I am a Mitchell Scholar and a Goldwater Scholar. In my year, the Mitchell selected 12 of its 284 applicants, and 260 of 1,206 nominees became Goldwater Scholars. I hold a PhD in Ecology from Duke University and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from Trinity College Dublin, and I live in London, where I work for an international organization leading in the climate technology space.

I have been advising students on their applications for eight years. Students I have worked with have been admitted to Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Emory, UCLA, USC, and the University of Michigan, among others.

My Goldwater essay, which I wrote as an undergraduate at the University of Scranton, began with one of my ear tubes. Between the ages of two and fourteen, I had eight operations on my right ear, and the hearing in it went up and down between 15 and 75 percent of normal. I missed a lot of sports and spent much of that time reading.

When I do a full review, you get your draft back with comments in the margin and a written summary at the end. I look at the big things first, such as the topic and how well the essay answers the prompt, and then I go through it line by line. In the summary, I say what I would keep and which two or three changes I would start with. The suggestions are yours to take or leave. I do not rewrite the essay for you, and I cannot promise that it will get you in or win you an award.

Most of my students are applying to selective American colleges, although I also work with PhD and master's applicants and with students applying for scholarships and fellowships. I am most useful to STEM and pre-med students who have been told to sound more personal. Ecology is my own field, so if you are writing about it, or about climate or environmental science, I can comment on the science too.

Whatever you send, put the prompt at the top, along with any questions you have. Standard reviews take up to 48 hours, and if your deadline is sooner than that, I can turn a review around faster for an extra fee. I am glad to work with students in the UK and Europe who are applying to American colleges. Live sessions run from 5 to 10 pm UK time on weekdays (noon to 5 pm Eastern) and from 2 to 6 pm on weekends (9 am to 1 pm Eastern). If you are not sure which service you need, request a free consultation.