Testimonials

Thank you notes and testimonials from successful clients:

“Many thanks for coming into our lives and making an impact that will last a lifetime.”
“My time with you was extremely helpful and this is just what I needed to get the ball rolling! It is amazing how you are able to get to know someone in such a short period of time.”
—Grad School Applicant, 2015
“With your talented writing technique and skilled essay writing help, I was accepted to the university that I could only have dreamed about getting into.”
“You have an amazing job, and I hope that you realize how much and what you do for high school students. I am so thankful for the work you enabled me to produce.”
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude…”
“Thanks again, many times! With great joy…”
“Thank you for the tremendous help.. Without your input and guidance I believe she would not even be close to having her essays complete, and I would be nothing short of a train wreck!”
“…my husband and I read our son’s piece and we each laughed out loud. I think you are a very gifted teacher/mentor. Thank you so much…”
“I was accepted to both Georgetown and NYU – so I was very happy!”
“I was accepted! Thanks for all your help. My essay was great.”
“You have been an amazing asset to A’s college application process.”
“I’ve received two letters so far, from Northeastern and Fordham University, and they’ve both been acceptances! …I can’t thank you enough for your help.”
“Her essays are amazing! Thank you so much… for all your professionalism, candid approach, and easy to work with style.”
“I recommend you to all my friends.”
“I am ecstatic! … thank you so much for all of your help and support. I am still almost in shock.”
“I’ll be spending my next four years at MIT!”
“I have recommended you to others who have kids my daughter’s age.”
“I am happy to report I will be attending Johns Hopkins in the fall.”
“Our son ended up getting into his top choice schools.”
“It was such a support to her to have guidance from such a positive and calm person, with amazing expertise!”
“Just want to let you know that L. submitted his early decision application to Duke last night. This could not be done without your timely response and excellent coaching service. Thank you!”
“What you do is very involved on a very personal (and, to me, important) level. Thank you again for your help. I do feel like I put my best foot forward.”
“Thank you so much, Lesley! You are a true life-saver in this college process.”
“Your insights and methods of positive guidance were wonderful.”
“Your feedback was a tremendous help.”
“I just wanted to let know you know, I successfully finished my applications in January, and just received my first college acceptances from USC, UC Berkeley and Northeastern, all with nominations for scholarships.”
“I’m so impressed with how you do your work! You are amazing!”
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude for all your help and patience over the last five months. I never could have completed these essays without you.”
“Thanks so much for your very insightful suggestions and advice for S’s college essays. We are very pleased working with you.”
“I got in to every UC I applied to and will be attending Cal in Fall! Very excited. Thank you so much, again, for all of your help with my essays. I know many people who did not get in and I can only imagine my essays had something to do with making the difference for me! Very, very happy about it.”
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for working with [our daughter]. You made her feel very empowered in getting her admissions done and I think that she was able to showcase her best work.”
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for working with [our daughter]. You made her feel very empowered in getting her admissions done and I think that she was able to showcase her best work.”
“Thank you so much, Lesley! I was so excited to hear from MIT, and I know I wouldn’t have gotten in without your help. You really did teach me how to write with emotion and purpose.” —Class of 2014
“Thank you so much for helping K. with his applications. We could rest easy because we knew he was in good hands.” —Mom. Class of 2014 Student
“Lesley, I want to thank you for the tremendous help you have given [my daughter] these past few months. Without your input and guidance I believe she would not even be close to having her essays complete, and I would be nothing short of a train wreck! Honestly, Lesley, you have made this a stress free experience for me and for that I will always be appreciative. I know she has learned so much from you.” —C. H.
“I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for your guidance throughout my essay writing process. You corrected my horrible grammar use with patience, added life and drama to turn my essay into a story, and teased out what I was really trying to say…” —L.L., Class of 2010
“Again, I would like to thank you for working with [our daughter]. I was very impressed by your ability to help her see what aspects of her life and ambition to illustrate in her essays, as well as your ability to bring out the best in her writing. Working with you made an often intimidating process one that she engaged with enthusiasm.” —L.A., 2014
“Connecticut College sent me a personalized email after I was admitted talking about how moved they were by my essay. I was ecstatic, to say the least. I must say that I have never been happier about a piece of my own writing, ever. I have you to thank for that. :)” —M.C.
