“Emily was a fantastic resource for my twin sons. From our first meeting, we knew she’d be a great fit — she was patient, smart, thoughtful, objective, encouraging, honest and, above all, was invested in the kids finding the right school for THEM. She was their biggest confidant and their biggest cheerleader and offered invaluable insight and perspective. We appreciated that she wasn’t afraid to give solid, honest advice. And, when one kid was struggling a bit to find his voice, she made it a point to help us help him get to the other side. Above all, we’re so happy the boys are happy with how things turned out. In what’s typically a stressful time, Emily was just the partner both the boys and we needed to get through the process on time and without any last-minute stress. Thank you, Emily!”

“Emily’s college essay editing help was immeasurable. It was as if an angel had come into our lives. She managed to gain the confidence of our son within a very short period. Hence, he openly shared his intense life story with Emily and the end result was impressive and authentic. We could hear our son’s voice. Emily made the process manageable and even inviting. I would highly recommend Emily and I can foresee soliciting her help in the future.”

“How do you pack an entire personality with experiences, hopes and dreams that are unique to you but clearly “so like hundreds of other qualified applicants” into 500 words that will stand out yet be authentically you… without losing your mind? Emily knows!! We are so incredibly thankful that our daughter was able to work with and learn from Emily, not just in the application process but also in the process of knowing herself and expressing what is important to her. The admissions experience is challenging, and Emily is truly an expert guide. From start to finish, we watched Emily take the time to listen and learn about our daughter and what she wanted to present and then guide the editing process to find the structure and language that would show H’s personality, curiosity and interest. As early edits became final product, you could see how Emily’s experience as a college admissions officer helped with guidance on language and phrasing that would grab attention and showcase uniqueness. Emily also helped make sure the entire process stayed on track, setting assignments and deadlines to keep the momentum and progress. We were blown away by the final products! Emily helped our daughter shine a spotlight on those things that made her unique, quirky, and authentically herself. When H hit “Submit,” we knew that no matter the outcome, it was not going to be because they couldn’t picture who she was. We could not recommend Emily enough! She is a true delight … and a positive role model. Thank you!!”

“Emily is a sanity saver. We all know how much our teens simply don’t want to take advice from their parents. Emily took off our plate what was, for us, one of the more challenging aspects of the college admissions process— essay writing. Our son really enjoyed working with Emily: she provided the structure and feedback he needed to keep moving forward, and he always seemed newly energized after their sessions. I knew that he was doing the writing and being guided by someone who gave great advice but didn’t allow her voice to become his. Will definitely be reaching back out to her in a few years for son #2. ”

“We can’t express how grateful we are to have been introduced to Emily. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and gave our daughter the confidence of self-expression to write her college essays. Emily guided the entire college essay process with patience and thoughtfulness. My daughter loved working with her and felt energized after their working sessions. We couldn’t be more pleased with the end result- acceptance to her first choice, early decision school. All the same is true for Emily’s work with our second daughter as well.”

“I don’t think that it is possible to overstate the positive influence Emily has had in helping our son find his voice in his college essays. Our son is a strong student and has always been a good writer but digging deep to write about himself in multiple formats with a variety of word counts was really challenging for him. Emily did an absolutely amazing job of gently - but very accurately - pressing our son to push himself to do his best work. She has a way of being both very straight with her feedback - it’s always clear if she feels that an essay is up to par or not and exactly what additional work needs to be done - yet so positive that my son always responded extremely well. We could see over the weeks of writing that he came to trust Emily and that her warm, engaging attitude helped him stay the course and complete multiple applications while still keeping up with his challenging classes and playing a sport. When our son had some unexpected additional essays to write for scholarships and award applications with very quick turn around times, Emily was wonderful and provided amazingly timely feedback. I truly cannot recommend Emily enough; she is incredibly knowledgeable about the process, engaging in her attitude and an amazing writer and editor. She has been an absolute pleasure to work with and we are so grateful to have had her in our son’s corner during this process.”

“The college essay-writing process for our son (and our family!) could not have gone more smoothly thanks to Emily’s wonderful work. From the very beginning, Emily’s joyful and positive demeanor put my son completely at ease. He felt that Emily genuinely understood him and the process, and he trusted her. While no teenager is happy about writing 20+ essays including a dozen titled “why I want to go to [blank] University,” our son became genuinely enthusiastic about the process of self-discovery and telling his story through writing. It was crystal clear that Emily truly saw the light in him and, with her help, it shone through a creative and lyrical voice in his essays. Emily does a good job of breaking the process up into manageable steps and our son felt calm and in control throughout; he would come home energized and confident after each of his sessions with her. Emily’s experience as a college admissions officer who has read thousands of essays is also quite apparent as she helped our son avoid many of the clichés and trite sentiments that are all too common in applications. We only read his essays when he was ready to submit his applications and were AWED by how his writing beautifully and faithfully captured his uniqueness. Our son recognized that he found a loyal supporter and true friend in Emily. Our entire family is deeply grateful and would gladly share our personal experience upon request.”

