per·spi·ca·cious (adj.) having a ready insight into and understanding of things

Hi, I’m Sanibel.

I’m equally competitive and creative. I love crafting admissions essays because nothing motivates me quite like the challenge of reach school.

Here’s the insipid version of my bio: I went to The Lawrenceville School, Duke, and transferred to Penn. I worked in the corporate world for a few years then went to grad school. The informative version goes like this: I had a 3.6 GPA in high school. My college counselor had schools like University of Richmond on my list. After one year at Duke, I transferred to UPenn (with the same mediocre GPA). I was hired to be an analyst at a major bank despite my background in Classical Studies. It was stultifying, so I got my master’s at the New School (one of the best times of my life) and became a private college counselor. Stats-wise, I was “underqualified” at every place I was accepted. Essays have enabled me to punch above my weight time and again.

Without the opportunity to share my voice, I could never have eclipsed people who were more qualified (on paper). My specialty is using storytelling to outperform expectations.

My take on ChatGPT and admissions essays appeared in New York magazine (and thoughts on over-advising appear in Air Mail.) Read more about me here.