ADMISSIONS CONSULTING & CREATIVE MENTORSHIP

Land Your
Dream College.

Welcome to the Burgess Workshop Studio. I help ambitious students launch passion projects, write stellar college essays, and secure elite acceptances.

Schedule YourFree Intro
“I can confidently say that my daughter would not have gotten into her dream school without Jackson’s help.”
— Laurie, Barnard '31 mom
“He helped me shape my entire narrative and now I’m headed to Columbia University for fall 2026!”
— A.K., Columbia '31 admit
The Study

Recent Student Acceptances at:

'21-'25 Acceptances Include: Harvard • MIT • Stanford • Princeton • Yale • Caltech • Columbia • UPenn • Duke • UChicago • Johns Hopkins • Northwestern • Dartmouth • Williams • Vanderbilt • Rice • Georgetown • Carnegie Mellon • UCLA • UC Berkeley • Notre Dame • Emory • Claremont McKenna • US Naval Academy • Smith • Wesleyan • Vassar • Carleton • Michigan • UNC Chapel Hill • Georgia Tech • USC • NYU • UVA • Wake Forest • Boston University • Northeastern • Tulane • Florida • UT Austin • UCSD • Boston College • Rochester • UC Irvine • UC Santa Barbara • UC Davis • Wisconsin • UIUC • UW Seattle • Purdue • George Washington • Miami • Pepperdine • Ohio State • Rutgers • SMU • TCU • Colorado School of Mines • UC Santa Cruz • LMU • SDSU • Occidental • Trinity • USD • St Andrews (UK) • Indiana • CU Boulder • Oregon • Arizona • ASU • UC Riverside • UC Merced • Emerson • Chapman • Belmont • Illinois Wesleyan • SCAD •

'21-'25 Acceptances Include: Harvard • MIT • Stanford • Princeton • Yale • Caltech • Columbia • UPenn • Duke • UChicago • Johns Hopkins • Northwestern • Dartmouth • Williams • Vanderbilt • Rice • Georgetown • Carnegie Mellon • UCLA • UC Berkeley • Notre Dame • Emory • Claremont McKenna • US Naval Academy • Smith • Wesleyan • Vassar • Carleton • Michigan • UNC Chapel Hill • Georgia Tech • USC • NYU • UVA • Wake Forest • Boston University • Northeastern • Tulane • Florida • UT Austin • UCSD • Boston College • Rochester • UC Irvine • UC Santa Barbara • UC Davis • Wisconsin • UIUC • UW Seattle • Purdue • George Washington • Miami • Pepperdine • Ohio State • Rutgers • SMU • TCU • Colorado School of Mines • UC Santa Cruz • LMU • SDSU • Occidental • Trinity • USD • St Andrews (UK) • Indiana • CU Boulder • Oregon • Arizona • ASU • UC Riverside • UC Merced • Emerson • Chapman • Belmont • Illinois Wesleyan • SCAD •

Don't Hire a Coach. Hire a Mentor.


I'm Jackson Burgess, founder of the Burgess Workshop Studio. I'm a summa cum laude USC graduate with a terminal degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the #1 writing program in the country. I've taught at the University of Iowa and Los Angeles Southwest College, and for 2 years I served on USC's merit scholarship committee.

With 9 years in college admissions consulting—and 5 in executive leadership—I've guided hundreds of students to successful outcomes. Between '21 – '25, some of them were accepted by:

30+
Ivy & Ivy+
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, Penn, MIT, Caltech, Duke, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins
48+
California Top-Tiers
Stanford, USC, Cal, UCSD, UCLA, UCI, UCD, UCSB
8+
Elite Liberal Arts
Barnard, Williams, Vassar, Claremont McKenna, Smith, Wesleyan, Carleton
See the Full Roster
*Minimums based on most recent records; actual outcomes may be higher.
Choose Your Trajectory

Services

The Academy

The Academy


(Grades 9-11)

From course selection and extracurricular advisement to college list-building, I help high schoolers become the type of creative scholar that top programs seek.

Explore Program
Apps Lab

The Apps Lab


(Grade 12)

Drawing upon the traditional 5-act structure and Hero's Journey, I teach students how to craft powerful and successful college applications.

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A La Carte

Hourly Mentorship


(All Grades)

I offer bespoke, hourly coaching for middle-school, high-school, and transfer students focusing on specific essays, interview prep, or general tutoring.

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Not sure which path fits?

Book a Free Strategy Session

About Me

Iowa MFA Dual-Admit
Blue-Chip Educated.

Graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop—the #1-ranked creative writing MFA program in the United States—as the first student in Workshop history to receive dual offers in both poetry and fiction.

Recipient of an academic full-ride scholarship to the University of Southern California and admissions offers to UChicago, Johns Hopkins, NYU, and more.

MFA Admit Rate: <1%
Former Director of College Planning
9 Years. 300+ Students.

Led curriculum development and strategic planning for a nationally ranked firm. Architected successful outcomes for hundreds of students.

10+ Years Total Experience
Track Record
Proven Results.

Helped students land acceptances at nearly every major U.S. university by launching:

  • Indie presses
  • Composers' symposiums
  • Community gardens
  • Music festivals
  • Video game design studios
And more
Stellar Reviews
"Jackson Rocks."

"My daughter felt seen and safe with you...a magical experience!"
— Parent of 11th Grader

"F***ing brilliant. The best mentor I could've asked for."
— 12th Grader (Committed UCLA)

Experience
Award-Winning Author Who Has Edited 1000+ T30 College Essays.

Ex-lead essay specialist; widely published Truman Capote Fellow and Jack McCarthy Book Prize winner.

🎓
Summa Cum Laude, USC

Full-Tuition Trustee Scholar
Phi Beta Kappa Award
Trojan Scholarship Committee Member
Capital High School Valedictorian
National Merit Finalist

“Jackson Burgess is a phenomenal young poet...the most urgent and raw urban Transcendentalist in recent American poetry.”
— David St. John, author of The Last Troubadour & Chancellor of the Academy
Learn How I Work