Justin Marshall

Over the past decade, Justin Marshall has created a successful career that encompasses his two great life passions, writing and education—and as an essay coach for Forster-Thomas, he combines these two passions seamlessly.

Justin is the author of the book How To Write An Essay, which was published in 2006 for SparkNotes' Ultimate Style series and is currently in its second edition, having sold over 10,000 copies. He also wrote the introduction for the SparkNotes book Film Classics, and has had personal essays published both in print and online. His journalism has been featured in various publications including The Huffington Post, the Minneapolis City Pages, and Firstwivesworld.com, where he served as Managing Editor from 2007-2009.

Justin is also an active, award-winning screenwriter. Since earning his MFA in Film from Columbia University in 2005, he has sold and optioned both short and feature-length screenplays, and is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America. His understanding of narrative structure and character development is a true asset to the work he does at Forster-Thomas, allowing him to help candidates tell a compelling story in their own unique voice in each of their essays.

As an educator, Justin has taught English in Japan, Screenwriting at The Katharine Gibbs School, and Film Directing at Columbia University, where he also served as an admissions reader for the MFA Film Department for two seasons. He has tutored various subjects both privately and with non-profit organizations, worked as a camp counselor for at-risk youth, and continues to try to teach his pet parrot to speak (with little success).

Testimonials for Justin:

"Working with Justin was a fantastic experience. He really took the time to get to know my experiences and activities to provide better feedback on my essays. He turned around essays quickly and was available at all hours to fit my schedule. I'll admit when choosing between a number of different consultants, a small voice in the back of my mind told me to go with a former MBA admissions officer or MBA graduate. I'm SO glad I ignored that voice. In addition to knowing the aspects of the program's I was applying to down cold, Justin's Columbia MFA-honed storytelling abilities were vital when I was writing myself as the hero of my application essays. My sequel? My top choice MBA program.”

"I got into Kellogg, Chicago, Wharton, and HBS!!! I am super excited! HBS was all I needed, but the others are amazing, too. I am so excited and so grateful for all of your insight along the way. THANK YOU!”

-San Francisco, CA

"I got into Columbia! I started orientation last week and have barely had a minute to catch my breath since getting into school. What a wild ride. Anyway, I wanted to reach out to say thank you again for all of your help. I had a great experience working with you and have recommended Forster-Thomas to many of my friends that have talked about pursuing an MBA.”

-New York City

"I just wanted to let you know that I was just accepted to Kellogg!! I'm beyond excited and I can't thank you enough for your help. When I started this process I had no idea if I'd get in anywhere, let alone into my top two choices-- really could not have done it without you guys! Now let the inner turmoil begin as I attempt to choose a school...