Looking to improve your writing?  Looking to write the college admissions essay in order to present your best self?  With the college essay most likely playing a major role in admissions, it will be great to get started early!

**In person meetings available. I am also available to meet via Zoom.

Pricing Packages:

Single, 1 hour meeting:  $80 (these are good for students who have drafts written and would like professional eyes to look over the paper).

Three meeting sessions: $240 (total) (these sessions take the student from generating ideas to finalizing the paper)

**$210 for students who have taken my SAT/ACT prep courses

1. 1st meeting: organizing prompts (many are similar), engaging ideas, and coming up with a loose outline

2. 2nd meeting:  discussion of 1st drafts, revisions (additions and deletions--and sometimes "u-turns")

3. 3rd meeting:  generally divided into two 30 min meetings.

   • editing and final revisions

   • finalization and word count

More meetings can be scheduled beyond the 3 in the package above.

Testimonials:

"While the college application process can feel overwhelming and stressful, I always felt secure and confident with the help of David Tastor. I appreciate his unwavering commitment and dedication in aiding me through this process. David can conceptualize the beautiful depth and intricacies we have as humans and certainly helped me visualize that into my writing. I am beyond grateful for his patience, support and flexibility throughout the entire college application process."--Noah, transfer student, Sierra College class of '24, UC Berkeley

"Working on my college essays with Mr. Tastor not only made the process so much simpler and less stressful, but he helped me gain confidence in my writing and myself. Mr. Tastor’s transparency and emphasis on staying true to yourself, rather than confiding to the “rules” in articles or books that encourage students to skew their experiences or write superficially, ultimately helped mindset and the overall application process immensely. If you have the opportunity to work with Mr. Tastor, I cannot recommend taking it enough!"--Chloe W., student Whitney HS class of '23 Cal Poly, SLO

"I am beyond thankful for Mr. Tastor’s help during my essay writing process. Not only was his guidance and knowledge invaluable, but his understanding of the college process helped settle my nerves on numerous occasions. I was able to go back and forth with Mr. Tastor, writing my ideas and then working together to fine tune the details and assure I was meeting all of my application requirements. Working to get into my dream school with someone to help edit my work into its best form and overall be a guide through the stress of college applications, made the process so much smoother for me. So, I will continue to be deeply thankful to Tastor for his help." --Alyssa S. student, Granite Bay HS class of 2023, Stanford

"We cannot thank Mr. Tastor enough for helping our daughter through the essay writing process  for her admission to Stanford!. He went above and beyond. His unwavering support is truly amazing. It is obvious he cares so much about helping his students achieve their goals. We have no words to express our gratitude and really could not have done it without him." --Andrea S., mother of student, class of 2023, Stanford

"Reaching out to Mr. Tastor for help with my college essays was the best decision I could have ever made. Through his honest and motivating feedback, clear explanation, and attention to detail, he helped me write essays that I could be confident in submitting. I will be going to UCLA in the fall for nursing, and I really could not have done it without the positive impact Mr. Tastor left on my writing."  --Heba B, Granite Bay HS student, class of 2021, UCLA

"Ciara got into UCLA and is thrilled! Thank you for giving her essays the once over. It gave her the confidence she needed to submit essays that were true to herself.  It paid off and she is ecstatic!  Thanks for your help!"  --Alexandra M., mother of student, class of 2021, UCLA

"I just wanted to say how much we appreciate you taking the time to give Ashley advice on her college application essays.  It was really helpful and made a huge difference in her essay being basic or really showing a school who she is.  And it helped because Ash got accepted to her dream school and is going to be a Trojan this fall at USC!"    --Stacie A., mother of student, class of 2020, University of Southern California

"Thank you so much for all of your work with our daughter on her SAT essay writing. The clarity of your teaching helped her understand the expectations and approach to the SAT essay. And, your hands-on lessons were invaluable. Her essay scores before and after working with you were measurably different. We believe your work with her positively impacted her admission to several top 15 colleges. Thanks again!" --Stephanie T., mother of student, class of 2020, Cal Tech

"Mr. Tastor was always encouraging and confident in me. His explanations were clear and easy to follow. He truly pushed me to do the best I could and the end results showed it. I am so thankful for the help he gave me."  --Kate, Granite Bay HS class of 2020, attends Cal Tech