Testimonials: students and professionals

Our son Luke made tremendous progress with Deirdre's expert guidance. Clear, patient, and positive, she showed him how to clarify his language. Her own writing is to the point, and beautifully expressed. She was able to give him the knowledge and confidence he needed in order to craft better sentences, and organize his writing. Equipped with the skills she gave him, he worked very hard and wrote a wonderful essay for his college applications, and was accepted at several of the most selective colleges. Deirdre is a gifted writer and teacher. We highly recommend her!  Our son will start Williams in the fall of 2024.

Shawn and Allison

I just got accepted in NYU and am thrilled! Working on essays with Ms. Higgins who is a professional editor taught me how to be concise and clear.  She also reviewed my screenplay since she has a background in film.  Can't recommend her enough!  Alex J.

Ms.Higgins’ tutoring sessions were more than just English tutoring. She never taught in an easy way (read essay, correct it, I get a straight A, and everyone is happy ever after). Instead, she dived into my problems in writing essays, provided me thorough comments on each essay and allowed me to finish the correction.My writing skills have been significantly improved and I have overcome great academic obstacles.  

Andy Zhu,  Berkeley 

I got into the University of Pennsylvania-- thank you, Ms. Higgins!

Jacob T. 

Rhetorical precision is very important for academic writing, and it is especially challenging for international students and professionals. Deirdre was incredibly patient and efficient with my revisions. She helped not only with my Personal Statements but also with my short stories since I was applying for an MFA degree in film directing.With her effective revisions of my application materials, I was successfully enrolled at my dream institute, AFI Conservatory. 

Qiyu Zhou, American Film Institute

Ms. Higgins is amazing with grammar and punctuation!  All of this is amounted to getting an acceptance into my dream school!

A. Macias, Stanford 

Deirdre Higgins is an amazing editor! I needed editing for my 125 page dissertation and Deirdre came recommended to me from a friend at USC. She meticulously went over each page of my dissertation to make sure grammar, syntax, organization, and punctuation were accurate. She was highly professional, and she got the corrections back to me quickly.  

 Christopher Keating, PhD University of Oregon, Applied Physics

I was struggling with completing my dissertation on Creativity and Teaching K-12  while at the same time teaching.  It was difficult after so many years of research and writing to get an objective eye on what needed to be cut.  Deirdre Higgins came to my rescue.  Quickly, she was able to edit  132 pages.  I think she knows every grammatical rule in the book, too!      Anna B.  

 Deirdre helped my son craft each idea into a compelling story. She articulated ways for him to improve the essays and how to infuse them with his passion, struggle, and pride. In the end, his character shone through, resulting in acceptances from  UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and Harvey Mudd College.           

      Lei Wang, high school parent 

I got into Georgia Tech (class of 2027) and was helped by working with Ms. Higgins.  Each week she would push me a little further to deepen my essays.  Hard work but well worth it!     Nathan

Ms. Higgins was the best essay support system I could have asked for during the college application process. It’s a tricky time but her reassurance, expertise, and wisdom made all the difference. She takes the time to build an authentic connection and you can tell how much she cares. I would absolutely recommend her!  

S.T. Wellesley, Class of 2028

Ms. Higgins has helped me fine-tune my voice, polish my tone, and refine my word choice--she's made me become a much better writer! I've learned so much from her, and her feedback and comments were always helpful and clear. AND I got into Stanford early decision for September 2024.  I wholeheartedly recommend Ms. Higgins!

A. Wang, Stanford 

Deirdre Higgins helped me get into my dream school: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is extremely polite and sweet, putting her heart into helping every student. She makes an effort to get to know her clients, helping them share their stories in eloquent yet authentic ways. Ms. Higgins is very responsive as well, often taking her own time to edit essays. She is a master at everything writing-wise; from simple lists to narratives spanning several pages. Deirdre Higgins is incredible and I will always recommend her!

M.S. New York University, 2028

Working with Ms. Higgins was one of the best experiences, and I was so fortunate to have learned so much from her. From our first meeting to our last she was constantly trying to get to know me better personally in order to help bring out the best in my college application essays. I worked with her throughout my entire college process and was not rejected from a single school (so far)! And a crucial part of those acceptances were my essays. I am so grateful for her endless help and would not have gotten through the application process without her!

