Mason Lai

Hi! I'm Mason, a freshman at Cornell studying cognitive science. A year ago I was exactly where your student is: staring at a blank Google Doc with the UC deadline coming up. I graduated as valedictorian of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School and was admitted to Cornell, UC Berkeley, UCSD, USC and Carnegie Mellon. I'm also a published poet (Beard Full of Butterflies, with work forthcoming in The Minnesota Review). I work with high school seniors on UC Personal Insight Questions, Common App personal statements and supplements. I'm a great fit if your student: - thinks their life is "too boring" to write about (it isn't) - has a draft that sounds impressive but doesn't sound like them - is tempted to let AI write it, and knows deep down it shouldn't How we work: we start by talking, not writing. I ask a lot of questions until we find the stories only you can tell. Then we shape them so every sentence earns its spot in 350 or 650 words. I leave detailed comments on every draft, and we talk them through live on Zoom. One rule: I never write or rewrite your sentences. Readers can often tell when an essay was written by an adult or an AI, and your voice is the whole point. My job is to help you find it, and maybe even enjoy using it.