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Chris N.

Chris Newton

Harvard, Berkeley, & NYU Grad | Personal Statement Expert

  • Harvard University Logo

    Harvard University

  • Oriel Admissions Logo

    Oriel Admissions

  • 3.5k

    Expert mins

  • 139

    Followers

Available tomorrow

Starting at 1:00 PM UTC

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About

  • Customer favorite

    In the top 10% of College experts on Leland

Update (7/21/26): Just this last application season, I had several students accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Brown, with most admitted to two or more of these universities. Others include Duke, USC, Carnegie Mellon, Pomona, Occidental, the University of Rochester, Williams, Barnard of Columbia University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, UCSD, Georgetown, Wesleyan, Macalester, University of Richmond, Reed, Whitman, Virginia Tech, and NYU. Additionally, four received the Gates Scholarship, one earned Jack Kent Cooke, and another earned a Coca-Cola scholarship. I earned my Master of Theological Studies in Religion, Literature, and Culture from Harvard, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from NYU, and Bachelor of Arts in English from UC Berkeley. I also studied philosophy and law abroad at Oxford. I have a decade of experience teaching and coaching writing at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, and most recently served as a Writing Instructor at the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), hosted at Princeton and Yale Universities. Last year, among the many admissions offers LEDA students received, 37/100 earned spots at Yale. Previously, I taught writing at NYU, and I currently teach Generative AI and Responsible AI at the University of Maryland Global Campus, qualified by my experience as a Content Engineer and Reviewer at Google. My unique background and trajectory prove that I know how to reflect on my experience to consider my next steps, and I will help you do the same.

Chris’s College Qualifications

Coaches professionally

70+ people coached for College

Chris has helped clients get into these schools:

Welcome to my profile! With a diverse academic background from prestigious institutions like Harvard, NYU, and UC Berkeley, I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to college admissions coaching. As a Senior Personal Statement and Supplemental Essay Coach at Oriel Admissions and a Writing Instructor at Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, I've guided 60+ students to craft compelling narratives that stand out in the competitive college admissions process. My experience as a Creative Writing Faculty at NYU and English Faculty at Central Piedmont Community College further enriches my ability to help students express their unique stories effectively. Let's work together to make your college application shine—reach out to start your journey today!

Chris can help with:

Application Strategy

Editing

Essays

General Exploration

Recommendations

School Selection

Secondary Review

Supplementary Materials

Why do I coach?

As a first-generation, low-income graduate who worked hard to find my own mentors throughout undergrad and graduate school, I understand the importance of having a caring mentor or guide. I find true joy assisting students in crafting their stories to share with admissions committees. The personal statement is a unique opportunity not only for admissions committees to learn more about students, but it is often the first time students take a serious, reflective look at themselves. I know I'm in alignment with my purpose when I guide students through the college admissions process and watch them discover a new, deeply rooted part of who they are-- and who they will be. In short, I take the role of personalized mentorship in students’ lives seriously, and I am committed to the transformative nature of professional coaching.

Work Experience

Central Piedmont Community College Logo

English Faculty

Central Piedmont Community College

October 2025 - Present

Leadership Enterprise For a Diverse America Logo

Writing Instructor and College Essay Coach

Leadership Enterprise For a Diverse America

June 2025 - Present

Oriel Admissions Logo

Senior Personal Statement and Supplemental Essay Coach

Oriel Admissions

June 2025 - Present

University of Maryland Logo

AI Faculty

University of Maryland

January 2025 - Present

New York University Logo

Creative Writing Faculty

New York University

January 2025 - June 2025

Google Logo

Reviewer and Senior Content Engineer

Google

February 2024 - January 2025

Zsoldos Coaching Logo

Senior Academic Coach

Zsoldos Coaching

September 2023 - Present

New York University Logo

Graduate Writing Consultant

New York University

September 2023 - May 2024

Harvard University Logo

Graduate Writing Mentor and Workshop Leader

Harvard University

September 2022 - May 2023

Designed and completed 520-hour field education project: "Finding Your Voice: Creative Writing as Ministry"

Chris was also given offers to work at

  • Meta (Facebook) Logo

    Meta (Facebook)

Education

New York University Logo

New York University

Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing - Nonfiction

2023 - 2025

Harvard University Logo

Harvard University

Master of Theological Studies, Religion, Literature, and Culture

2021 - 2023

University of California, Berkeley Logo

University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts, English

University of Oxford Logo

University of Oxford

Study Abroad, Philosophy and Law

Exeter College, Oxford

Chris was also personally admitted to

  • University of California, Los Angeles Logo

    University of California, Los Angeles

  • University of California, Santa Cruz Logo

    University of California, Santa Cruz

  • University of California, Davis Logo

    University of California, Davis

  • University of California, Santa Barbara Logo

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Syracuse University Logo

    Syracuse University

  • University of Chicago Logo

    University of Chicago

5.0 average review

23 reviews


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Value

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Responsiveness

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Chris has helped clients get into these schools:


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