Feldstein Lends Advice for the College Choice Win

When students need that extra boost to form good study habits, write winning essays, and think critically about their education goals, tutor Zahava Feldstein steps up.

A graduate of the Epstein and Weber schools, Feldstein is currently a PhD student in education and Jewish studies at Stanford University. She knows her way around applications as she also completed a master’s degree in religious studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School (2023) and a bachelor’s degree in American studies and psychology at Scripps College (2020) -graduating in three years.

Of her tutoring services, she said, “I teach the writing process as early as ninth grade with the understanding that developing the practices of a deep and critical reader are imperative to learning how to write throughout high school and will serve them in life far beyond.”

When asked about the teachabililty of teens, she advised, “Ask good questions, challenge authority. My father, a rabbi, taught me that to question and challenge are the foundations of Jewish thought. While Jewish scholars in every generation have looked back to revered authorities for guidance, they have done so with a willingness to interrogate the former’s rationale. Questioning, challenging, refusing blind acceptance—that is the intellectual endeavor for which students must strive. And this precept, when taught as permission to think critically and independently, is what a student needs to truly become a problem solver, whether the challenge manifests in test-taking, time management, essay writing, or succeeding later as a college student.”

Feldstein’s tips on writing for success:

1) Individuate supplemental essays: Get to know the schools you are applying to and create application materials specific to each institution, and responsive to their academic approaches, extracurricular offerings, and institutional identities.
2) Get to know current students, faculty, and the admissions team prior to applying! The better you know them, the better they can know you.
3) Research common (and less common) majors at each school – especially if you are interested in being awarded a merit scholarship – as these often go to students in specific areas of study based on different needs in different schools.
4) Author a CommonApp essay which narrates a specific story, highlights your unique characteristics, and showcases your creative nonfiction writing abilities. For my CommonApp essay, I wrote about challenging a teacher at an academic summer camp who fell into stereotypes and acted with prejudice towards my Orthodox female campmate.
5) Aim for creativity when crafting school supplemental responses. I was reading back on my own undergraduate application materials and rediscovered the following prompt, “What matters to you and why?”

Feldstein charges a standard fee for preliminary sessions, which covers: her prior review of the student’s materials (transcript, writing sample, list of extracurriculars), a one-hour discussion gauging the student’s needs and prospects, and list of colleges/universities to consider, alongside itemized application components that are provided following the session. Then, she offers a sliding scale to include students from variant socioeconomic backgrounds and has more learning options.

For more information, reach her at zavifeldstein@gmail.com.