About
She then spent two years serving as an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia (Manado and Labuan Bajo) with the Fulbright Program, where she taught 10th grade students, contributed to regional grant projects and learned Bahasa Indonesia. For over 5 years, she served as the Director of College Access and Completion for Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano, where she managed programming for over 200 11th grade – college students. During her tenure, Sam counseled over 120 students through the college admissions process, and continued to advise them during their time in college. Sam currently serves as the College Access and Success Manager for the Breakthrough Collaborative, where she create curriculum and resources, manages resource projects and communities of practice, and develops strategic partnerships in service of Breakthrough's 24 ...
Samantha helped students get into:
Samantha helps with…
Fun Facts
Describe yourself in five words
First job
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Hobbies
My process
I have significant experience working with students applying to public schools in California (UCs and CSUs), as well as extensive experience with private school admissions via the Common App. I have also worked with students through the community college transfer process. In addition to my work in college counseling, I have also counseled students applying to highly selective summer and gap year opportunities, such as the NSLI-Y program, in which I have counseled two successful applicants.
As an advisor, I am mindful of a student's background and context, and have experience working with a diverse population of students. I have extensive experience working with first-gen college students, low-income students, Undocumented or DACA students, students from mixed-status families, transfer students, BIPOC students, and LGBTQ+ students. Additionally, I speak Bahasa Indonesia and Spanish and am happy to work with families who may speak a language other than English.
Packages
Intensive Advising (5 hours)
5 hours
Advising hours
College admissions advising
Set a focus for each session or get help with any aspect of the admissions process.
Activities List Feedback Session
In this session, I will review your activities list, and offer feedback as to how you can strengthen and polish your list.
College Application Strategy Session
Through this session, we will discuss and develop your overall strategy for completing an application to a particular school. We will determine how to best plan to complete the application to highlight your values, identity, accomplishments, activities, passions, academic interests, and important life experiences. This session can be a great opportunity to determine potential essay topics or to review your application work so far to ensure that it is reflective of all sides of you.
College Essay Feedback Session
This session is a great opportunity to get feedback on your essay topic ideas, outlines, or drafts. I will coach you in developing next steps, identifying opportunities to improve your essays, and ensuring that your essay adds value to your overall college application.
Essay review
Full Review
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 24 hours +$25.00
Description
A thorough review of your essay draft- best for students with rough or full drafts.
Topic Check
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 24 hours +$25.00
Description
I will read your intended topic, outline, or essay draft and offer feedback on your topic choice.
Follow-up Essay Review
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 24 hours +$25.00
Description
This type of review is for future drafts of an essay that has been previously reviewed by me. I will review 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. drafts of essays to offer additional feedback and support, and to get your essay closer to finalization and submission! Note: This type of review is not available for essays that I have not yet reviewed. If you have not yet submitted your essay to me for review, please use the "Full Review," "Topic Check," or "UC Personal Insight Question Review" options instead.
UC Personal Insight Questions Review
- Standard delivery: up to 48 hours
- Guaranteed fast delivery: get your essay back in as little as: 24 hours +$25.00
Description
Submit all or some of your PIQ drafts. I will provide a thorough review of your responses, and feedback on your overall topic choice for your PIQs.
Recent reviews
“Samantha went above and beyond. I asked her to review my essay draft, and I was impressed by how much passion she put into her job and how much she helped me. Besides leaving general comments and notes with crucial suggestions on my paper, she made feedback videos to explain how I could improve my essay. Using videos made her lesson more personal and made me better understand what she meant. Finally, she suggested websites or exercises to make my writing more compelling and, at the same time, reflect on how I truly wanted to show myself to the admission reviewers. I believe I made the best choice to choose her as my essay advisor, and I am confident that with her valuable help, I will have more chances to get into the college of my choice."
Nick S.