“J. was so excited to tell us how much you are nurturing, mentoring and guiding her on her work. We can clearly see how much you are helping and developing young high schoolers and we are truly grateful that J [is] fortunate to be one of them.” —Happy Dad, 2013
“You are one of the reasons I have grown as a person. You helped me find my voice and connect with my life story. You taught me how to open my mind and heart when I am writing, and this made me stronger because I am now to talk about myself with confidence— which was a struggle for me before. Thank you so much for your love and support. I am grateful that you opened your heart to help a student [at my school] and most of all, I am glad you helped me.” —Graduate, MetWest
“We are very happy that R. (Class of 2013) got accepted to all the liberal arts schools [to which] he applied, with significant scholarship support. I am extremely happy with his essays, and he feels he learned a lot about writing from you. (This will be a critical area in future career in law.) Thanks again for your help. I will spread the word of your good service among my friends here.” —Grateful Father, Carlisle, Massachusetts
“I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for working with [our daughter]. You made her feel very empowered in getting her admissions done and I think that she was able to showcase her best work.” —J.L., 2012
“Thanks so much for everything that you’ve. We are SO grateful you took C. on, as we realize you were already booked solidly with other clients. We will never forget you and what you did for Our Boy!” —Grateful Grandmother, Marin County
“Thank you for all your excellent suggestions and comments…I wish we had found you a few years ago.” —Carol (Berkeley Mom)
The news of my BU acceptance came as a surprise. With your talented writing techniques and skilled essay writing help, I was accepted to the university that I could only have dreamed about getting into. It is because of you that I was able to express myself for who I really am, through my wonderfully crafted essays to Boston University. I am so grateful for all the work you have done for me, helping me to become the improved writer that I am. You have an amazing job, and I hope that you realize how much and what you do for high school students. You made this process slow and steady with the best quality attached. I am so thankful for the work you enabled me to produce. Thank you Lesley.
With admiration and gratitude.” —Rachel B., Lafayette, CA
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the force needed to propel David towards successful completion of this daunting college application process. You have a true gift for your work…I still can’t believe I found you…” —I. B., Washington D.C.
“I’m just a few weeks away from graduation at Berkeley and I am happy to report that I will be attending John Hopkins in the fall. I ended up getting acceptance letters from 4 of the 5 [graduate] schools I applied to, which was a bit overwhelming and unexpected (a good shock, of course!). I wanted to thank you so much for your guidance in helping me write my essays. While I know the content was all mine, you gave me the pushes and nudges I needed :)” —UCB Senior, 2012
“Dear Lesley,
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the assistance you gave me in writing my college essays. The process was made so much simpler and less daunting with your guidance. I can now look at me essays with great pride and know that, no matter which colleges accept me, I have represented myself in the most genuine way possible. That is all thanks to you. It was also a great experience to work with various professional writers on a project like this. It has inspired me to continue with my passion for writing. […] most of all, thank you for caring.” —Ms. B, Castro Valley, California
“Lesley Quinn is a superb writing coach. Our 17-year-old worked with her on his college essay. I assume the sessions they had together went very well as he had only positive comments and his final essay was captivating and well-written. It was also very individual and sounded like our son. His strengths lean toward math and science, and writing has always been more of a stretch for him. We greatly appreciate Lesley’s helping him to bring out his voice and feel proud of what he has to say. Our son ended up getting into his top choice schools.” —Grateful Parent, Santa Rosa, California
“I also wanted to thank you for all your help with K’s essays so far. Your recommendations are very helpful and she’s learning so much about writing along the way.” —P.M., Spokane, Washington
“Many thanks for coming into our lives and making an impact that will last a lifetime.” —Mother of Class of 2011 Student
“After visiting Cornell University on Monday, I fell in love and it is where I am proud to say I will spend the next four years of my life! Thank you so much for making it possible for me to say that.” —L. P., Marin County, CA
“Dear Lesley,
I want to thank you for providing [our daughter] the opportunity to work with you. She has learned so much from you about the writing and editing process. It was such a support to her to have guidance from such a positive and calm person, with amazing expertise! When I sought your assistance, it was with the intent that she would have a great learning experience and not just crank out essays. Accomplished!
