I'm a professional writer/editor with more than 25 years experience in education, most of it at University of California, where I wrote and edited UC admissions and application materials and publications. I have enjoyed working successfully with hundreds of high school, community college and graduate students for the past 10 years both privately and at Berkeley High School, College Track and First Graduate to brainstorm and hone their UC Personal Insight Questions, Common App Essays, supplemental essays, activities lists and other assignments. I know the territory really well and, most importantly, love working with students to find their authentic voice and achieve their college and career goals.
I use all videoconferencing applications and all meetings and editing can be done online. I'm happy to meet in person as well. After a free initial consultation or two, I generally charge $50/hour with a 20 percent discount for students seeking financial aid, and, if you want, will give you an estimate once I receive a draft. My clients will attest that I'm always flexible about pricing and very responsive returning edits.
Professional references available on request (as well as at link below), but here are a few:
“In the beginning, I was so nervous about the college essay process because I had no idea how to even begin, but Steve guided me every step of the way and helped me turn my raw, awkward essays into beautiful stories after several back and forth drafts. Steve’s edits were incredibly helpful in finding my weak spots in my writing and really ensuring that the best parts of my personality shone through in my final drafts. With Steve’s help, I received acceptance from UC Davis, Berkeley, and LA! He always paid really close attention to details and ensured that I was always realistic and remained true to myself. I would easily recommend him to anyone. I couldn’t have done it without him!” Ramneek K (freshman applicant)
“We are very happy with your work. Your edits are awesome. We also have a college counselor but she does not provide detailed edits.” Ashok B (parent of a UCLA freshman)
“Over the course of six months, Steve supported me with all of my college essays. He responded quickly to all of my requests and even offered free call sessions to outline my essays. Steve’s editing is diligent, and I found his editing method to be highly efficient, making the entire writing process go more smoothly. Thank you Steve for the invaluable support!” Manas C (freshman applicant)
“Thank you for the amazing feedback and edits. They have been extremely insightful. I really appreciate it. You have been a great help in improving my essays.” Yash R (freshman applicant)
“We were fortunate to find you. It is rare to find people like you who work for passion, not for money. Thank you so much for your support and high quality work. You have been very responsive, accommodated our expedited requests, been a critic and challenged some of the statements made, suggested the areas of improvement, topics chosen, and on an overall sense of how to balance the essays. Our interaction has been useful and your advisory guidance helped our son manage his most stressful time of his career, dealing with college apps.” Hari A (parent of freshman applicant)
More about me and references here: http://www.stevenlcohen.net/college-essay-personal-statement-support