“Shelley helped Tom figure out what was worth writing about from his own perspective and how to put it all on paper. Tom called Shelley a ‘genius teacher’ on more than one occasion and commented that without Shelley’s help, he could not have written the kind of compositions needed to get into Columbia University.”

— Barbara Corcoran

“When the time came to start writing my college essays, I had no idea what to write and how to organize my thoughts. Shelley saved the day. She took the time to help me organize my thoughts and turn them into a well-crafted essay. What was so great about working with Shelley was that she was so patient with the drafting and editing process, and always made sure that my essays were my own, had texture, and were just the right length. Working with her led me to discover my more creative and funny side. I believe her determination to help make my essays ‘undeniable’ played a major role in getting me into Harvard!”

— Alex C.

“When a friend recommended Shelley as a writing tutor, I was at first skeptical. I’d had a disappointing experience with a different tutor, was reluctant to involve another person in my college applications, and feared this might be a waste of time and money. But I was wrong. When I first met Shelley, she had me write out several topics to choose from and then got me started on a draft essay. At our second meeting, we took what we could use from that essay and rewrote it to fit one of the assigned topics for my applications. What we accomplished was incredible. We wrote and edited essays together in real time, and analyzed one sentence after the other. Shelley’s extraordinary ability to improve single sentences, while paying attention to the reading flow and keeping the whole picture in mind, made our work together very fast. Often we wrote a whole essay in only one session. After reviewing and rereading the text several times, we merged our ideas and sharpened each essay until it was finished. I got into my first choice, Columbia—and on top of that received a scholarship! Besides teaching me a great deal about writing, Shelley saved me a lot of time and was worth every penny. I hope one day I can work with her again.”

— Philippe Wyder

“Shelley has the ability to coax her students into discovering their passion in life or school and help them describe it concisely and powerfully. After bouncing many ideas back and forth, Shelley discovered our daughter’s love of photography and guided her towards a concise, articulate, well-thought-out essay. The result was a creative play between the written word and poignant photographs. They say the “proof is in the pudding,” and we give Shelley great credit for our daughter going 5 for 5 on her college acceptances.”

— Christy

“Shelley Stenhouse was an incredible asset to our daughter. The essay should never be underestimated as one of the key factors that colleges look at. It’s the one place where personality shines and not the scores. Shelley was able to find the voice in our daughter and excite her to use it, explore it, and not be afraid to take the right risks. It took time and energy on both Shelley’s and my daughter’s part. An experience they both enjoyed. The end result was that our daughter got her first choice: early admission to Johns Hopkins University. That was worth all the effort. I can never thank Shelley enough.”

— Jacqueline Leak

“Our son, Harry, never thought he could write. Shelley’s approach not only proved he could write, but that he could flourish. He came away with a renewed confidence. Shelley didn’t let Harry shy away from his feelings. She encouraged him to be honest, to find his own voice, and he did. He was accepted to some great colleges in part due to her teaching and coaching gifts. She is genuine and clearly loves helping kids. Our son is a winner, and so is Shelley.”

— Mr. and Mrs. S

“I liked Shelley the moment she came into our house. After his first session, our son, Marley, respected Shelley and wanted to work with her again. She helped him organize his thoughts and sentences; she gave him the confidence to trust his instincts and his words. Through her passion, she showed him the fun and joy of writing. Shelley helped him with the work of the moment, but I believe also with all his future work.”

— Maryse Alberti

Text from parent when her daughter was accepted ED to Harvard:

“I honestly don’t know how to properly thank you for your help in this process. You have made a most important connection with my daughter that will affect her future and her writing in transformative ways for her lifetime, which is a gift that ironically has no words to properly express gratitude for. And you have touched her personally — which is a gift of unbounded proportions from a mom’s heart to another mom’s heart. She deserved and needed that bolstering and connection. Thank you, Shelley. I am so grateful to have you in our lives. I have never seen Charlotte so happy. Please know what a HUGE piece of that is all due to you.”

— Michelle J. 

“Working with Ms. Stenhouse was an enjoyable experience. She is able to work with her students efficiently and effectively. When I am stuck, she brainstorms with me and we always figure out the ideal sentence for my essay. When I have written too much, she can prune the piece into its most succinct form and lose none of its essence. My common app essay was the most ambitious writing project I’d completed so far—weaving three stories into 650 words. At first I thought it was impossible, but Ms. Stenhouse made it happen—literally, just Ms. Stenhouse. She helped phrase some of my craziest ideas and caught my spurts of actually creative metaphors. The piece came out beautifully. Also, using her perspective on Duke University, she assisted me in writing a convincing and decisive letter to its admissions office; I was accepted off their impossible waitlist shortly thereafter. With Ms. Stenhouse, I feel capable. There wasn’t any feeling of drudgery but the pleasure of creating my own authentic writing.”

