Mason Lai

I’m an undergraduate in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University studying Cognitive Science, Information Science, and Philosophy, after graduating as Valedictorian of a top-ranked Southern California high school. During my own admissions cycle—where I was admitted to Cornell, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon (CMU), USC, and UCSD—the biggest lesson I learned was that even when you have the grades and test scores, your actual, unfiltered voice matters infinitely more than anything AI or a generic formula can manufacture. In today’s post-AI admissions landscape, admissions officers can spot a sanitized, over-engineered essay in seconds. My specialty is figuring out what your student's true voice actually is, and giving them the confidence and strategic reasoning to bring it onto the page. As an essayist who has published poetry and humanities commentary alongside a heavy STEM background, I love working with students who bridge both technical and creative worlds—or who don't fit neatly into a single box. My philosophy is simple: the most compelling applications come from being unequivocally, unapologetically yourself. My coaching is highly structured and collaborative, combining detailed pre-session draft diagnostics with deep-dive 1-on-1 strategy to pull out the stories only you can tell for the Common App, UC Personal Insight Questions (PIQs), and school-specific supplements.