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Accolades and Endorsements

[Excerpt from two-page letter]  

“When we decided to retain an essay coach for our son, we were unsure if it was necessary…. From the moment you interviewed him on the phone (for three hours!), we knew we had made the right decision. Your method of talking with [our son] drew many facts and experiences and feelings out of him that I'm sure as parents we would have struggled to draw out of him. You helped him to see where experiences could work for him as essay topics.     

Your hard work with him throughout the Fall and into late December repeatedly reminded us that we had made the right decision. The brainstorming, the free-flow writing, the drafting and editing process, all showed us that we were very blessed to have retained such a committed individual to work with our son. He understood your feedback, he appreciated your communication, and you were always available when he had a question. You helped motivate him when we struggled to motivate him, and [we] both felt you always had his best interests at heart whenever you spoke with him or pushed him to get his essays done to the best of his ability - pushed him to write better than he thought he could. 

… That he was accepted into Notre Dame as an early-admitted student demonstrates - in our minds - that his common app essay was very strong, thanks in large part to your coaching. 

… I do not think there were things you could have covered better during the initial consultation. You convinced [us that we] were hiring an honest, caring person to serve as [his] coach, and then you far surpassed what I expected…. There's a degree of trust that had to happen, and you instilled that trust with your demeanor and knowledge.…  

Your price point was very reasonable; we had opportunities to hire other coaches that were local and I believe we would have paid them more and they would have done less than you did. Even though you were 800 miles away or so, that was irrelevant. You worked with [our son] more than those local coaches would have -- of that, we are sure.  

... We know he is receiving serious consideration from [all his] schools because of his grades, his resume, and his excellent essays.    

We have already recommended that a friend retain you for his son when his son reaches Junior/Senior year. We will also recommend you to everyone who asks, and we expect to be asked by a number of people, because of [his] success in the college application process. Please do not hesitate to offer us as a reference should you have potential clients in the future who want to speak with former clients of yours for reassurance that they are making the right decision in retaining you. We could not recommend you more highly.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

M.M., parent, Palm City, FL.

_________________________ ​_______________________________________________

"Before I met with Marjorie Bertman, I was having a lot of trouble writing my essays. I didn't know which topics would make good essays, and I wasn't able to make my points in an eloquent and intelligent way. She helped me so much; she didn't write my essays for me, but rather taught me how to get my points across succinctly and beautifully. She never gave up on me, and even after I deemed an essay good enough, she helped me fine-tune it and make it truly perfect. The cherry on top was her dedication: I was able to call her whenever I needed and she would talk with me as long as I wanted. She really made me feel like her top priority and that drove me to work harder. Because of her enormous amount of help, I was accepted to Cornell University and was offered a full scholarship to University of Maryland. I'm so grateful for her help!"

A.S., student, Potomac, MD

I am long overdue to f​ormally thank you for all of your coaching, guidance, insight and professional direction you provided my son during the entire college application essay process. You took the stress out of the process not only for him but for my husband and me, as we knew we didn't have to worry about the deadlines because you were! I knew your process would be great for James and encourage him to slow down and be thoughtful about every word used to convey his thoughts. However, what I didn't expect was all of the extra services you provided him and the amount of time you dedicated to him. After his first coaching session, he walked out with his resume that he provided to his 3 teachers who wrote his reference letters, the summer before his senior year. The resume also helped get him a job his senior year. You gave him confidence not only to write his college application essays but confidence in his writing abilities. Your fun, upbeat, warm and engaging personality made the whole process less stressful for him. Thank you for the countless hours you dedicated to coach James to write his best essays and for caring so much about him. He thoroughly enjoyed working with you.

K.G., paren ​t, Alexandria, VA

“Mrs. Bertman is a gifted editor and idea collaborator with the ability to discern the impact of a paragraph, phrase, or even word on a reader. She's able to discern what kind of impression you give to admissions officers and is a wonderful source of ideas and suggestions. Even while critiquing a section of your essay, Mrs. Bertman still manages to be warm, compassionate, and a joy to work with. Her help allowed me to get into Ivy League schools! I really suggest you give her a chance.”

A.H.,student, Springfield,VA

"We are so thrilled to have found Margie Bertman and Just Write 4 College! We knew our twin sons had the grades and scores to get into great colleges; writing compelling essays for their applications was the missing piece of the puzzle. Margie helped us more than we could have imagined. She encouraged both of our sons to figure out what they wanted to write about, and then painstakingly got them to think about and craft their essays. Her observations were spot on, and delivered in a positive light, with just the right amount of constructive criticism. We are convinced that working with Margie made the difference in our sons’ applications. One will be attending the Honors Program at the University of Florida, and the other will be attending Yale University in the fall, after being accepted to 17 of the 19 schools he applied to, including 7 Ivy League schools. We are eternally grateful to Margie, and highly endorse her!"

M.F., parent, Miami, FL

"Marjorie Bertman is an outstanding college essay coach. Her warmth and encouragement made what could have been a stressful time, a joyful time for my daughter. I give her my highest recommendation without reservation."

D.H., parent, Springfield VA

"Marjorie Bertman’s help with my personal statement was invaluable. Marjorie helped me from start to finish – with her help I was able to get a clear idea about how to present myself and how to go about it. When I first found out I had to write a Personal Statement for law school I had no idea how to start. Marjorie and I talked about my life and she gave me ideas on what sort of story would be compelling and how to present myself in the best light possible to an admissions committee. After I came up with a subject, Marjorie gave me excellent insight on how to beef up the statement as well as what was just unnecessary or redundant. Then Marjorie helped me with grammar, punctuation and vocabulary that popped off the page. With her assistance I wrote a polished personal statement that got me into the law school of my choice. Additionally, I learned an incredible amount by working with Marjorie that will help me in all my future writing endeavors. I highly recommend Marjorie Bertman; she excels at what she does, always goes the extra mile, and makes writing enjoyable." 

P.W., adult student, McLean, VA

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