“I applied to college during the coronavirus pandemic and was only able to meet with Emily virtually, but we were able to use Google Drive comments, Zoom calls, and texts to communicate as effectively as we would have in person. She helped me to come up with essay topics and clean up the language in my essays, all while ensuring that I was satisfied that my own voice was coming through. She worked patiently throughout the process and always was happy to look at and edit my work in advance of our meetings. Above all, she was a pleasure to work with and always came to our meetings with a positive attitude, making me feel relaxed during the stressful college process. I’ve also contacted her for help with scholarship and award applications and would recommend Emily to anyone looking for essay help!”

“Emily truly made the entire college application process so much more enjoyable and rewarding. Not only did she help me enhance my essays, but she was also one of my greatest support systems. After every session, I felt uplifted and confident with the significant progress we had made. She helped me narrate a theme throughout my entire application that conveyed my passion, activism, and why I felt the colleges on my list fit me. She was a fabulous teacher, mentor, and friend, and I highly recommend her to anyone going through the college admissions process. ”

“Emily not only helped me so much with writing but is so nice and fun to work with! She truly made the effort to get to know me and helped me gain confidence in my writing skills. I could never imagine being confident in an essay, but she allowed me to be proud of every college essay I wrote! I highly recommend working with Emily for essay advice and help in the admissions process. She truly gave a personal, above-and-beyond experience and made my senior fall so much better. When I got into Northwestern after applying Early Decision, Emily was one of the first people I wanted to tell!”

“As a student in Texas, I worked with Emily primarily through Google Drive comments/edits, texts, and phone calls. Before she began editing my essays, Emily took the time to call and talk to me about the types of colleges/programs I was applying to, some of my hobbies and talents, and everything in between. She really got to know me and this shone in the way she looked over and reviewed my essays. I sincerely appreciated how, after a short 20 to 30 minutes, my essays were clearer, cleaner, and easier to read, but also still full of my tone and voice. Emily was very respectful and made sure to leave comments instead of directly changing anything, and we even talked on the phone about certain essays or paragraphs that demanded discussion or a complete overhaul. Additionally, not only did Emily help my essays shine, she was someone I could talk to when I was feeling stressed or overwhelmed about the college process or upcoming decisions. In essence, Emily was patient, kind, flexible, and an absolute pleasure to work with, and I would recommend her without reservation! ”

“Coming into the college application process, I was intimidated and a little bit scared. I wanted my essays to not only show intelligence and curiosity, but also to truly communicate who I am. Emily helped me to do that. I think something I struggled with was having all of this passion for learning, or passion for certain schools, that wasn’t fully translated onto the page. And she helped me to bring that out, to zero in on the most important things to me, not the things I thought others wanted to hear. She was always conscious of keeping my voice in each piece, helping me to strengthen my ideas rather than changing them entirely. I am so grateful to have worked with her.”

“Before meeting with Emily, I was struggling to find the right tone in my essays. Emily helped me find my voice by asking probative questions and worked with me patiently until I was satisfied with every single word. I left each session having accomplished much more than I thought possible. Not only is Emily very focused and dedicated to the students she works with, but she is also so much fun to work with that I looked forward to every meeting. ”

“Emily has been wonderful to work with! She not only polished my writing style but also ensured that my message was clear and concise. Her suggestions made me think deeper about the topic that I was writing about and therefore my final draft was a true reflection of my passions. She is a strong editor with years of experience in college counseling and I would not trust anyone else for suggestions during this stressful time. Her response time is super quick which allowed me to continuously improve on my essay without interruptions. She is a true expert and I highly recommend her!”

“I was introduced to Emily through a mutual connection and she provided me with invaluable feedback towards completing my essays. She helped me clearly defined my goal and the reason for pursuing an MBA and also reviewed them several times. The end product was very impressive and her insight helped me differentiate myself.”

“A friend referred me to Emily as I bemoaned my outdated resume. As an active member of the community, a stay-at-home mom, and a business partner on our family farm, I was looking to reach beyond my comfort level to work towards a larger goal. Emily helped me put my varied but applicable background into a cohesive and compelling resume and cover letter that spoke to the position I was applying for. Her turn around time was impressive - often just minutes - and our FaceTime chats were a blast. She helped move me into the 21st century by recommending a switch from my beloved .hotmail account to .gmail. Her savvy wordsmithing and suggestions not only helped my resume, but also helped me recognize the contributions I’ve made to my community, even as I stayed at home with my kids. Thank you, Emily! I know this won’t be the last time our paths cross.”

“Emily Nichols Grossi was an invaluable editor on my most recent book, Deep South Dispatch: Memoir of a Civil Rights Journalist. She has a sharp eye and a quick mind for both the details and the larger message. One of her greatest assets is her passion for the project. I highly recommend her.”

“Recently Emily Nichols Grossi helped me update my 13-year-old, three-page resume. Emily not only edited it to one page but also pulled together a list of my skills that could be used in a cover letter. I was delighted with the result!
It is a difficult task to prepare one’s own resume-there is a tendency to want to list every single thing and to elaborate. Emily is extraordinarily skilled at “trimming the fat” and producing a succinct document that clearly illustrates one’s abilities.
I would encourage anyone needing assistance with any kind of written work: resumes, application essays, cover letters, etc. to absolutely work with Emily. I recommend her without reservation.”