“I worked with Dan when I was applying for colleges, and I couldn't recommend him more. He was incredibly generous with his time, getting to know me as a person so I could craft personal college essays that told a compelling story. Dan was supportive and patient while giving thoughtful feedback to strengthen my writing.”
Read More“Dan assisted my son in writing his various essays for Princeton’s Early Action process. The essays ended up being very personal and true to my son’s actual experiences in life, in answering the very difficult questions on the application. The final results were distinct and well-written pieces that gave a full picture of what my son is all about for the admissions committee. My son was ADMITTED early to Princeton and is headed there! Thank you, Dan!”
Read More“In January 2022, I graduated, with honors, from an accelerated nursing program with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Without a doubt, Dan's guidance during the application process made this accomplishment possible. I sought his help during the summer of 2020 when I realized just how dry and underwhelming my personal statement was. Much like a therapist, Dan helped me navigate memories and analyze experiences. I explored parts of my history that were new to me and discovered a voice that truly demonstrated my personality as well as my past. He is 100% worth his weight in platinum and gold.”
Read More“As a high school senior, I had the best time working with Mr. Lichterman on my college essays. He’s funny yet pragmatic, relaxed but efficient, and undeniably honed in his writing expertise. Over the course of several sessions, he helped me flawlessly sum up my four years of high school into one personal statement and a supplement tailored to my school. Although there were countless times where we both stared at the multi-page brainstorm google doc, stuck in a stalemate and unsure how to continue the essay, Mr. Lichterman would magically propel the session forward by asking diverting questions that subsequently produced more writing material. He makes sure to get to know his student personally, and his attention to detail allowed my personality and voice to shine through in the final writing. I would’ve never been able to put together my college essays without his help, and working with him eased off an immense amount of stress from senior year. Thanks to his guidance, I am immensely grateful and delighted to announce that I will be attending my dream school next Fall!”
Read More“My experience with Dan was excellent for college-essay writing. He starts with a two hour interview with the student. By the end of the interview, he'll know a lot about you, but would still be able to give you an outside perspective as an admissions officer would. Then, he picks out the most compelling aspects of you (things you might not even realize) and helps you build a narrative. You will come out of sessions with polished and well-organized essays! My best friend read my essay and thought the writing was better than I could ever do alone (LOL), but that it was so clearly reflective of me and my story. Not only that, Dan took away the stress of the application process by being extremely accommodating and easy to work with. I also learned so much about writing by watching his process. In the end, I was accepted to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, and a few other great schools. Thanks Dan!”
Read More“I’m usually not the kind who gives reviews, or at least positive reviews; so this one is an exception. It's because Dan went above and beyond that I feel it would be a disservice to you to not know how he can help you too.
If this writing project is important for your career, as it was for me, you want someone who will care deeply about conveying your most authentic powerful self, so you can have the best chance at your opportunity. I found that in brilliant, accomplished and caring coach, Dan.
The qualities that set Dan apart from any writing coach I have ever met in my twenty years are:
- Dan really deeply cares about the success of his clients. He will go with you all the way to make sure present a very high quality essay.
- He listens deeply to you, trying to understand what you want to coney and how , and then works with you to convey it powerfully, persuasively and clearly. When I was talking to other writing coaches, they wanted me to fit into a format, a story. But I wanted someone who drew out my story, who had the ability to help me polish it so the reader would understand. Dan took the time to do that. And he never lost patience or just overpower the conversation. If the sentence didn't tell the story, then we worked on it till it did. I feel very proud of the essays I'm submitting now because it conveys who I am.
- Dan makes himself available. What I mean is that he purposely doesn't pack his calendar with so many people that we can't get to follow up session in next 1-2 days. He makes the time to get it done.
- The quality of my essays are far superior than what I have ever had writing on my own or with any other accomplished coach. Dan brought his genius and invested himself fully to convey powerfully my story and my goal as a leader, ensuring that I don't sound weak or come off as a victim. He helped me to convey the message succinctly, cutting down many sentences from my previous version of essay.