— Chunge Wang

“Shelley was a bigger help to my son than I possibly could have imagined. He is a solid English student and critical writer, but the freeform of the common app essay was a challenge, especially knowing how important it is. He wasn’t certain what subject to write about, but with Shelley he was able to decide on a topic almost immediately. She helped turn his ideas into a compelling essay about what it is like to write computer code and the difference discovering this passion has made in his life—not a topic he could have tackled successfully on his own. She taught him to clearly and elegantly put into words exactly what he wanted to say, and this skill carried throughout his work on the many (many) supplemental essays required by each college. This experience will benefit any personal writing assignments he has in college…and he got into his first choice (Brown)!

My daughter Gillian is a gifted writer, so I thought the essay process might be straightforward for her. However, I reached out to Shelley anyway, in part due to her prodigious talent and because my daughter had 9 applications. Shelley tapped into Gillian’s interests beautifully, and helped re-craft existing drafts to find creative answers for the supplemental apps. She also brought out new topic options that may never have come to light, then helped to turn them into gems. The result was a series of short and long answers that reflected Gillian as a person and as a writer, capturing her personality, thoughts, and life. Gillian trusted and liked Shelley, and her response if I suggested any final edits was ‘Shelley said it is perfect’ (so no dice on edits). And all turned out well, with several acceptances to choose from and Columbia as the final winner!”

— Christina Black

“Shelley was the liberator of my college application process—she helped to free me of all my anxieties of the daunting supplements and personal essay so that I could focus on simply showing schools who I was. Her warm and welcoming energy made it easy to not only reorganize and rework my writing but to be open and honest with her. Through this trust she helped establish right off the bat, we were able to create writing that I am still proud of to this day—writing that has importance that transcends the college process for me. Her zeal and love of words is contagious. I would strongly recommend her to anyone who is in need of assistance with their college application. In fact, I would love to work with her again.”

— Jordan Eliot

“Working with Shelley transformed my college application process. Previously, I had dreaded writing a personal statement, but, after talking through a few ideas with Shelley, I began to see the personal statement as a way to show admissions officers a unique aspect of my personality. Shelley made the writing process enjoyable! For the first time, I didn’t dread creative writing. Shelley helped me follow every idea I had. The end result was an essay that tied in so many different stories to create a succinct picture of who I am. I decided to go to Pomona! The thing that really tipped the scale for me was an email I received from a member of the admissions committee about how much he loved my essay on Serial. He said that the intellectual curiosity expressed in it was exactly what he hoped every student at Pomona has. I loved working with Shelley. I would recommend her to everyone.”

— Phoebe

“Shelley improved my son’s college essay by finding and bringing out the emotions hidden behind the structure and form of the essay. She coaxed out ideas that he couldn’t articulate and allowed him to truly write what he wanted to. Shelley steered him towards a very personal essay with a free flowing form and a great sense of humor. Thank you Shelley, for bringing out the best in him.

In the beginning of the college essay process my daughter was at a loss as to what to write about; she had several ideas, but felt none had enough substance to write a memorable essay. Shelley helped her draw out potential topics that were more complex and interesting than writing about sports or a holiday. Once the topic was chosen, Shelley encouraged a more stylistic way of writing that gave the essay a definite flair. The final result was an essay my daughter was proud of, and that helped her get into Swarthmore early decision.”

— Sylvia

“The next four years of my life will be spent at California Institute of Technology, a place I couldn’t have dreamed of in the fall of my senior year. I had good grades and high SAT scores, but as a math and science guy I only knew the numbers; that isn’t enough for the crème de la crème of colleges. I had to stand out to get admitted to a college of Caltech’s caliber, and that is where Shelley came in and worked her magic. She transformed and embedded my ideas and experiences into a coherent and exciting essay, a story about how slow dancing with a girl revealed a solution to major problems around the world (like global warming and bullying). Without Shelley’s help I doubt I would have been able to get into Caltech.”

— Christopher Haack

“My son tried for hours to write his college essays alone. He would sit and stare into space hoping the words would come. He knew what he wanted to write about, but felt the heavy burden of the importance of the essays so much so that he was paralyzed. In walked Shelley. The reduction of stress for my son and our family was palpable. He still credits Shelley for his love of writing. She unlocked something in him that he was struggling with and professors have universally been impressed. One professor is encouraging him to extend his creative writing paper into a short novel and his neurology professor said that no matter what he pursues, it must include writing. Needless to say, we highly recommend Shelley.”

— Deb S.