[…] your work and style were very much appreciated.” —S., San Francisco
“I just wanted to let know you know, I successfully finished my applications in January, and just received my first college acceptances from USC, UC Berkeley and Northeastern, all with nominations for scholarships. Thank you so much for your help with my essays, and I hope you have a lovely rest period before the application season starts up again!” —Class of 2012
“I just wanted to thank you for everything you helped me accomplish during my college [application] process. I not only wrote fantastic essays, but learned writing skills that will carry with me to college.” —A. F.
“With your help, [he] now has essays that show the true R., through and through. More importantly…, you have helped him to regain his confidence and his smile. Thank you so much for all of this!” —Class of 2014 Mom
“I’m not surprised at all. What you do is very involved on a very personal (and, to me, important) level. Thank you again for your help. It feels good for it to be out of my hands. I do feel like I put my best foot forward.” —C.S., 2012
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude for all your help and patience over the last five months. I never could have completed these essays without you.” —R.C., 2014
“Thanks so much for your very insightful suggestions and advice for S’s college essays. We are very pleased working with you.” —Proud Parent
“I got in to every UC I applied to and will be attending Cal in Fall! Very excited. Thank you so much, again, for all of your help with my essays. I know many people who did not get in and I can only imagine my essays had something to do with making the difference for me! Very, very happy about it.” —L.E., 2011
“Thank you so much for all the help and guidance you’ve given me during this long and tedious process. There’s absolutely no way I would have been able to stay on top of things without your help and myriad of spreadsheets and schedules. You’ve played an instrumental role in my application process.” —S.L., 2014
“I am glad to say that it is safe to uncross your fingers, I’ve heard back from all my schools and the results have amazed me! The only rejection I received was from UPenn, which gave me a tremendous selection of awesome schools to choose from. After carefully looking over all the options I have committed to Cornell University for the fall and I could not be happier! Thank you again for all your help, and I wish you the very best.” —J.S., Class of 2014
“I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for everything you’ve done. Thank you so incredibly much!” —E.G., San Diego
“You may gladly uncross your fingers now! A. got accepted to Carnegie Mellon University and was also invited for a honor scholar program. He is planning to join there. He also got UCSB, UCI, Babson, UIUC University of Washington, Santa Clara university…thank you for your wonderful guidance.” —V.C., 2014
“Yes, I was accepted! Thanks for all your help. My essay was great […] I will contact you again if I go for my Ph.D. (but I have to survive this masters program first.” —T.D., 2013
“I am overjoyed and shocked! Thanks so much for the help on the essays! I think the windsurfing essay turned out to be a metaphor for the twins experience at school, at definitely made the difference.” —C., Class of 2013
“With the final changes you’ve suggested, I am ecstatic with how the essay turned out. I’m amazed at how your suggestions refined my work but still kept the original voice and message. Thanks again for all the help and quick responses.” —Louis, 2013
“Thank you for all your wonderful essay writing help. You were truly a blessing to Z. and to her relationship with us parents. She got a lovely admission and aid package to Wesleyan, and we are now waiting for the last 10 to come in. But she is happy and a whole lot less scared.” —Mother of Vassar Student, Class of 2013
“Just want to let you know that [our son] has submitted his early decision application to Duke last night. This could not be done without your timely response and excellent coaching service. Thank you!” —Relieved Parent
“Whatever the outcome, there is no regret. We’ll for sure share the news (good or bad) with you :0)” —M., 2012
“Thank you so much for your help throughout. I truly appreciate everything you did, especially reviewing my material so urgently when you could tell I was so incredibly worried and stressed. Thank you so much, Lesley. I hope that all of your clients ended up where I did :-)” —Chris G.
