Personalized Interview-Style College Counseling

Transport your reader into your world so they can get a glimpse of your passion, value system, and experiences first-hand.

with Rob Shaw

Work with Me

  • 8+ Years of Full-Time College Counseling Experience

    Expert methods and the ability to connect with any student

  • Over 1000 Students Helped

    Rob has helped students gain acceptance to not only every elite institution but to hyper-competitive specialized programs including BSMDs (<1% acceptance rate), USC’s Elite Film Acting Cohort (100/30,000 accepted), UCLA Film School (11/3000 accepted), many medical schools (all are competitive), and more!

  • Diverse Interests

    With a background in neuroscience, writing, math, chemistry, physics, engineering, music production, Buddhism, Continental philosophy, mountaineering, business, and more, Rob can push the conversation deeper with any applicant

Detail, Authenticity, Honesty

Rob pushes students to ground their personal statements on with rich anecdotal stories filled with vivid imagery and reflection. This way, they make their value system and way of seeing the world unmistakable and they showcase their personal voice in the process.

Don’t make empty claims as to your best traits—lead the reader into deducing your character traits themselves.

Rob puts the prompt the student must complete in front of them and riddles them with questions about their experiences, passions, and dreams. Guiding the student in this way, adapting his questions as they progress and taking down every word the student says verbatim, the student will quickly develop a brainstorm rich with powerful anecdotes and insights. Rob then teaches the student about advanced narrative writing principles surrounding efficiency, vividness, structure, grammar, diction, and more as they edit collaboratively. The final result is a gripping essay that blows the mind of even the student themself!

Clients Testimonials

“Out of 7 Universities, 5 admitted him with offers including merit scholarships, honors college selection, full-tuition coverage and even a “Provost Scholarship” (that included all costs -tuition/room/board and even an additional stipend). His remarkable admissions acceptance percentage was no doubt enhanced by your tutelage and essay submissions.

He has chosen to attend the highly competitive John Martinson Honors Program at Purdue University for fall 2026. With your help he has found agency including a full complement of humanity and humility.

Thank you again for being part of this milestone achievement pursuing a path dedicated to problem solving and positive societal excellence. You are a great coach, mentor, teacher and friend. Nothing was broken, yet your “academic mechanic” skills fined tuned and tinkered with Presley’s high output scholastic/community volunteer motor creating a proven, consistent world class winner.

Now we actually have Universities calling and competing to have him attend their hallowed institutions.

Congratulations on a job well-done.”

— Barry R., father of P., studying ME at Purdue Honors, class of 2029

“Throughout the counseling sessions, my son learned from Rob how to use creative writing to express his feelings and emotions, and articulated the significant and far-reaching impact of certain events in his life. The obvious outcomes of the sessions were the beautifully written essays/self assessments that got my son accepted into Dartmouth alongside other top-20 US colleges. But what’s far more important is that the thought process and work ethic Rob helped instill in my son will continue to benefit him for many years to come.

I would recommend Rob to any parents/students who not only need guidance/advice in college essays/application, but also want to hone their skills in creative writing, critical thinking, and problem solving.”

— Peter L., father of D., studying business at Dartmouth, class of 2028

Get in Touch!

Contact Rob to voice any of your questions or concerns and to schedule your student’s first session today!

Book Consultation

FAQ

  • Rob always takes sessions with students before receiving payment. If the studen’t doesn’t like the experience or the outcome of the session, you don’t have to pay.

  • For students applying to a host of competitive undergraduate schools, the entire process usually takes 12-14 hours. Less competitive schools require less writing and their applications will demand less time. As students add schools to their list, the application process become efficient as their repertoire of essays can more easily be repurposed for additional prompts. Masters and doctorate programs vary in terms of their demands. 

  • Students need only bring themselves and any writing they have developed to sessions. Success from working with Rob rests on students exploring their stories and conversing with Rob in real time, as if in an interview. Only through this approach can students access their most moving stories, powerful insights, and unique personal voice. Humans are social and the brain is fundamentally designed to converse, not to type into a perspectiveless word processor. As students begin telling stories related to their passions, Rob pushes them into going deeper, finding more details from their lives to unify the reader with the student’s perspective. In the process, students articulate insights and life lessons that they never knew they had.

  • Rob charges a simple hourly rate, discounted depending on project size. Rob finds that with package deals, students can second-guess their work into oblivion, sterilizing it of personal voice and excitement once it becomes overworked. These are personal essays and while they require scrupulous attention to detail, success resembles capturing the wind in a box. Rob’s hourly rate best serves this end.

    Additionally, Rob’s process has only one speed—full throttle. For his unique interview-style process, Rob works with students multiple times faster than most college counselors who drag the process on. When working with Rob, he and the student get consumed by the creative project and always come out the other end with a huge amount of tangible progress.