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UCLA PhD & Admissions Insider — Writing, Essays, Applications
Lauryn S.

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About Lauryn

Bio

I am an Associate Professor at Tarleton State University and hold a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. In more than a decade of university teaching, including eleven years at Texas Tech University, I have taught, graded, and coached academic writing at every level, from first-year essays to master's theses and doctoral dissertations, and I have served on multiple graduate admissions committees. I know what strong applications and strong academic prose look like from the inside, because I am...

I am an Associate Professor at Tarleton State University and hold a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. In more than a decade of university teaching, including eleven years at Texas Tech University, I have taught, graded, and coached academic writing at every level, from first-year essays to master's theses and doctoral dissertations, and I have served on multiple graduate admissions committees. I know what strong applications and strong academic prose look like from the inside, because I am one of the people who reads them and decides.

Beyond the classroom, I served for five years as a cultural advisor on Disney Pixar's Academy Award–winning film Coco, was lead consultant for the United States Postal Service's Mariachi Forever stamp series, and perform as a harpist with the Grammy Award–winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea. My research has been featured by The Economist, Good Morning America, and the Library of Congress. Students I have mentored have gone on to professional performing careers and to graduate programs including UCLA's; my first Ph.D. student now holds a tenure-track faculty position.

My teaching style is structured, visual, and patient. I break complex material into clear steps, use color-coding to make abstract concepts concrete, and adapt to how each student actually learns. I have particular experience supporting students who learn differently. Much of my career has been spent at Hispanic-Serving Institutions working with first-generation, bilingual, and ESL students, and I specialize in helping multilingual writers find a clear, confident voice in academic English without erasing who they are. Whether you need a stronger research paper or a graduate application that stands out, I can help. I offer a free 15-minute introductory call so we can talk through your goals before you book a lesson.

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Education

Carleton College
Music
University of California, Los Angeles
PhD

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Approved Subjects

College Counseling

College Counseling

I have advised hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students over more than a decade as a professor at Texas Tech University and Tarleton State University, and I have served on multiple graduate admissions committees, reading and deciding on the very kinds of applications my students are writing. I have coached students into programs, including UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, and my first Ph.D. student now holds a tenure-track faculty position at a university. I often work with first-generation and international applicants, and I help students craft statements of purpose, select and approach recommenders, build application timelines, and prepare for interviews and auditions. I know what admissions committees actually look for because I have sat on them. 
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

I hold a Ph.D. from UCLA and have taught and graded undergraduate essays for more than a decade as a professor at Texas Tech University and Tarleton State University, where I write the assignments and rubrics my students are marked against. My focus is architecture rather than surface correction: I work with students on thesis construction, paragraph logic, evidence handling, and the revision passes that turn a draft into an argument. I teach a practical editing method I use in my own scholarly writing, which is that when a sentence becomes tangled or the punctuation becomes uncertain, the answer is almost always to rebuild the sentence rather than repair it. I work regularly with first-generation students and with students who have learning differences, and I adapt my approach to how a particular writer actually thinks.
General Music

General Music

I am the Director of Mariachi Programs at Tarleton State University and a professional mariachi harpist who has performed with the Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea. I served for five years as a cultural advisor on Disney Pixar’s film Coco and was the lead consultant for the United States Postal Service’s Mariachi Forever stamp series. I prepare students for auditions, juries, and competitions at every level, and students I have coached have gone on to perform professionally. Alongside mariachi performance practice, repertoire, and style, I teach general musicianship, music appreciation, music history, and ethnomusicology at the university level, working with students from absolute beginners through pre-professional players. 
Music History

Music History

I am an Associate Professor of Music at Tarleton State University, where I teach the two-semester Music History survey covering antiquity through the twenty-first century. I hold a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and have taught music history and world music courses for more than a decade. I help students with listening identification, score study, essay writing, and exam preparation. I design my own university exams, so I know exactly how these courses are tested and graded.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

I have served on multiple graduate admissions committees and have read, evaluated, and voted on the same kind of personal statement my students are trying to write. My goal is to help students write concrete examples and weave them into a narrative that actively shows their strengths while engaging the evaluator. I have ample experience working with first-generation and international applicants who need help navigating the application and writing processes. I have coached students into programs, including UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, and my first doctoral student now holds a tenure-track faculty position. 
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

I lecture to university classes several times a week and have presented conference papers, invited talks, and public lectures throughout my academic career, including work as a cultural advisor and media consultant. I am also a professional performing harpist who has played with the Grammy Award–winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, so I coach the physical side of presenting as well as the verbal one, including nerves, pacing, breath, and command of a room. I prepare students for conference presentations, thesis and dissertation defenses, job talks, class presentations, and interviews. My approach is rehearsal-based rather than script-based, because a talk that is read aloud never lands the way a talk that is genuinely delivered does.
Thesis Writing

Thesis Writing

Having completed my own doctoral dissertation at UCLA, I know how daunting it can be without guidance. As a professor, I have advised graduate students through master’s theses and doctoral dissertations at every stage, from proposal to defense. I am currently writing a book under contract with a university press and co-editing a scholarly handbook, so I am doing this work alongside the students I coach. Writing the prose is only one part of the process. I also help students scope a feasible project, plan and manage the research, and navigate the relationship between an advisor and their committee.
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Hourly Rate: $95
Contact Lauryn