“Thank you so much, Lesley! You are a true lifesaver in this college process.” —M.S., 2012, Kingdom of Bahrain
“Your insights and methods of positive guidance were wonderful. One of us will let you know how things turn out.” —Berkeley Mom
“Thank you for all your wonderful essay writing help. You were truly a blessing to Z. and to her relationship with us parents. She got a lovely admission and aid package to Wesleyan, and we are now waiting for the last 10 to come in. But she is happy and a whole lot less scared.” —Mother of Vassar Student, Class of 2013
“He worked really hard on revising, finding his voice, and focusing his essays over the past couple of days…your feedback was a tremendous help.” —Class of 2011
“I can’t thank you enough for your invaluable expertise and for putting up with my missed deadlines. I know I’m not the easiest person to work with. I hope you know how much I appreciated your writing (and often emotional) support when I was feeling overwhelmed. I wouldn’t have been able to get this process moving without your help and whatever college I end up at, it will be due in large part to you. (And of course, I’ll tell you when I know where I’m going.) So, thank you so incredibly much for everything.” —M.M., Class of 2011
“I’ve written many college scholarship essays, and for all of them, I used your techniques of free writes, drafts, and then all the ways to cut down my writing. It all really helped a lot and it made the endless essay process a little easier. Good for testimonials but I’m not sure this is so important to the parent at the beginning of the app process.” —Class of 2012
“I wanted to send you an update since I’m currently batting 1.000 and I couldn’t have done it without all your help. Thank you so, so much! Sending love and thanks your way.” —E.G., Class of 2014
“I’m so impressed with how you do your work! You are amazing! ” —Grateful Mom
“[My daughter] was accepted everywhere except Columbia (where she was waited listed). It is now between UCLA and Cal. Thanks for all your work with [her]. She thinks you are awesome. I know you are !”—L. B. (Castro Valley, CA)
“I will be spending my next four years at MIT! I’m super stoked. Thank you so much for all of your help. I felt that my application essays were really well polished and that my own writing got a lot better, too!” —C. (Class of 2012, San Francisco)
“I am ECSTATIC about [my acceptances]! Once again, thank you so much for all of your help and support. I am still almost in shock.”—A.B.
“Well worth all the effort on the essays and thank you again for all of your help, Lesley. I have recommended you to others who have kids my daughter’s age. ” —Marin Mom
“T. is very excited about Colorado College and happy to have the process done. I echo his sentiment that you made the whole process much easier on our family.” —Mother of Class of 2011, Newton, Mass
“I am extraordinarily ecstatic to let you know, as evidenced by my more advanced than normal vocabulary, that I have…
…BEEN ACCEPTED TO USC AND UC BERKELEY!!!!” —E. (Class of 2011)
“Thank you so much for everything you have done for me on this journey into the college world. Without your help, I doubt I would have been as successful as I have been in my applications. Thanks again, many times! With great joy.” —B. (Class of 2012)
“Just want to express my sincere gratitude, Lesley. As [my daughter] said, she could not have done this without your help. We will highly recommend your service to our friends.” —Mother of Class of 2011 Student
“I just wanted to report that my husband and I read [our son’s] piece and we each laughed out loud. I think you are a very gifted teacher/mentor. Thank you so much for the work you are doing with him!” —Class of 2013 Mom
“Thanks again! C. told me tonight that your comments are really helpful—and he likes it a lot that you’re working with him to find what’s already inside him rather than telling him what to write. —Berkeley Mom (Class of 2009)
“I’m attending Georgetown and just moved to DC last weekend. I’m really excited to be here and can’t thank you enough for your help with my personal essay. I re-read it the other day and was really proud of how it turned out. I was accepted to both Georgetown and NYU—so I was very happy!” —Bay Area Graduate Student, 2012
“I was accepted! Thanks for all your help. My essay was great. I will contact you again if I go for my PhD.” —T. T.
“Many, many thanks. Your help has been just invaluable, Lesley.” —Mom of Senior at Berkeley High
“Dear Lesley,
Thanks so much for helping A. to write better. He will surely continue to benefit from your help…” —H. C. (Gujarat, India)
“Thanks again! You have been an amazing asset to A’s college application process.” —L. K. (Spokane, WA)
“I’ve received two letters so far from Northeastern and Fordham University and they’ve both been acceptances! It feels so good to have the hard work pay off and can’t thank you enough for your help.” —D. B. (Northern California)
“…I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for traveling with A. on this journey! Our other son is a 10th grader and we hope to get your guidance when it’s his time…” —O. A. (Father of class of 2013 Student)
“Irene’s essays are amazing! Thank you so much for working with her. We are grateful that you had the time to spend with her. Thank you very much for your professionalism, candid approach, and easy to work with style. I recommend you to all my friends!” —Mom of Study Abroad Applicant
“Dear Ms. Quinn,
I want to thank you for being an excellent college essay coach these past several months. I learnt a lot about the writing process and can confidently say that my writing has improved considerably… With appreciation.” —S., East Bay Area
“Last week I was accepted to the USF Graduate Program for a Masters. The Dean of Admissions sent me an e-mail of acceptance and said she was particularly impressed with my personal statement. Thank you so much for all your help…your kind words, encouragement, and attention to detail.” —S. L.