 C.M. ,University of Michigan 

Deirdre has been a fantastic writing tutor for my daughter. She was able to expertly guide her through the process of writing college application essays.  She is incredibly diligent about reinforcing grammar rules.  My daughter loved working with Deirdre and her writing has improved tremendously-- and she will be attending Wesleyan in the fall.

Katerina D., Harvard Westlake Parent

I  was admitted to UPenn, Emory, Boston College, and Northeastern, and several of these schools noted a key part of their decision was the way I expressed myself in my essays. I attribute a large part of my success to Ms. Higgins. She made an emphasis to preserve my distinct “writer’s voice”, pulling the key details of each of my experiences into effective essays that showed different parts of my personality. She is incredibly down to earth and genuine, which makes it so easy to run through ideas with her and get constructive feedback! Once I made the main decisions and wrote out my drafts, Ms. Higgins was always able to help polish it and fit it into the word count while maintaining the essence of the story. I will always recommend Ms. Higgins: she is a master at her craft!  

Michael G. University of Pennsylvania

 Deirdre was patient and supportive while brainstorming with me to choose topics for my college application essays, and made sound recommendations that helped me develop clear essays that brought out the best in me.

Liza P.,  Vanderbilt University

Thanks to Ms. Higgins, I was able to write several  narratives for my application essays that reflected perfectly who I am.  It was a long process but well worth the time and effort.  I am grateful for her encouragement and assistance all through the process! 

Sarah H.   Brown University 

Thanks to Ms. Higgins I was accepted into NYU and University of Chicago (my two top choice schools!)

Kerry NYU 

I was just accepted to Cornell, class of 2028!  I worked with Ms. Higgins on numerous essays for each college and every step of the way, she was pushing me to dig a bit deeper and revise more.  It is an arduous process but it was so worth it.  I can't recommend her enough!

Charles, T.

Deirdre worked with me during the summer before Senior year and through the fall on the various essays I needed to write for 12 colleges.  It was daunting at first but I got through it and actually learned so much about writing in the process.  She is more than just a tutor, she is a teacher and an editor.  I got accepted (so far) into Berkeley, Northwestern, USC, Boston College, and Boston University. 

L. T. 

Deirdre is wonderful! I could not recommend her more highly. She has worked with my kids  on  college application essays. She is a great mentor for young people who are looking to convey their unique thoughts on their applications for college or graduate school and she is a mom of teens.

Darby B., parent of Maeve 

University of Michigan

Deirdre has been wonderful helping me with my grad school application essays. She is very patient and returns comments on the essays in a very timely manner. She really helped me out with restructuring my essay and with grammar checking. I felt much more confident with submitting my application.  I truly believe Deirdre is one of the main reasons I stood out as an applicant.               

Nan Jian, USC 

Leonard Davis School of Gerontology 

My experience with Deirdre was like no other. She supported me through the entire writing process for my Common Application essay and then for my SOP for grad school. By pinpointing the exact components of my essay that were lacking, she helped me make strides towards crafting a cohesive narrative. She was able to help me strengthen the message of my essay and find my unique writing voice.  

Ethan S., University of California, Berkeley, MBA 

I hired Deirdre to edit my Masters thesis in Nursing Administration. As anyone who has taken on such an endeavor can tell you, the bar is very high for what is an acceptable amount of format and grammatical errors. Deirdre was very thorough in editing, and she vastly improved the clarity of my thesis. In the end I got very good comments back on my thesis; they actually commented on the clarity of the work.

Cindy Bitterman, RN, MSN         

I used WriteWell when I was working on my Statement of Purpose Essay for Grad School. Deirdre Higgins was helpful in brainstorming with me because I wasn’t sure what the most effective way to express my thoughts. My SOP turned out beautifully, rich with details.

Leslie H., Columbia University School of Social Work

I took Deirdre's course "Building a Bridge to Graduate Studies" in USC's Masters Preparation Program. Deirdre provided us with comprehensive guidance on each step of the process, including topics about university selections, essay writing, and interviews. And she carefully reviewed and helped polish my personal statement essay.  I highly recommend Deirdre's services. 

     Yinjie Wu        

Columbia University             

University of Southern California, MA Economics  

As a final year student from Germany I traveled to California to do research for my master thesis. Ms. Higgins helped me with English vocabulary, grammar, and structure. 

Ulrich Martens, University of Munich