College Consultant Testimonials | Simply College Prep

Parent, UCLA

I can't thank you enough for your expert guidance every step of the way through the college application and decision-making adventure. I was shocked to find out how complicated the process had become since I did it many years ago. You guided us through each step and helped us maintain a peaceful household throughout! As a result, the outcome was far beyond our expectations - and well worth the investment. My daughter and I could not be more pleased about her future at UCLA.

Student, Babson

I'm going to Babson! I loved the school, its partnership with Wellesley, and the Boston area in general. I plan to play soccer there. The environment is perfect for me - DIII, great sports facilities, and academics. I'm really happy with my decision and thank you so much for helping me get to the place where I am today!

Parents, UC Irvine

Our son has achieved all the high school goals he set for himself and with your help, he is presenting himself as best as possible on his applications and essays, and the rest is out of our hands. We were so grateful to have your expertise and guidance and thought we could navigate this on our own. But, we now realize the amount of research and time it would have taken just to get up to speed, not to mention the stress it would have caused in our family and relationships. You have had our son on a productive schedule to meet his deadlines, and to have his applications submitted prior to the start of basketball season is an added bonus! He is much further in the process compared to his friends who are not working with you, and he is thankful to have you (as are we).

Parents, UCLA

Ellen guided us through the application process smoothly and professionally. She encouraged our son to put his full effort into completing his application while providing emotional support for the entire family. Our son got accepted to his dream school thanks to Ellen’s amazing work.

Parents, Kenyon College

Hiring Ellen was one of the best investments we’ve made in our daughter’s education. With Ellen, our daughter had a personal counselor who was thorough, knowledgeable, experienced and up to date on every aspect of the college application process. We knew what had to be completed from beginning to end. Ellen’s resources are streamlined, up-to-date, and easy to access. She presented us, and our daughter, with a task timeline, and helped her stay on task to meet all the deadlines. In the end, our daughter found, and was accepted to the college she selected as her top choice. In this highly competitive college application environment, we highly recommend Ellen’s consulting services.

Parents, UC Berkeley

We want to thank you for the guidance you gave our daughter over the last few years and her college search. Our daughter connected with you perfectly, she really enjoyed working with you and valued your input. You made the college search experience so much more enjoyable than it would’ve been and we are so glad we found you and you were able to be our daughter’s college counselor! We will keep you posted as she starts this fall at UC Berkeley. We wish you more successful and happy students. Thank you for what you do.

Student, University of Pennsylvania

Ellen helped me present my story in a way that made me appealing to the admissions committee. For the supplement essays, she got me to connect my past experiences to those I was looking forward to at Penn and she showed me how to present me on paper. She proofread my essays, helped to keep them streamlined, and made sure they flowed. Throughout my sessions with her, she truly showed her understanding of the application process; she was constantly making sure everything looked great from an admission's point of view. That was the best aspect of her help: she knew how to make my story speak to the admission committee. I can't thank her enough for helping me gain admittance to Penn; her role was nothing short of essential.

Parents, University of Indiana-Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music

Big thanks to Ellen Gaddie and Simply College Prep! My daughter was accepted to all six universities that she applied to and ended up choosing a school that she would not have even known about without the help of Simply College Prep. This school was a home run for our daughter and she is off to start her career thanks to the gentle hands that helped her along the way. It gave me, as a parent, someone else to lean on and say, "Why don't you ask Ellen?" when I found myself in a difficult spot. Ellen was her friend through the whole process and patiently guided my daughter through the first application that was due Oct. 15! She was my friend too and helped explain things I didn't understand and she didn't even get annoyed at my silly questions. It's really helpful to have someone to explain the maze of applications and requirements, especially when the school's guidance counselors are so overworked. Thanks, Ellen, for making dreams come true! You are a lifesaver and a nice person too! You've been there and understand the process and the emotions we all go through, together.

Parents, CalPoly San Luis Obispo

Thank you for your guidance and patience throughout the daunting college search and application process. When we first met during our daughter’s freshman year, we really had no idea how much we did not know about the process. Having you a phone call away to answer questions, dispel myths, and diffuse more than a few stressful moments was invaluable!

Student, Vanderbilt

I just wanted to thank you for everything! I am so grateful for your help and will never forget how crucial you were to me getting into my dream school! I couldn’t have done it without you! I can’t wait for August when I get to start this new chapter in my life.