“Lesley has the rare gift of a talented editor: she makes me sound more like myself—the self I’d meant to put on paper, and was trying to put on paper. She’s brilliant with both the big picture (helping me find the deeper meaning of the story) and the details (cleaning up my prose—her line-editing is excellent). For the past several years, Lesley has working on everything I’ve written, and I’m so grateful for that.”
—Wendy Lichtman, author of the Do the Math series, and essayist for the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Good Housekeeping, and many others.
“For three years I was the lucky recipient of Lesley’s elegant editorial eye. In exploring the depths of a story, Lesley listens with her heart and digs with a gentle but determined approach in search of your gold. In addition to using her excellent language skills, she employs a rare combination of intuition and intellect that results in a better piece of writing. What more can you ask of an editor?” —Aleta George, whose stories have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, California Wild, Passionfruit, Poetry Flash, Travelers’ Tales American Southwest, and the award-winning anthology A Woman’s Passion for Travel.
“Lesley’s insightful comments improved my law school personal statement tremendously. She worked closely with me to develop my ideas and to produce an essay that reflected what I really wanted to say. Her insights always pushed me toward a clearer and more precise use of my own words. In her caring hands, I felt confident that I had produced a truly polished piece.” —Ben B., Attorney
“The college application process was one of the most stressful times of my life. The idea that the next four years…would be affected by two 500-word essays was especially frightening, and the fear made them particularly hard for me to write (creativity and stress are not, for me, complementary). While I did manage to cough out essays that accurately depicted both my proudest accomplishments and the most formative events in my life, I knew the writing was forced and dry. Lesley worked with me to infuse my essays with style, creativity and wit, and coached me through the process of converting them into compelling and well-written short stories. Lesley’s help made a significant difference in both the process and the final product. I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to add that critical extra pizzazz to make essays stand out to college admission boards.” —Tufts Graduate
“College application season was not a merry time at our house. It was time, finally, for my daughter to finish essays she’d started and stopped over the course of several months—but she just wasn’t into it. The essays were forced, she felt fake, and I felt frustrated. When the deadlines were perilously close, we decided to enlist Lesley’s help. Lesley totally got what [my daughter] wanted to convey and worked gently and insightfully, making suggestions that allowed her to develop her story and convey both her experience and her personality without feeling as if she were losing her voice or her control—her essays remained her own in every way. We’ll never understand the mysterious application evaluation process but we feel that our daughter’s essays conveyed to a room full of strangers a lot about who she is.” —A. M., Berkeley, CA
“Lesley did an extraordinary job working with my daughter to develop and polish her college essays. She read [the first draft] with great care, extracting the principal threads and then working skillfully to help her narrow her focus and sharpen her ideas into a powerful piece of writing. My daughter enjoyed the editing and rewriting process, and learned a great deal both about writing and about herself. She emerged from her work with Lesley a stronger and more confident writer. And she got accepted to the colleges on the top of her list!” —H.T., Berkeley, CA
“Working with Lesley on my personal statement for my college applications was incredibly helpful. She offered great insight, helped me refine my writing, and gave the essay focus and direction. The process of editing my essay with Lesley was very enjoyable, and I feel that she is in part responsible for my college acceptances.” —E. T., Berkeley, CA
“Lesley Quinn, Editor w/♥
Lesley is an editor with heart. She has an amazing ability, like a practiced midwife, to find the fluttering heart of your gestating baby. Somehow, she instantly knows what you’re writing about, often before you know it yourself. The first time I worked with Lesley she amazed me by zeroing in on a subtle, underlying theme I hadn’t noticed. With Lesley’s help, I was able to strengthen and deepen my piece by exploring that theme further. Every time I show her a work-in-progress, she helps me figure out what it’s really about, and to revise accordingly. Now none of my work progresses without first passing muster with Lesley Quinn, Editor w/♥.” —Rosemary Graham, author of My-Not-So-Terrible-Time at the Hippie Hotel (Viking); Though Shall Not Dump the Skater Dude, and Other Commandments I have Broken (Viking)
“As a professional author and former syndicated columnist, I’ve worked with numerous editors over the past fifteen years. Recently I’ve had the good fortune to have Lesley Quinn edit my latest book. What a treat!
