What Past Students Have Said
"Before finding Denise I already had a college counselor, but he had so many students it felt like more than he could handle. After not getting into my Early Action school, I knew I needed to find another essay consultant. Denise takes on fewer students so she could really focus on helping me specifically. However the biggest difference was their editing style. He would only make a quick edit overnight, but I would still have so many questions. Denise went out of her way to provide live 1:1 sessions and I also really appreciated that she doesn’t just go in and rewrite parts of the essay. Instead, she takes the time to work together live, which helped me see what I needed to improve on. Denise is able to really teach students and help them make their application the best it could be. I never thought I could have gotten into Stanford, and it would not have been possible without Denise’s help."
— JaMes C, Stanford
"You really hit the nail on the head with regards to my apprehensions about my personal statement. I really appreciate your help because you're probably the best writer i know and you've read many of these essays by people much more accomplished than me."
— Nicole B, UCI Medical School
"At this point in time, it’s pretty competitive to get into college, and as much of a good student you are, I feel like it’s super important to get a second opinion that's already had the college experience and has a lot of knowledge about applying to colleges. It’s also just good to get a fresh pair of eyes who’s not a family member or peer to read your essays because they might just tell you what you want to hear and not give you constructive feedback.
My dad found my previous counselor on Google, so it wasn’t through word of mouth, which is a lot safer in my opinion. Everything including how often I wanted to meet was just based on my own planning and it was really generic advice you can get from anyone (i.e. take this or that class). I was pretty much on my own. Thankfully, my mom’s friend recommended Cardinal College Consulting to us because she personally knew the founder. The application process was kind of confusing before I met Steve. Unlike other counselors, Steve put in that time to work with me instead of just doing the bare minimum to get a job done. He made it very personalized and during our first meeting he took the time to get to know me first then catered towards my strengths when building my plans and eventually brainstorming what to write about."
— Leela M, University of Washington
"I knew having really strong essays could give me the upper hand, since my grades were not the strongest. Denise really helped me with my essays because she’s straight to the point about what to fix, what doesn’t need to be changed and also provide suggestions on how to reword things. I was confident in the essays I submitted because I remember texting her “can you read this one more time? one more time, one more time.” so with the amount of edits that we'd gone through, I felt confident that this was my final work and that there was nothing more I could have done."
— Abbie S, USC
"Denise really took the time to understand how I wanted to express myself and offered feedback that prompted questions about what kind of impression I wanted to leave with college admission officers. She isn't the type to rewrite the essay herself, which is what some of my teachers tried to do: just rewording the sentences and fixing some grammar and sending it back to me. I was able to stay motivated and write essays I am proud of, thanks to her attention to detail, encouraging attitude, and expertise."
— Emma N, UCSD
"Denise helped me with my application essays for MBA programs and she was instrumental in my success. Thanks to her, I got in to all 4 top 10 MBA programs that I applied to and even got scholarships! I truly couldn’t have done it without her. Her unwavering support and encouragement allowed me to reflect internally and write more clearly and authentically. She provided such detailed and thoughtful feedback to every one of my essays in an open, transparent and honest way that pushed the level of my essays. In the stressful applications period, I loved having Denise’s guidance and flexible yet constructive approach that ultimately let to the best case scenario and my dream program of Berkeley MBA. I unequivocally recommend her to everyone that needs help with essays and personal statements."