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- Over the course of my life, I have lost many opportunities because I failed to convey persuasively the immense experience I have and the value I can bring. Dan not just helped me to write, he helped me to understand where my writing is confusing or weak. I am finding that I'm becoming a better communicator thanks to him. People have suggested that I can write a compelling and inspiring book with my life story. Dan is definitely helping me to realize what compelling writing can feel like. Who knows, may be I might write that book.
Dan goes above and beyond - I can say that he is worth 100x of every dollar I have invested in our sessions. I recommend him 100%.”
“Worked extensively with me on my many college essays that ultimately helped me get into my dream school—Princeton!”
Read More“Dan's advice was critical as I navigated the college essay-writing process. He was committed to getting to know me, and as I worked on my essays I felt that he not only wanted me to have well-written prose and a well-constructed narrative, but that he was determined for me to be able to share my true passions and ambitions with the universities which I was applying to. His insight and his willingness to go out of his way to help me - he once spent extra time working with me when I mentioned that the school we were working on was my dream school - were invaluable. Not only does he know what colleges are looking for in essays, but he also makes an effort to follow up with past clients who now attend college to gain insight into the cultures of the universities that they attend so that he can better serve his current clients, which was very helpful for me as I wrote "Why this college" essays focused on the unique aspects of the schools I applied to.”
Read More"Dan challenged me to write about myself in a way that I had never been asked to do before. With Dan it was not about who I was as a student but rather who I am as a person. When I sent off my college applications, I didn’t have to worry about my essay, because I knew it was my best work. Six weeks later I got a letter from Harvard inviting me to an exclusive on-campus interview with a note: they loved my essay."
Read More“Dan is inspirational and generous with his time. He collaborated with our daughter Rohini to generate compelling essay topics that reflected her personal voice. After their first session they had established nine alternative ideas for main themes with several variants for each. She was able to choose a small set from this multitude of options to turn into essays she was really excited to include in her college applications.
Dan is a master at drawing out the gems hidden in a student's experience and honing them. Rohini was accepted into many schools including her top choice.”
“Dan helped me to strategically excavate my life's experiences and refine them for college admission essay purposes. More importantly, he patiently guided me through a real anxiety around writing, in general. Our sessions gave me invaluable tools that I still use today. All our work sessions were conducted remotely, and it was an easy, streamlined process. His intellect, kindness, and humor make him 100% worth the value of time and money. Can't recommend his services enough. With his help, I successfully transferred from a Los Angeles Community College into NYU's Tisch for film.”
Read More“Dan is THE best!
Dan's services can be described in three words: reliable, quality, and awesome. He helped me with my college requirements all the way through.
I highly recommend him for anyone who wants to take their essays to the next level.
Thanks, Dan =) “
“As a now almost-graduated senior in high school who is beyond excited with where I am heading off to college in the fall, I highly recommend working with Dan on college essay application writing!
During my summer after my Junior year to the beginning of my Senior year, Dan was able to guide me though the essay writing process for my college applications, and I couldn't be more grateful! He helped me open up as a writer and helped me narrate my story in the most effective and creative way possible.
I believe that the way the essays were tackled was very beneficial to me, and by the time that early action schools wanted their applications, I was ahead of the game. Dan's essay writing schedule was very helpful in this and alleviated some of the stress that always comes with applying to college. In fact, I felt very comfortable with the pace I was completing my applications, and was not feeling overworked or overwhelmed -- which I am very grateful for, especially since I was in my first semester of my senior year.
After hearing back from all my schools, I was very pleased with my results. I can't help but think that my essays might've been the strongest part of my application. By telling my story through my essays in a creative and thought-provoking way, I believe I was able to stand out from other applicants and get the results from schools I was looking for. I highly highly recommend Dan for college essay applications writing, and can certainly say that he is a friendly person with a hardworking attitude, and a fantastic creative spirit!”
