I just wanted to drop a note to sing the praises of Madison Searle. Please forward this to any other appropriate Accepted personnel.
Madison assisted our son James as he navigated the perilous college application process. Given the significant price tag, I had some initial misgivings about securing a consultant. Madison, however, quickly dispelled any reservations that I may have harbored.
His guidance and encouragement were phenomenal. The entire college admissions process, including the innumerable essays and personal statements, presents an inordinately stressful experience for today’s high school students. Madison delivered sage advice, offered key strategies and tactics for crafting original and engaging writing submissions, and instilled an overall sense of confidence . . . all of which reduced anxiety by several orders of magnitude. Indeed, I came to have such faith in Madison’s guidance that I acceded to my son’s desire to submit his early applications without any parental review whatsoever.
My son has always been exceedingly independent and it came as no surprise that he wanted to pursue the application process without family members, no matter how well-meaning, looking over his shoulder. So his early decision and early action applications all went out without me seeing a single word of any essay or a single line of the submission materials. I have enormous belief in my son and his capabilities, but I confess that this level of hands-off parenting gave me some apprehension.
But my son trusted Madison. And so did I.
When all was said and done, our son was accepted early decision to his first choice: the Cornell University College of Engineering.
Once accepted, my son finally shared his various essays and personal statements. They were well-crafted, articulate and absolutely genuine. That is, Madison had guided James in such a way that his true voice rang clear in each of the writing submissions. Too often, the essays and submissions from students with consultants come across as overly polished, stilted and artificial, reeking of aggressive re-writes and straining credulity. Madison ensured that James’s efforts reflected his own authentic vision and insights. No doubt that served James well with the admissions officers reviewing his submissions.
Finally, Madison expressed a genuine concern for James as he prepared his applications, making himself regularly available throughout the process and providing crucial feedback and assurance.
Madison represents an enormous asset to Accepted. We have recommended him, wholeheartedly and without reservation, to numerous other parents and students.
Though the price tag was steep, his contributions were worth every penny.
-Accepted Client
Consultant Profile: Madison Searle
Why Work with Madison?
- Managed admissions for three undergraduate honors programs at the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin and read more than 5,000 applications while also advising students applying to graduate and professional programs
- Taught writing seminars in two programs at the College of Natural Sciences – Health Science Scholars and Polymathic Scholars – and worked with students on their applications to medical school and other health professional schools
Madison’s Stats
- BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin
- MA in English literature from the University of Virginia
Madison's Areas of Specialty
- College
- BS/MD
- BA/MD
- Medical School (MD/DO)
What Madison Has to Say
“Virtually all of the premed students I taught were competent writers, but relatively few had learned how to effectively tell their stories and write in their authentic voice. Teaching verbal authenticity and helping students clarify and articulate their own stories in a way that invited, maintained, and rewarded a reader’s attention became my focus.
One of my favorite maxims is from Kurt Vonnegut: ‘Pity the reader.’ Pity her because reading is hard. It’s particularly hard for admissions reviewers reading a dozen applications at a gulp. As a published writer, graduate application advisor, and former director of an undergraduate honors center at a leading public Ivy, I know what applicants need to accomplish in applications, and how reviewers process and respond to them. I welcome the opportunity to help you tell your story.”
What Else You Should Know about Madison
- Was book reviews editor for a music magazine for about a decade (and has never met anyone else with that title)
- Currently working on a book proposal involving the history and future of engineering interventions to protect Galveston, Texas, from hurricanes
- Has a longtime interest in writing about science, particularly essays and fiction by Americans of the late nineteenth century who saw science and technology as the means toward a utopian society (of whom Mark Twain was one, briefly)