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UCLA PhD Specializing in College Essays, PIQs, and Supplements
Adam D.

5.0 (352 ratings)

1,055 hours tutoring

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About Adam

Bio

My name is Adam D. and I received a PhD in Archaeology at UCLA. Prior to graduate school, I completed my BA from Boston University (Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa).

I have helped a diverse group of students with common application essays, PIQs, and supplements that resulted in them getting accepted to Ivy League schools and other prestigious institutions. During the 2023-24 application season, my students were accepted to Duke, Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, UC Berkeley,...

My name is Adam D. and I received a PhD in Archaeology at UCLA. Prior to graduate school, I completed my BA from Boston University (Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa).

I have helped a diverse group of students with common application essays, PIQs, and supplements that resulted in them getting accepted to Ivy League schools and other prestigious institutions. During the 2023-24 application season, my students were accepted to Duke, Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Emory, Tulane, NYU, Notre Dame, BU, UNC Chapel Hill, and other schools. I also help with applications for pre-college summer programs.

I have a keen understanding of how to make a college essay stand out to the admissions committee. I work with students to draw out the most original and interesting aspects of their essays, helping them to discover their voice. Having taught writing at UCLA, I have graded hundreds of college papers and I know how to prompt students to write in ways that show clarity and purpose. If you are struggling with coming up with something to write for your college essay, I will work through ideas with you.

Having written several successful applications for academic fellowships (including at NYU), I can help with graduate school applications. I also have experience editing personal statements for law school and medical school; I can help you craft original responses to your secondaries!

If you're struggling with one of these statements, I will work with you to frame your academic and extracurricular achievements. Having completed a dissertation and published articles in journals, I also have experience copy editing academic writing (APA, MLA). If you are working on a thesis or dissertation, I can help you improve your writing.

With 10 years of experience excavating in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, archaeology and world history are my specialties. If you or a younger learner are interested in archaeology, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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Education

Boston University (Honors, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
Archaeology
UCLA
Masters
UCLA
PhD

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $165
  • Rate details: Available for online meetings or written feedback/proofreading. 12 hours required for cancellation and no-shows will be billed in full.
  • Lesson cancellation: 12 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 8/17/2023

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Anthropology

Anthropology

My experience in Archaeology, one of the four subfields of anthropology, has required that I complete coursework in Cultural Anthropology since I was was an undergraduate. As a graduate student, I took advanced anthropological coursework on the fundamental authors: Marx, Weber, Mauss, Sahlins. Additionally, my graduate research involves zoo archaeology, one of the most explicitly anthropological subfields of archaeology.
Archaeology

Archaeology

I have a PhD in archaeology, and I have worked on excavations in Greece, Turkey, and Italy. I have taught archaeology courses at the university level, wrote articles for archaeology journals, and I am currently working on writing a book on the subject.
Classics

Classics

Currently finishing my PhD in Greek Archaeology, I have been a teaching assistant for Intro to Greek Archaeology at UCLA. I have a deep knowledge of the Pre-Classical (Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Archaic) Periods, and a strong familiarity with Classical/Hellenistic Greece.
College Counseling

College Counseling

I have helped many students write essays that got them in Ivies, UCs, and other Top 20 Schools. Last year I helped students get into Duke, Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Berkeley, and other great schools. When I was an instructor at UCLA, I mentored local undergraduates, advising them on choosing coursework and transferring from community college to a public university. As an instructor, I wrote multiple recommendation letters for undergraduates who were applying to external programs and extracurriculars. Having been an instructor at a public university, and a postdoc at a private university, I have insight into how academia functions at a variety of different schools.
English

English

I've taught college writing at UCLA
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

I have tutored over 100 students who needed help writing essays. I also taught this subject at UCLA, where I focused on incorporating close reading into students' essays. My approach involves improving the thesis statement, creating engaging topic sentences, and reviewing with a reverse outline.
Literature

Literature

I have taught college writing in the past
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

Much of my tutoring on Wyzant involves helping students write personal statements. As a Postdoctoral scholar at NYU, I reviewed personal statements of my colleagues. Moreover, I taught fundamentals of writing at UCLA, focusing on many of the crucial elements of personal statements: clarity, structure, and tone.
Proofreading

Proofreading

I taught college writing at UCLA and I have graded hundreds of essays. I have written a dissertation and published articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Thesis Writing

Thesis Writing

In 2021, I completed my thesis at UCLA and went on to publish a chapter of it as a single-author papers in major journal. Since then, I have tutored dozens of students on strategies for approaching the thesis, covering topics such as citation managers, outlines , and revision strategies.
Writing

Writing

I've taught college writing and I've published in major journals.
ACT English
ACT Reading
American History
European History
Grammar
GRE
Reading
SAT Reading
SAT Writing
Vocabulary
World History

Examples of Expertise

Adam has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 8 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

See all of Adam ’s answers ›
Adam D.'s Photo

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Response time: 1 hour

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (352 ratings)
5 star
(349)
4 star
(2)
3 star
(1)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)

Reviews

Common App Essay Tutor

Adam has been incredible in helping my son find his voice and style for his personal statement essay . He has been patient and effective in bringing out the best in my son . I am thoroughly impressed with his ability to help shape the essay and my son’s point of view .

Furkhunda, 39 lessons with Adam

Great Tutor

We had a great experience working with Adam. He assisted my child in revising his draft of the common app essay. Together they crafted a strong and thoughtful college application essay that truly reflected my son’s voice. I highly recommend Adam!

Nisha, 3 lessons with Adam

Excellent Tutor

Adam Read my son's college essay.My son loved him.He reviewed the essay and helped my son.He improved it in many ways.We are very satisfied with the help we got in such a limited time.

Nida, 1 lesson with Adam

Excellent college counselor

Mr Adam is very helpful on reviewing my daughter’s college essays and providing excellent tips.He is very flexible in availability and scheduling too. We will give him 5 star rating

Ponnambalam, 26 lessons with Adam

College essay

Got a good shape for essay to start with and gave us a lot of idea Got back on track with the help It helped us a lot to put write words and a good start. Thank you

Pranjal, 1 lesson with Adam

The experience was great

We had been struggle with the essays. However, just with a few edits from Adam , my son’s essay has achieved great results. Adam is really amazing. We are really grateful to have his help!

Hsin-lan, 7 lessons with Adam

Responsive, Professional and Helpful

My son needed help with his college essay. We reached out to Adam and he quickly replied to us. We are grateful for his expertise and guidance. I would recommend Adam’s tutoring to others.

Rima, 3 lessons with Adam

Impressed

Adam has helped my son with his personal statement on college applications. I was impressed with his efficient ability to guide and direct without taking over. I found they engaged in a dialogue about what my son was trying to express and Adam helped him formulate a compelling and concise essay. I would recommend!

Cole, 3 lessons with Adam

Most helpful proofreader!

I have had a few tutors help me with college applications but no one has been as thorough as Adam. He really took the time to read each sentence and point out areas that needed some extra work. Highly recommend!!

Karin, 3 lessons with Adam

Super knowledgeable about graduate school applications

I needed help with my graduate school Statement of Purpose and Adam was an immense help. He was very thorough and concise about making adjustments in my writing so that it conveyed exactly what I wanted to say. He asked me questions throughout the process to make sure my voice was being translated onto paper. I never hesitated to ask him questions or for clarification because he kindly responded to all of them. He even offered to take a look at my resume and gave me very helpful feedback. Also, due to Adam's extensive experience in graduate school education, he offered insightful advice and addressed some of my main worries about applying. I highly recommend Adam for any of your graduate school application needs!

Josephine, 1 lesson with Adam