Student, Pepperdine

Thank you so much for all of your help on my applications and ultimately guiding me to find the right school. That was a crazy time in my life, but looking back, you provided me with stability and support that I will always value. I leave in three weeks, and I am beyond excited (and a little bit nervous!)

Parent, TCU

Caring matters. And high school kids especially need to believe and experience that their interests are cared for during the complex and stressful college search process. In our view, caring is what distinguishes Ellen. She leads her students to properly prepare themselves, set lofty, yet realistic goals, and to be true to themselves in exploring the best possible college fit. Ellen has a system. And this system works for parents and students both.

Student, UC Davis

I have been accepted into all the schools I applied for with academic scholarship offers. I can't thank you enough for all of the assistance; I'm so grateful!”

Student, Washington University

Thank you for helping me with all my applications and especially the essay writing. You really helped me put my personality into my writing, which was challenging. I learned that [college] essay writing is not like high school English composition writing and I appreciate that you helped me see the edits and changes that I needed to make me sound like me on paper.

Parents, UCSB

We have used Simply College Prep for both of our kids, and we highly recommend Ellen. The entire process of researching schools, uncovering what makes a personal fit and guiding them in the application process has been a total joy. Without her assistance, neither of our kids would be where they are today (both happy and thriving in their respective majors). What I find most valuable is that Ellen has the inside scoop on college admissions which is nothing like the process my spouse and I went through. We could not have provided our kids with the kind of support that Ellen has since the process is so different now. Additionally, Ellen guided our kids through the process, meeting all the deadlines, and helping them find their voice in their essays. We got to sit back and enjoy our children without nagging them about deadlines.

Grandparent, University of Oregon

Great Counselor. She stayed on top of my Grandson so we would accomplish all that he needed to. I couldn't have done this whole process without her. She is the best.

Parents, Seattle University

We just came back from visiting our son who began his freshman year at Seattle University this fall (2014) and I can sum it up with a few words: “He Is So Happy!” Words cannot express how important you were in the entire process. You were able to tap into his inner being and assist him in a very gentle way, to really think about what it was he was looking for in a college and what would be a good fit for him. He learned a lot about himself during this process that was very helpful when he was working on his essays. From the parent perspective you were so very calming with your guidance that we were able to navigate through the process without feeling overwhelmed. We highly recommend the services of Simply College Prep.

Parent, Northern Arizona University

I cannot begin to thank you for your support throughout the college process with our son. You took the stressful, overwhelming feelings away and with your knowledge and guidance we had confidence in our direction the whole time. We appreciate the effort you took to get to know our son, helping him along the way so that he was able to reach his college acceptance goals.

We are so excited that his goals were exceeded, and choices get to be made!!

Parent, Colorado State University

Thank you for working with our daughter. She really feels comfortable with you, and I love that her stress level is decreased after a meeting with you! She is feeling very confident about her college process and was just telling me how she is way ahead of the game compared to several of her friends. This is an exciting time for all of us watching her reach for her college dreams.

Student, UC San Diego

I’m so excited to be attending UCSD! Thank you for all your help and time.

Parents, UC Davis

You have been great to work with through the college process. It’s a very exciting time for all of us. We can’t believe our daughter’s been accepted to her stretch school. Your essay feedback and consultation was invaluable. Your combined knowledge, tracking and process management was invaluable. I would recommend Simply Prep to anyone looking for guidance and advice while navigating the college process.”

Student, Seattle University

Thank you for all the work you have done helping me get into college. Your guidance gave me the tools I needed to complete the process. I especially appreciated all you help in writing the essays. I feel I have become a better writer thanks to you. The encouragement that you provided assisted me getting into Seattle University. I can’t thank you enough.

Parent, CalPoly SLO

Thank you so much Ellen! I couldn't be more proud of my daughter!! She has worked so hard and been so present and aware of everything she needed to tackle along this college application path. You have literally become a "household name" around here... At LEAST once a day, either my husband, myself, or our daughter says, "Thank God for Ellen", "How do people do this without Ellen"? "Mom, don't you think we would've killed each other by now if we didn't have Ellen"?

Parents, UCLA

My husband, son, and I now have a clue of the deep dark secrets of applying to college, and you made the journey entirely conceivable. We would have gone absolutely crazy without your planning, guidance, help, and working with (or prodding) our son. Thank you so much for making