About Parke
After twenty-eight years serving in the Office of Admission at the University of Virginia, Parke Muth is opening his college admissions consulting service. At Virginia, he served as an Associate Dean as well as Director of Publications, of Marketing, Selection and Recruitment of Honors Scholars, of Application Assessment Training, and of International Admission.
Mr. Muth came to Virginia as an undergraduate student. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the university. He was captain of the track and field team and participated in the US nationals with his relay team, finishing 9th in the country. He received the ACC Scholar Athlete award for the varsity athlete with the highest graduating grade point average in the conference. He served as Chair of the University Judiciary Committee (UJC), one of the three highest offices held by students, and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership fraternity and of the prestigious Raven Society.
Upon graduation, Mr. Muth attended Virginia’s graduate program in English, one of the top five Ph. D programs in the country, where he received one of only three full scholarships in creative writing. He has published poems, served as a literary editor, written plays and has had scenes produced by Live Arts Theater in Charlottesville. He is the recipient of a scholarship in writing at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Mr. Muth has taught 20th century literature, creative writing, and poetry. His article, Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert, published for two consecutive years in the college edition of US News and World Report, has been used by hundreds of schools across the world. You can find an online copy here.
His presentations on college admission essay writing are legendary and he has been sought out as a speaker on college admission essays for organizations such as the College Board and the Overseas Association of Admission Counselors (OACAC) in China for New Oriental. He has been interviewed and profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes Magazine, US News and World Report, Bloomberg, Associated Press, NBC TV, National Public Radio (NPR), and CCTV in China.
Mr. Muth has served as a featured speaker at almost every major national or international conference devoted to helping students find the right fit for college. He has spoken twice at The National Association of Admission Counseling (NACAC) on the topic of writing effective recommendations for counselors and teachers. He has been a featured speaker at the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), instructing on recruitment practices and marketing strategies for institutions interested in enrolling top students from China. He has helped lead a full day pre-conference session on issues related to China for OACAC, and has served as a faculty member of a jointly sponsored program by the U.S. Department of State and the College Board, to train college counselors who are to be posted across the world in international schools.
In recent years, Mr. Muth has traveled to several locations around the globe to help implement programs, internships, and job opportunities. Through connecting people within and without his university community, he has helped students obtain internships at many companies including Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong, Blackrock and Goldman Sachs, and the Panama Canal Authority.
Mr. Muth served for over twenty years as a member of the Jefferson Scholars selection committee at the University of Virginia. This four-year, full scholarship is among the most elite programs in the U.S. Selection is based on students’ qualities of scholarship, leadership and citizenship. He has also served on the selection committee for the Ron Brown Scholars Program, an elite scholars program that provides financial support and leadership training, networking, and career services for underprivileged African-American students. For many years he has served as a featured speaker for the Young Writer’s Workshop, a six-week summer program for high school students interested in developing advanced writing skills.
Mr. Muth’s daughter graduated from boarding school in 2011. During her gap year, she performed service work teaching elementary school children in Tanzania, caring for patients at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying and Destitute in New Delhi, and working with preschool-aged children at a nursery in Bangkok. She will begin her studies in an honors program at a major research university this fall.