Admissions officers are humanists at heart. We train students to write for them.
Our students have been admitted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and other top universities.
Founder’s Story
Hi, I’m Sam.
By application season, I hadn’t won any national awards, nor had I founded an organization that made a huge social impact. I wasn’t mobilizing movements; I was nowhere to be found in online media or press.
By the standards of high-achieving students aiming for top schools, I was not an “impressive” student. All I had done was get good grades and participate in school activities.
And yet, come March my senior year, I got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Princeton — the only schools I had applied to.
I started StoryLab to teach students the philosophy that got me in.
At Yale, I graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Comparative Literature. In college, I wrote for some of the world’s biggest companies alongside former White House speechwriters, and evaluated high school seniors for the Yale admissions office.
In an application field where it’s harder to stand out than ever, we give students the tools to tell a killer story.
Many families make the mistake of pouring all their energy into hard parts of the application like test scores and awards, when it’s the softer parts of an application that get students admitted.
Our Approach
Our Philosophy
Admissions officers are humanists at heart and value humanities-oriented thinking in the application.
Achievements get you in the running. Writing that dares to be emotional and vulnerable gets you admitted.
Writing is an opaque and difficult process that takes months, if not years, to see results. AI tools only make you less distinguishable.
By 12th grade, many parts of the application are too late to change. Starting as early as possible to craft a unique narrative is a must.
The StoryLab Difference
We train students, even those with STEM backgrounds, to infuse humanistic thinking and reflection in their applications.
We push students beyond surface-level “I-learned-x” sentences to write radically vulnerable narratives admissions officers can’t forget.
We teach students the process of writing itself, which sets them up for success long after the admissions process is over.
Long before 12th grade, we push students away from cliché narratives and coach them to build strong relationships with teachers.
Our Approach
Our Philosophy
The StoryLab Difference
Admissions officers are humanists at heart and value humanities-oriented thinking in the application.
Achievements get you in the running. Writing that dares to be emotional and vulnerable gets you admitted.
Writing is an opaque and difficult process that takes months, if not years, to see results. AI tools only make you less distinguishable.
By 12th grade, many parts of the application are too late to change. Starting as early as possible to craft a unique narrative is a must.
We train students, even those with STEM backgrounds, to infuse humanistic thinking and reflection in their applications.
We push students beyond surface-level “I-learned-x” sentences to write radically vulnerable narratives admissions officers can’t forget.
We teach students the process of writing itself, which sets them up for success long after the admissions process is over.
Long before 12th grade, we push students away from cliché narratives and coach them to build strong relationships with teachers.
Why It Matters
Preparing for college is preparing for the real world.
In an era where AI can perform most technical skills, the people who succeed are the ones who can think clearly, write persuasively, and make meaning. We train that.
I actually think studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever. A lot of these [AI] models are actually very good at STEM. But I think this idea that there are things that make us uniquely human — understanding ourselves, understanding history, understanding what makes us tick — I think that will always be really, really important.
Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic
My advice to people would be critical thinking, learn skills, learn your EQ, learn how to be good in a meeting, how to communicate, how to write. You’ll have plenty of jobs.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Why It Matters
Preparing for college is preparing for the real world.
In an era where AI can perform most technical skills, the people who succeed are the ones who can think clearly, write persuasively, and make meaning. We train that.
I actually think studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever. A lot of these [AI] models are actually very good at STEM. But I think this idea that there are things that make us uniquely human — understanding ourselves, understanding history, understanding what makes us tick — I think that will always be really, really important.
Daniela Amodei, President of Anthropic
My advice to people would be critical thinking, learn skills, learn your EQ, learn how to be good in a meeting, how to communicate, how to write. You’ll have plenty of jobs.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Student Stories
Meet some of our students.
Every student who arrives at StoryLab has something real to say. They just haven’t found it yet.
Jason
Senior
His first essay hit every note: leadership, service, resilience. By the second paragraph, you could predict every sentence coming. That was the problem.
Sarah
Senior
Her essay was beautifully written — clean, controlled, and emotionally distant. After 600 words, you didn't know her any better than at the top of the page.
Mia
Senior
Her counselor told her not to write about filmmaking. So she wrote about everything else — and none of it was the thing that actually made her, her.
Not just Ivy graduates, but Ivy admissions insiders.
Nationally awarded, published writers trained at Harvard and Yale, with multiple offers from top schools and experience in Ivy admissions offices.
Our students’ acceptances
What Families Say
In their own words.
“He didn't just comment on my ideas broadly; he engaged with individual sentences, pushing me to sharpen my thinking and present myself as clearly and authentically as possible.”
Student attending University of Chicago
“Your activities list already speaks for itself — your essays should reveal who you actually are. Sam helped me figure out what made my story genuinely mine.”
Student attending Northwestern
“What I want to emphasize most is Sam's genuine sense of care. He communicated consistently, gave thoughtful feedback, and made the whole process feel less like a grind and more like something I could actually be proud of. My mom noticed it too — his warm, encouraging messages meant a lot to her throughout the process. If anything, the application season was harder on her than it was on me, and Sam made sure she felt supported as well.”
Student attending Vanderbilt
“Sam is a teacher who truly listens to what a student is wrestling with and draws out exactly what they need. I'm certain that any family who works with him will find their child going through the college process with a healthy, grounded, and even happy mindset.”
Parent of a Washington University in St Louis student
We take limited students each cycle.
Writing develops slowly. The earlier you start, the more options you have. Schedule a consultation to discuss fit and timing.