She’s sensitive, brilliant at teasing out the subtle gaps in content I thought I could get away with. ’ ’I ’d like to know more about how you FELT when you discovered your husband with another woman, ’ ’ she’ll say. Or, ’ ’I think the reader would like just a teensy bit more detail here, when your mother climbed into that dumpster to find second-hand treasures. Intermixed with these gentle prods Lesley encourages, commenting on my every original metaphor and beautiful phrase. ’ ’This is WONDERFUL, ’ ’ she enthuses, keeping my writing heart going another day. She notices both detail and global issues: ’ ’This segment has energy—but what about your overall theme here? ’ ’ After Lesley has been through a chapter, I know it’s been vetted by the most thorough, expert eye I could hope for. She’s truly one of the greats and I feel lucky to have found her.” —Joan Steinhau Lester is the author of four books, including Taking Charge: Every Woman’s Action Guide, and the biography Fire in My Soul: Eleanor Holmes Norton (Simon and Schuster, 2003).
“Lesley is the consummate professional. Her writing skills are extraordinary, probably because she enjoys the process so much. Hers is a cut-to-the-chase style of editing. She sorts through confusion and muddled thinking to produce works of exceptional clarity. Personally, she has an easy way about her and behaves with honesty and integrity in all things. Probably the best I can say is that I would hire Lesley again in a heartbeat. I can recommend her without a single reservation.” —Bill Marr, Founder of the Executive Group
“Lesley is the reader I trust to tell me how other readers will experience my writing. In addition to sharpening me sentences, she lets me know when my message is on target and more importantly, when my words miss my intent. She has provided my work with more than the mechanics of editing, she has helped set the tone.” —Alan North, author of The Urban Adventure Handbook (Ten Speed Press, 1990)
“Having a piece of writing edited by Lesley Quinn reminds me of the feeling I get when I relax into the chair at my hair salon…I know I’m in sure hands and involved in a collaboration to help bring forth the best part of myself.” —Heather Bloch, freelance writer whose work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle The Baltimore Sun, San Francisco Magazine, and Bark, among other publications.
“In my experience as a freelance writer, I have yet to meet anyone as skilled as Lesley in analyzing both detail and the general structure of my writing. Her elegant wording and flawless sentences make her stories easy to read. She understands language and how to make it work for her, resulting in a precise style that isn’t pretentious or rambling. In addition to writing well, Lesley’s gifts include the ability to read or hear a piece for the first time and give a thorough and diplomatic assessment, ranging from word choices to overall structure. Most of all, I admire her skill in pinpointing a story’s true theme and/or direction. She often sees where my story is headed before I do. She explains the reasons behind her remarks, allowing me to focus on the rewrite as a whole, as opposed to a list of unrelated suggestions. I continue to thank the cosmos for dropping me into Lesley’s orbit. Her talent is exceptional.” —Catherine Shephard’s work has been published on Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Denver Post, the Pittsburg News-Gazette, and Skirt! Magazine.
