I loved working with Emily. I found her through Sage Educators in Mill Vally and was so glad that I worked with her over other counselors. I had friends who worked with other counselors who were discouraged about the schools they were applying to and Emily was always very supportive of me while still being realistic about what I should be looking for. Emily met with me personally, helped me fill out applications, reviewed my essays and even gave me a binder (and google doc) of my daily schedule for applying to schools. I couldn't recommend anyone else. I am currently a student at Chapman University (my top choice of colleges) and owe it to Emily!! read more

I highly recommend Emily. I chose Emily on my own searching on yelp for a counselor when I realized my school counselors weren't very helpful. Emily showed me a lot of schools that I didn't know much about and I ended up applying to most of them. The net result couldn't have been better, now I am in a top-tier school in my subject (tied with brown and yale on CS rankings) and I have to thank her for that. She has the power to change lives! :) read more

Navigating the college application process can be challenging for parents and teens. As a parent, I knew I needed help. Emily worked with both my children. She listens and she cares. It was a very positive experience with very positive results. read more

If you are the parent of a high school student, I would highly recommend utilizing the services of Grey Guidance. We didn't find much in the way of college assistance at our daughter's high school (large, public) and felt overwhelmed by the college application process. We knew about the UC and State Colleges in California, but with all the cutbacks, felt they might not be the best choice for our daughter. Emily was able to give us the support and guidance we needed. She helped our daughter with all the phases of the college application process, from creating a time-line for all the work that needed to be done, to compiling a great list of colleges that we would never have known about. Most of all, Emily gave our daughter the confidence she needed to apply to, and be accepted by, a number of wonderful schools. Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions you and your child will make. Emily and Grey Guidance can guide your family every step of the way. read more

I am currently a freshman in college in southern California, but am wanting to transfer for my second year because I am very unhappy with the school. When I was applying for colleges in high school, I had trouble narrowing down what type of school would be the best fit for my personality. I had used the counselor provided by my school but she didn't understand what I was looking for and/or didn't put as much effort into the process. So for my second time around, I decided to look into having a private college counselor. I have had many meetings with Emily and she has been incredibly helpful. Within the first session, she was able to make a list of 15 colleges that are exactly what I am looking for. If I hadn't have had her guidance, I wouldn't have even known these schools existed. Emily is amazingly organized and trained to be able to help you with all your career needs. It is easy to see her passion for this field and that is what makes her so invested with every session. She is my second career counselor I have worked with and she exceeded my expectations! I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone regardless of age or stage in life because she will help you every step of the way. Thank you so much Grey Guidance!! read more

This is long overdue, but I couldn't put off writing this any longer. I think Emily is so great! I am a transfer student and my goal was to get accepted into nursing school. Emily was a great help from the very start, she was wonderful in college research and helping me figure out what I wanted. She was wonderful with helping me write my essays in a way that clearly showed what kind of student and person I am, what my goals are, and why I was a great fit for their university. I got accepted into all of the schools I applied to, and I honestly think I wouldn't have been able to navigate this process and put my best foot forward in my applications if it was not for Emily. I highly recommend her!! read more

Emily did an excellent job working with my son, who started the process very skeptical (a) of college and (b) that anything positive would come out of the consulting. She gained his trust, rapidly came to understand his quirky personality and how to get the best out of him. She helped him expand his horizons and helped him identify schools that have proven to be far more interesting than he expected, and his acceptance rate at those schools has been extremely high. We couldn't be happier. read more

Emily's strongest and most valuable quality is her ability to distill from one conversation what you're looking for in a school, degree, or career path and what steps you'll need to take to achieve that. Our first conversation was, essentially, me rattling off ideas that had been floating around in my head since I finished my undergraduate degree 2 years ago, and Emily listening so patiently as I finished by saying something to the effect of "but I'm still not sure". Then, she reiterated my interests, my reasons for those interests, and extracted some key points that are deal-breakers for me (real-world applicability, research centered master's program). By the end of the conversation, she had suggested three degree types and by the end of the day she emailed me a list of programs to check out at my leisure, each of them curated with my skills and interests in mind. She stressed that the value of the list wasn't so much that I was going to select a specific program from it, but that it was the crucial step in narrowing down elements of the different schools and degree types that would ultimately lead to the best possible schools for me. From there, we were in contact as I sifted through the list and made notes about the programs. When I finished, we had another conversation that ended in a decision to pursue a certain degree type with qualities I could list confidently. This was the point when Emily's expertise was invaluable; she spoke confidently about the pros and cons of certain degrees and knew subtle differences about degree programs at specific schools, information that I didn't know where to find or how to figure out. I am currently applying to three schools, each of which I would be satisfied attending and each of which Emily's guidance helped me to arrive at. The most powerful part of working with Emily are her listening skills that can transform ideas into actions and fears into manageable and temporary interruptions. read more

I graduated from law school in 2007 and have been a practicing attorney for the past few years. Recently, I decided it was time to update my resume. I spent a few hours adding the skills I had acquired over the years and organizing them in order of importance. My wife (who is also a lawyer) and I reviewed and tweaked my resume until we were convinced it was perfect. I then sent my resume to Grey Guidance, admittedly skeptical at this point that any improvements were possible. But Emily provided me with valuable feedback and showed me how to characterize some of my skills and accomplishments with more of a leadership tone. She also pointed out the benefit of including a "conversation starter" in my resume - particularly helpful these days when most employers are receiving a lot of resumes. If you are looking to make yourself more marketable, I wholeheartedly recommend Grey Guidance! read more