Marcella Mercer
Award-winning writer helping students find writing success
Studied at Duke University
Worked at Mercer Tutoring and College Consulting
Successful clients at
Available Sunday at 1:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Marcella's Offerings
Custom hourly · $49/hr
Get help with Application Strategy, Editing, and .
Marcella’s College Qualifications
60+ people coached for College
Marcella has helped clients get into these schools:
Hello! My name is Marcella, and I am thrilled to be your coach. Currently, I am a Master of Public Policy student at Duke University. I am an experienced tutor, having developed and delivered 900+ tutoring lessons over the last five years. My writing coaching has helped students get into medical schools and highly selective schools such as Dartmouth, MIT, and Yale. As a journalist, my writing was selected as part of The Atlantic's "100 Exceptional Works of Journalism" and won Story of the Year at the Hearst Journalism Awards. I have also served as an English language teacher in Malaysia through the Fulbright Program, which sparked my passion for teaching. I earned scores of 36 on ACT English and 36 on ACT Reading. As a Reading teacher at a top-performing public middle school, I helped students find success in English Language Arts every day.
Marcella can help with:
Application Strategy
Editing
Essays
Financial Aid & Scholarships
About Marcella
Hello! My name is Marcella, and I am thrilled to be your tutor. As a Reading teacher at a top-performing public middle school, I helped students find success in English Language Arts every day. In college, I studied journalism and wrote stories around the world. My writing was selected as part of The Atlantic's "100 Exceptional Works of Journalism" and also won Story of the Year at the Hearst Journalism Awards. I have also served as an English language teacher in Malaysia through the Fulbright Program, which sparked my passion for teaching. I earned scores of 36 on ACT English and 36 on ACT Reading. Currently, I am a Master of Public Policy student at Duke University, where I am further developing my skills so I can help solve societal problems. Editing services: I also offer editing services for college and high school essays. This service includes detailed writing suggestions as well as general proofreading services (grammar and fluency correction). I have extensive experience with the college application process and helping students craft essays to make their applications as competitive as possible. My essay editing services have supported students in getting into medical schools and highly selective schools such as Dartmouth, MIT, and Yale.
Work Experience
General Management Consultant Intern
Booz Allen Hamilton
June 2025 - August 2025
Project Manager, Regulatory and Strategic Initiatives
State of Colorado
November 2023 - August 2024
- Researched financial data and project outcomes to prepare annual report to the US Treasury on the allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds. - Crafted narrative and coordinated revisions for US Treasury application allocating $48M to a state project targeting homelessness. - Identified climate justice projects through research and stakeholder engagement, ensuring federal funding supported communities most affected by climate change and natural disasters. - Managed meeting schedules and internal communications and provided direct support to the Chief of the Office.
Middle School Reading and Social Studies Teacher
Denver School of Science and Technology
July 2021 - June 2023
- Planned curriculum and taught reading, writing, and social studies to 100+ students annually. - Utilized Excel to analyze test scores, identify learning gaps, and develop targeted strategies to increase student comprehension, achieving twice the national average growth on standardized tests. - Adapted best practices so multilingual learners outpaced peers in growth, promoting equity. - Led five teachers to implement New Student Academy’s Reading program for 100+ students. Critical Thinking, Proofreading and +20 skills
Freelance Tutor and Editor
Mercer Tutoring and College Consulting
March 2020 - June 2025
- Designed and delivered 900+ English language, test prep, and writing lessons for students from 6th grade through graduate level across multiple time zones. - Provides personalized college application essay feedback and tutoring to help students gain acceptance to top colleges, including Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, and medical schools. Coaching, Proofreading and +4 skills
English Teaching Assistant
Fulbright Association
January 2019 - November 2019
- Created lessons and managed 11 weekly classes for more than 150 public high school students. - Coordinated 7 local and district English camps and numerous educational programs. - Secured grant funding for literacy initiatives and managed finances and reports. - Developed educational and community partnerships through cross-cultural relationship building.
Journalist
The Lincoln Journal Star, Others
November 2015 - March 2020
- Investigated and wrote breaking news stories, cover stories, and features for local and national media. - Featured in The Atlantic's "More than 100 Fantastic Works of Journalism" - Reported on-the-ground in the Pine Ridge Reservation, Uganda and Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria. - Interviewed community members and experts to gather information and provide depth of perspectives.
Education
Duke University
Master of Public Policy, Public Policy Analysis
2024 - 2026
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Bachelor of Journalism, Journalism
Activities and societies: Freshman Campus Leadership Associates, Nebraska Human Resources Institute, Innocents Society Graduated with High Distinction. Recipient of full tuition scholarship (Regents Scholarship).
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Marcella has helped clients get into these schools:
Marcella has helped Leland clients get into DSST Public Schools