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Ace Your College Essay

I help high school seniors plan, write and edit compelling essays for their college admissions applications.

How I Can Help

Expert Guidance from An Experienced Writer

I've been a creative writer my entire adult life (and for most of my childhood). My writing career has included writing speeches for U.S. Senators, ghostwriting articles for dozens of clients and crafting stories for everything from social media posts to magazine articles to website content. My passion now is helping students craft essays that stand out and impress admissions counselors.

Tutoring Plans that Motivate Students

I understand that writing college admissions essays is not something most students enjoy. My approach helps students break down the daunting task of writing multiple essays into easy-to-handle steps. And through a structured plan, students stay on-task, meaning time spent on calls is kept to a minimum, and there's less last-minute scrambling to meet admissions deadlines.

Essays that Tell Your Student's Unique Story

My approach starts with brainstorming personal experiences and passions to reflect the student's true self. This ensures essays not only answer their prompts, but also captivate the reader and give them a genuine understanding of the student's character and potential. My goal is to help your student's essays be unforgettable, and that each creates a compelling case for admission.

My Services

Complete Essay Writing Assistance

I can guide your student through the entire college essay writing process, whether it's for just the single Common App essay or for multiple essays at a variety of schools. My approach starts with an effective brainstorming session to uncover interesting and compelling themes that truly reflect your student's personality. From there, I take students through a step-by-step process, helping them create initial rough drafts and then guiding them to refine those drafts into well-crafted essays.
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Laptop with college essay

Essay Editing and Proofreading

Sometimes students have already drafted their essays and just need a fresh set of eyes to evaluate them, or to help them enhance their work. I'm happy to work with students to provide detailed feedback, constructive suggestions, and ways they might elevate their essays to the next level. If the essay just needs a little polish, I can quickly provide concrete suggestions as to how to make it better. If it needs a lot more work, I'm experienced at helping students quickly rework essays, or even showing how they might restructure the essay in a way that salvages much of what they have. 

About Me

David OBrien Essay Coach

David O'Brien

My passion for writing began early (yes, I was the student who got excited when teachers assigned essay). And throughout my professional career, writing has always been a unifying theme. In my 20's, I wrote speeches for members of Congress. From there I went into public relations, specializing in ghostwriting articles for companies (articles about everything from high finance to industrial heaters). More recently, I've led the marketing department for a non-profit specializing in helping other non-profits create and grow endowments. A big part of that work is helping to craft compelling stories.

I'm the father of two boys, both of whom were always fantastic students. But when my oldest struggled with the task of writing multiple essays as part of the college admissions process, I realized my love for writing could be helpful to so many families. My promise to you is that I sincerely want to help your student find their voice, to create an essay that truly tells his or her story and that gives them the best chance of making a positive impact on college admissions committees. 

Contact Me

I'd love to hear from you! Please fill out the form below and I'll get back to you right away.