kenneth

Alec, 3 lessons with Kenneth

Fantastic experience

His clear guidance, patient feedback, and encouraging approach helped me refine my style and grow in confidence. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to improve their writing skills.

Carlos, 32 lessons with Kenneth

Knowledgeable, professional, and engaging tutor

Kenneth is an outstanding tutor who makes everything clear and precise. His professionalism throughout the sessions was truly impressive, and he always approached my questions with expertise and patience. On top of that, his session was enjoyable and productive. Thanks to his guidance, I feel much more confident about my application now. His tutoring sessions were not only informative but also a pleasure to attend. I highly recommend Kenneth to anyone looking for a professional, knowledgeable, and engaging tutor!

THEO, 2 lessons with Kenneth

Great Tutor and Counselor

My daughter needed help with UC app PIQs and Ken was very helpful in providing direction to her and clarifying her ideas. Thank you!

Jag, 2 lessons with Kenneth

Great Tutor and Counselor

My daughter needed help with UC app PIQs and Ken was very helpful in providing direction to her and clarifying her ideas. Thank you!

Jag, 2 lessons with Kenneth
Hourly Rate: $320
Response time: 16 minutes
Contact Kenneth