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Sam Bergeron
Essay Specialist
Sam Bergeron has been crafting stories since he could talk — and he hasn't stopped since. Growing up split between rural Maine and Austin, Texas gave him an early appreciation for how different two worlds can feel, and how much a person's story depends on where they're standing when they tell it.
That love of storytelling led him to Hampshire College, a uniquely open-ended liberal arts school where he studied poetry, personal narrative, and creative writing — culminating in a memoir about growing up queer in Texas. From there, a stint in a college admissions office gave him a firsthand look at what actually moves the needle in an application — and what doesn't.
Now, as Core College Consulting's Essay Specialist, Sam helps students do the thing most of them have been told not to do: ignore the rules and tell their real story. He believes everything students have been taught about what a college essay is “supposed” to look like is largely beside the point. The goal isn't to write what an admissions team wants to hear — it's to write something true, something personal, and something that sounds unmistakably like them.
Hometown: Mt. Vernon, ME
Back in High School: Quiet in class, loud in the hallways. He loved humanities, found his people in queer spaces, and poured himself into orchestra and other creative outlets. STEM was not his thing — and that turned out just fine.
Greatest Achievement: By age 17, he had saved and raised $10,000 for his own gender-affirming surgery.
Superpower: Storytelling, wordsmithing, and making people feel genuinely seen — often all at the same time
A Song That Never Gets Old: Vienna by Billy Joel
Favorite Things: Poetry, bees, shrimp cocktail, friends, dogs, roller skating, swimming in the ocean, the smell of a summer thunderstorm, and the first flower that shows up after a hard winter
Advice to Students: Everything you've been told about what a college essay is “supposed” to look like? Mostly useless. Write your story, in your voice — and don't be afraid to get creative with how you tell it.
Advice to Parents: There are so many incredible colleges beyond the Ivy League and “sweatshirt schools.” Most employers care far less about brand-named schools than people might think. Keep an open mind — it's one of the best things you can do for your student.
Post-Secondary Education:
Hampshire College, BA Creative Writing
Professional Background:
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, Assistant Director of Admissions, 2 years
Professional Associations: NACAC
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