“The Common App and Supplemental essays I crafted with Yelena's help helped me achieve my dream of getting into UC Berkeley! When I contacted her last summer, my essay had several bumps. Yelena suggested starting from scratch with a completely different prompt, and while the task seemed daunting to me, I'm thankful that she was with me every step of the way. We had many phone calls and brainstorming sessions, and her advice was incredibly thoughtful, detailed, and personalized for my needs. One thing I loved, in particular, was the Thought Starters activity she gave me to brainstorm which I continue to use today.

During the essay-writing process, I found it impressive how, after I literally dumped my disorganized thoughts onto paper, she was able to connect them into a cohesive and compelling essay. My final products were a lot more polished than I could have ever accomplished on my own. I was forced to think and reflect every step of the way, and I admire how she pushed me to write everything in my own words. Whenever I go back and read my essays, I find myself consistently proud of them, and that's all thanks to Yelena's help.”
-Saumya, accepted to Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, and Purdue Engineering