“Dan was fantastic, he took my story and brought it to life effortlessly. I never thought I would receive this type of help with writing my medical school personal statement, but he took the time to listen to me and my story. He dug deep and asked the questions needed to help me express why I wanted to do medicine and the path it took for me to get there. I felt like we were a team, with the same goal of helping me get that acceptance into medical school. Dan showed interest and attentiveness every-time I spoke and always asked for my suggestions during the writing process. I completely recommend him to all students looking for help with their writing process. It was one less stress taken off from a very demanding application cycle. Thank you, Dan, for your patience and the amazing outcome of my personal statement.”
Read More“My son is heading to Stanford, and it's all because of Dan Lichterman! (So maybe my son had a part in this admission, but Dan was a huge part of the process.) If you know anything about the college admissions process, then you know that the Common App essay plays an important role. Although my son is a good writer, he found it difficult to make his words flow from his brain to paper. Maybe it was the stress in knowing that this would be the focus of his college application. Maybe senioritis was getting the best of him, and he couldn't just sit down and figure something out.( Maybe I knew that my relationship with my son would disintegrate if I tried to give him some pointers.) Whatever the reason was, I am so happy that Dan and my son connected (virtually!) so well to just get the essay done!
From the first session, Dan made it a point to learn all about my son's personality...from his interests to his quirky behavior...and the two of them began to form the story that best represented who my son is and how he wanted to portray himself to the college admissions teams. Week after week, my son's story progressed. Dan helped my son brainstorm and edit and mold his life's passions and interests into a succinct yet thorough (and incredible!) Common App Essay! (By the way, the operative word here is "help." Dan did not write the essay for my son. They collaborated together, so my son felt proud of the end result because it was written in his own voice.)
Due to this crazy pandemic, my son still does not know if he will actually be able to live on the Stanford campus when he begins his freshman year this September. He may be a Stanford University student from his bedroom, but eventually he will live his dream life in Palo Alto. My son applied and received acceptances to many other high-ranking schools. He was accepted to Columbia, Duke, Northwestern (special dual degree program Engineering/Theater), Vanderbilt, UC-Berkeley, Michigan Engineering, UNC-Chapel Hill Honors, UCLA, USC, UF, UMiami, Johns Hopkins, and STANFORD!!! It was difficult for him to decide among all of these amazing schools. He ultimately realized that he couldn't deny himself a Stanford education.
Dan Lichterman was an integral part of my son's college acceptances. I cannot offer enough accolades about the type of person he is and the care he has for his students/clients. Dan is extremely intelligent and well-versed in writing. My son and I feel very lucky to have found such a wonderful person whose goals paralleled our views on what we wanted from a writing coach. Dan's expertise in college admissions essay writing was just icing on the cake!”
“Not only did I find a writing coach, but also a mentor with whom I felt comfortable sharing my personal stories and experiences. I especially appreciated that Dan took the time to get to know me and was there during any hurdles I faced during the college application season. With his professional essay writing skills, he helped me articulate college essays that I was extremely satisfied with before submitting. While working together, he ensured that my voice was heard, and I cannot emphasize enough how grateful I am to have worked with someone so talented. Looking back, I notice how he helped illustrate my story in a way I could not have done on my own-from catching the tiniest details that I often skipped over to suggesting edits that can make readers better understand my narrative. After working with Dan, I now catch myself wondering what he would suggest if he read my work, so not only did he help produce my beautiful college essays but has also influenced my writing skills from here on out. With Dan's assistance, I have now been accepted to some of my dream universities, and I am excited to seek his counsel once again while applying to medical school. I highly recommend Dan to any student seeking guidance with their writing!”
Read More“Dan was a pleasure to work with. Rather than writing an essay for you, Dan prides himself on elevating his clients' writing skills. I left Dan a more cohesive writer, though most importantly, Dan provided me with a creative twist my thought process did not previously contain. Working with Dan resulted in more than I could have hoped for, and along the way, I gained not only stronger mechanics but also a mentor and friend. Dan is dedicated to his craft like no other, and I cannot stress the reward of working with him enough.”
Read More“I would highly recommend Dan for college essays. He brought many good topics on surface after talking to my son and all the essays turned out to be very compelling. He is patient and willing to work around your schedule thru zoom calls.”
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