About Jamie Berger
Hello and welcome! I’m a college admissions consultant and essay coach, focused on helping students (and families) through their college application journey. I assist students in applying to selective+ colleges across the U.S., with special expertise on liberal arts colleges and universities in the Northeast.
After more than two decades working as a high-school and college instructor, test-pep tutor, academic coach, and Common Application consultant, for the last six years, I’ve focused on working with high-school juniors and seniors on admissions essays, college list-making, and all other aspects of the admissions process. I work with students remotely from across the US and internationally.
Clients and I strive not only to gain admission to great colleges and universities, but also to address the larger picture of why they’re writing all those essays, taking all those tests, applying to all those schools. We discuss majors and careers, of course, but beyond that, the best size, geographic, and social and cultural fit, and what they want to accomplish once they arrive at college, and beyond. This conversation nearly always helps focus that list of colleges. I also find it very worthwhile to spend time helping students and parents communicate with each other regarding their needs, ambitions, and limitations.
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Background
I hold degrees in English from Columbia (BA ‘86), City College of New York (MA ‘92), and University of Massachusetts (MFA, 2010). For over a decade, I worked for the Princeton Review as an instructor, trainer, and course developer. I served for eight years as an AP English Composition rater for the College Board; and as a master teacher, writing center fellow, adjunct professor, and academic coach in New York City, San Francisco, and Western Massachusetts, at The University of Massachusetts and Northfield Mount Hermon School, and elsewhere.
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EDUCATION AND AFFILIATION
Columbia University, BA, English, 1986
City College of New York, MA, English, 1992
University of Massachusetts Amherst, MFA, Creative Writing, 2010
Associate Member, Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)
Member, National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACA)