Students who work with Success Story have been accepted and matriculated at competitive colleges and universities across the United States. I love to hear from my students who have received significant scholarships or admissions to honors programs, and learn that their essays are cited as “memorable.”
2022 – 2023 Good News!
So far Success Story students have heard great news from Agnes Scott, American University, Bard, Bates, Binghamton University, Boston University, Brown University, Bryn Mawr, Davidson College, Duke University, Hollins, Miami University (Ohio), NC State University, Northeastern, Oberlin, Oregon State, Penn State, Sarah Lawrence, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Temple University Japan, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Maryland, University of Oregon Clark Honors College, University of Pittsburgh, University of Puget Sound, University of Rochester, University of San Francisco, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington-Seattle, and Virginia Tech! A number of students have received merit scholarships, acceptances to honors colleges, and acceptances to research programs as well.
2021 Good News!
Success Story students heard great news from American University, Appalachian, Arizona State’s Barrett Honor College, Auburn, Baylor, Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, Davidson, Duke, Elon, Florida State, Furman, George Washington, High Point, Loyola University Chicago, Marquette, Meredith, Oregon State, Pratt, Ringling, Savannah College of Art and Design, St. John’s University (Queens), Tulane, Trinity University, UC Davis, UC San Diego, University of Colorado – Boulder, University of Oregon, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC School of the Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Villanova, Virginia Tech, and University of Wisconsin! A number of students received merit scholarships as well.
Student Testimonials
“Lyn offers rich wisdom and honesty. After working with her on my essays, I gained a greater sense of self and belief in my capabilities. Lyn was an integral part of my admission to college.”
—Henry, DePaul University, Class of 2018
“Nothing but amazing things to say about working with Lyn!! There is a structure for the whole time so as a student I can see my deadlines and the set up for the whole week. Lyn is a creative genius and works with your own story to make it appealing and persuasive for colleges. 1000/10 would totally recommend to any of my friends beginning the essay writing process.”
—Claire, Tulane University, Class of 2025
“I gained an immense sense of confidence in my writing from working with Ms. Lyn. She created a safe environment open to exploring my creativity and she pushed me to create my best work. I couldn’t have gotten through my college essays without her!”
—Claire Simmons, Ringling College, Class of 2025
“Mrs. Hawks’ coaching highlights the individual story and encourages applicants to be authentic in their essays.”
—Rachel, Elon University, Class of 2023
“I have learned more in this month of writing than in all my English classes. I have no idea what I would’ve done without your help. You pushed me to become a better writer and I am so thankful for your help!”
—Shafer, High Point University Education Fellow, Class of 2025
“Mrs. Hawks was an enormous help to both me and my writing skills. I’ve found myself using Gold Coin and Blue Sky strategies in all of my writing, and I know that my college essay wouldn’t been the same without her help. I am extremely grateful for Mrs. Hawks, and I highly recommend her services!”
—Sadie, Trinity University, Class of 2025
“The fun facts about me was a super helpful worksheet to me. I loved how it was referenced many times throughout the sessions as something I could go back to if I ever got stuck. It also helped me to realize things about myself that I had never considered interesting enough before. Thank you!”
—Kaelin, Loyola University of Chicago, Class of 2025
“Thank you so much for helping me with the essays…Something that particularly helped was cutting words and learning how to still convey my ideas in fewer words.”
—Kellan Bucks, Class of 2028
“One goal that was met was getting started on many different styles of essays. I got to work on montage essays, which I was unfamiliar with before. These sessions were much more personal and adapted to me. It was great to learn about so many themes and topics of my life that I had not considered writing an essay about before.”
—Student, Get Started Services
“All the feedback was super helpful! It definitely helped elevate and refine my essays while still staying true to my main ideas. Seeing your edits also helped me be a better judge of how to edit to reduce word counts in my future writing! Thank you so much!”
—Student, Draft Review Services
Parent Testimonials
“Lyn did an amazing job helping my daughter choose the best prompts for essays that draw out her true self. Lyn was so encouraging and she made the process fun. I felt that I knew what was happening at each stage, without actually having to be involved in the process itself. I would highly recommend Success Story for this service. Lyn is organized, approachable, and knows how to inspire and motivate my 17-year-old. I cannot imagine our having done this without her valuable guidance and input.”
—Amy, parent
“Choosing Success Story was just as beneficial for me as it was for my daughter. Lyn’s approach to scheduling the coaching sessions and her consistent communications meant I never had to worry if my student was working on her college applications. My daughter felt confident about her finished essays and her true voice shone through after Lyn’s coaching.”
—Elizabeth, parent
“Lyn is an AMAZING writing coach! I cannot say enough great things about her. Lyn created an organized, structured process that made it easy for my daughter to get started. Lyn set clear, attainable goals and provided resources for brainstorming (the Google drive is amazing!) She has a positive approach to the process which minimized the stress for my daughter. Writing is hard work and Lyn makes it fun! I cannot believe what they accomplished in just two weeks! It flows seamlessly for the student. Lyn was able to help her identify some key themes that felt authentic and true to her. I have already referred three friends to Lyn and I believe she is one of the best investments we’ve made in our daughter’s college application process so far.”
—Pam, parent
“I was blown away by your thoughtful editing comments/notes. You are offering her challenges and being inspiring and encouraging. I see her growing as a writer and analytical reader….and having a mentor/teacher that loves words as much as she does is pretty magical. Thanks for your time, expertise, enthusiasm, and care.”
—Tami, parent
“Your work last summer was invaluable. It helped him focus and get organized. I believe he worked on 6-8 essays with you and leveraging the work he did with you, he ended up writing almost 25 total essays. He used the tools you provided to add “gold coins” to all his writing. Most interestingly, he then applied those same tools to his Senior year English class. I saw some amazing hooks in his writing that I had not seen before. His essays were selected a few times as class examples by the teacher. We cannot thank you enough.”
—Erika, parent
“We were so pleased with the feedback Lyn provided on the drafts my daughter wrote, both in the quantity AND quality. All Lyn’s suggestions were so helpful and really made my daughter think about how to improve her writing. It was apparent that Lyn took the time to get to know my daughter through her submitted resumes as well. My daughter’s schedule is so busy (and she even had some unexpected things pop up) but Lyn was understanding and flexible. Overall fantastic experience!”
—Angie, Draft Review Services
“This was a great experience for our daughter. She came to the process with a well-developed essay and was able to make it even better with Lyn’s guidance. Definitely time and money well spent.”
—Parent, Draft Review Services
“The Live Coaching sessions helped to give my child confidence in the process and his ideas. They also motivated him. It was so helpful to have a “neutral” coach (someone who doesn’t know my child) to provide feedback from an outside perspective.”
—Parent, Self-Starter Services
“Love Lyn’s positive, encouraging approach.”
—Parent, Self-Starter Services
“What absolutely helped us the most was removing ourselves from this process and putting her in her in the hands of a truly caring mentor who wanted to help her find her own voice!”
—Parent, Get Started Services
“This service was so helpful. It was so nice as a parent to be taken out of the formula of helping my son. Great suggestions and tips that were easy to take on. My son was so excited about how his essays turned out. He felt that they went from ordinary to extraordinary!”
—Parent, Draft Review Services