“Lesley Quinn is a superb editor—skilled and creative. Her detailed, thoughtful analysis and specific suggestions for improvement helped me to rewrite my current manuscript with much greater clarity and vividness. Her work is bringing my book to a new level of interest and immediacy. Lesley is professional, pleasant and a pleasure to work with.” —Arlene Blum is the author of Annapurna, A Woman’s Place (Sierra Club Books, 1998)
“What I find magical about Lesley’s observations, corrections, suggestions and comments is that my responses have been: Of course! Why didn’t I see that? It is hard to delete/add/correct another writer’s work and she does this with grace. I ’get ’ in her notes to me that she is a whole person, and I see it clearly, too, in her own superb writing.” —Sara L. Orem, Ph.D., Lotus Coaching, Oakland, CA
“I stand in awe of Lesley Quinn’s ability to give broad suggestions for sweeping changes to a piece of writing, when necessary. Most writers are too close to their own work to be able to stand at a distance and deal with structural issues. That’s when it’s time to call Lesley. In addition, Lesley has a micro-surgeon’s eye for the small details that make a piece sing with individuality. She can, with equal aplomb and kindness, point out the clunkers and praise the successes. And best of all, I always leave Lesley Quinn’s presence feeling better about my writing and myself. She has a rare talent.” —Peggy Vincent author of Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife (Scribner 2002)
“I feel delighted. I know I have given myself an excellent chance. Your input, work, and lovely personality made a big difference for me. Your graciousness is contagious! And a treat. Thank you.” —Andrea B., Oakland, CA
“Your help made a huge difference! This was a very tough year to apply and I believe your coaching gave Sam the boost he needed.” —K. W. Albany, CA
“My son just called to let me know he got accepted to Stanford. We really appreciate everything you did for [him] on his applications. We will definitely come back when our daughter applies to college in a couple of years.” —Pleased Parent, San Francisco Bay Area
“Thanks so much for the help/guidance you gave on [my son’s] essays. I still get emotional reading them because of how well they describe him.” —P. F., Alameda, CA
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“I can highly recommend Lesley’s services. My daughter has a learning disability and she needed to convey that in her personal statement. From start to finish everything was in her own words but in the end there was a big difference in clarity and effective expression of her thoughts. I know colleges are putting emphasis on personal statements and this was an opportunity for them to see beyond Chelsea’s grades and test scores. She has been accepted to several colleges so far, but no matter where she ends up in, I honestly feel she did her best work with help from Lesley. I believe this is such a small investment for something that will affect a person for a lifetime.” —Sonya Hollenbeck, Oakland, CA
“I’d like to thank you so very much for all your effort and help in the [essay writing] process. …I’ve learned a bit about myself and I’ve grown…some things that I didn’t think were possible at the beginning of our work, have come to life…and I think the writing process was a big part of my mental evolution…working with you was wonderful. ” —Henry F., Berkeley, California
“Dear Ms. Quinn,
I found out that I was accepted early decision to University of Pennsylvania today! Thank you so much for your support and continual help with my essays. My Common App essay took months to brainstorm, write, edit, and cut, but you really helped me during the process and I’m very grateful. I really appreciate the time and effort you put in to polish my essay while still preserving my voice, thoughts, and message. Thank you!” —B.H., Albany, CA
“Thank you so much for all your help in formulating [my daughter’s] experience into touching words. It is such a relief! Our daughter can breathe and enjoy some of her teen life now.” —Y.H., California
“Wow!
Amazingly
concise
for
something
so
emotionally
rich.

Or
do
I
feel
this
way
just because
he’s
mine?
” —Proud
Mom
“Thank
 you 
so 
much 
for 
all 
your 
help!
 I 
never 
imagined 
my 
essays 
could 
be 
improved
 so 
much. 
I 
really
 appreciate 
you 
honoring 
my 
voice 
and 
timeline. 
It 
was 
a
 wonderful 
experience.
” —S.,
California
“…thank 
you
 for 
your 
excellent 
work 
with 
G. 
really 
enjoyed 
working 
with 
you 
and 
we 
were 
all
 very 
pleased 
with 
the 
outcome.
We’re
 quite
 confident 
she
 will 
get 
into 
the 
program 
but, 
beyond
 that, 
I 
think 
you 
helped 
her 
gain 
some 
insight 
into 
the 
writing 
process,
which
 hopefully 
will 
help 
her 
throughout 
the 
year. 
We 
will 
most 
likely 
circle 
back 
to 
you 
next 
year 
for 
help 
with 
her 
college 
essays.
” —Ivan
R.,
Oakland,
CA
“Thank
 you 
for 
bringing 
the 
stress 
down
 to 
zero 
and 
giving 
me 
your 
expertise 
and 

wonderful 
editing.
” —Matia
Simovich,
London,
England
“I would like to thank you very much for helping me through this stressful process. It has been great working with you!”
— Paul S., Oakland, California
“I personally appreciate your responsiveness and quick turnaround time. It’s a huge help to M. (and me) as we get through this process. Thanks.” —Patty D., California
“I got accepted to Tufts, Brandeis, U. Mich., UC Berkeley, UCSC, UCSD, Tulane, and NYU, waitlisted at Northwestern and Barnard. Your essay edits definitely had a major role in my acceptances. Thanks again!” —L.L., Berkeley, California