Abigail L.
5.0
(8)
Studied at Harvard University
Works at ABL Admissions
Successful clients at
Available Friday at 4:00 PM UTC
Usually responds within 21 hours
Free intro calls are for clients considering a package. When you contact me, please write the name of the package that interests you in the Message field! I will cancel any intro call requests that do not have this. If you are interested in a one-time consult or essay edit, please book directly. You can ask me pre-booking questions via Leland's messaging system. Expect a fast reply! :)
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About Abigail
Hi, I'm Abigail! I’m a college admissions consultant with 13 years of experience helping students craft standout applications that don’t just check boxes—they tell stories that make admissions officers want to say yes. I grew up in San Diego, where I somehow spent all my time reading and never learned to surf (blame my English teacher mom). I earned my English degree (cum laude) from Harvard, with a minor in Visual and Environmental Studies, and then started my career tutoring in California, where I got to know two of the trickiest applications—Stanford and the UC system—inside and out. I then earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Pittsburgh and collaborated with the EdTech company Newsela, creating content for educators and deepening my interest in the intersection of storytelling and education. Through it all, story-driven admissions consulting has been my home base. Recently, I’ve worked with some of the top admissions agencies, including one led by a former Ivy League admissions director, as well as firms specializing in transfers and international applicants. I absorbed their knowledge—and then struck out on my own. Why? Because I knew there was a better way. Larger agencies often rely on rigid, assembly-line methods, but I wanted to offer something more personal: fully customized strategy and unlimited support. No cookie-cutter timelines. No caps on communication. Just personalized strategy and unlimited consulting designed around you.
Work Experience
College Admissions Consultant
ABL Admissions
June 2012 - Present
● Personally advised 600+ college and graduate school applicants through the admissions process, including application strategy, essay development, school list selection, and interview prep ● Clients admitted to highly selective schools including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, Duke, and UChicago, with multiple full-ride merit scholarships awarded ● Specialize in working with students applying to competitive majors (e.g., CS, business, engineering) or those with "oversubscribed" profiles, helping strong students craft narratives that break out of the high-achiever mold ● Previously wrote and edited education and technical content, thought leadership, and PR for clients in EdTech, pharma, and tech (clients included Newsela, Slate, and Cambridge Solutions) — this background informs a rigorous, strategy-first approach to admissions storytelling
Assistant to the Editor
boundary 2 journal
August 2015 - August 2018
Interviewer
● Edited articles for clarity, concision, and compliance with Chicago style ● Led contributors through the publication process from initial acceptance to peer review, copyediting, and publication ● Organized and publicized conferences, including talks by Nobel Prize nominee Nuruddin Farah, Bruce Robbins (Columbia), Donald Pease (Dartmouth), and Charles Bernstein (University of Pennsylvania) ● Managed the journal's Facebook page and Twitter (now X) account
Teacher
Sophos Academic Group
July 2012 - August 2012
● Taught college preparatory courses to Chinese high school students interested in studying in the United States
Editorial Intern
W. W. Norton & Company
May 2011 - August 2011
Editorial Intern
Boston Review
January 2011 - May 2011
Education
University of Pittsburgh
Master of Fine Arts - MFA, Creative Writing (Nonfiction)
2015 - 2018
● Program has an admission rate of less than 10%; awarded full scholarship with stipend
Harvard University
A.B., English, Visual and Environmental Studies, English
2008 - 2012
Activities and societies: The Harvard Crimson (Books Editor), Harvard College Democrats, Tuesday Magazine (President), WHRB ● Graduated cum laude with High Honors in concentration ● Honors thesis research on 20th-century literary journalism
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Abigail has helped clients get into these schools: