College Essay Support

College essays are an essential part of the college application process! They give you an opportunity to share who you are to admissions readers aside from your grades and test scores. Below are some excellent essay writing tips from the "College Essay Guy", Ethan Sawyer!

7 GREAT College Essay Tips to Help You Stand Out

1. Don't spend too much time obsessing over which prompt to use

2. Don't worry too much about what "they" want

3. Consider being vulnerable in your personal statement

4. Engage the readers imagination using all 5 senses

5. The ending of your essay should feel surprising, but inevitable

6. The Essence Objects Exercise

7. The Values Exercise

9 College Essay Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them!)

  1. Common topic, common connections, common language

  2. Sticking to the first topic that you pick

  3. Focus only on the challenge (The Feelings and Needs Exercise)

  4. Forcing a narrative when a montage is better

  5. Placing a thesis at the start of your essay

  6. Packing everything into the personal statement

  7. Not spending enough time on your "Why us?" essay

  8. Don't screw up: school name, school colors, school mascot

  9. Waiting until the last minute

17 Tips for Writing Supplemental Essays for the Common Application

  1. Organize essay topics into an essay tracker spreadsheet

  2. Use "Super Topics" to save time

  3. Don't talk about size, location, and weather

  4. Don't mention rankings

  5. Think of your "Why Us?" essay as a third date

  6. (a) Fire Hose Approach (b) Creative High flyer with Nothing to Prove (c) Uncommon Connections Approach

  7. Write your community service essay like Elon Musk's Powerwall Pitch

    1. Identify the problem you were trying to solve

    2. Identify why now?

    3. Describe your vision for the future

    4. Describe what you did on your project

    5. Describe the impact of your project

  8. Use all your short answer space

  9. Tip for the "Why Major" essay: Pick 2 or 3 areas you're interested in

  10. Redefine "Diversity"

Tips for the create-your-own-class essay:

  1. Tip for the create-your-own-class essay: Make it seem like an actual course description at the school

  2. Find a syllabus

  3. Include required reading

  4. Say when the class meets and where

  5. Use a colon in the title

  6. Your answers to the UC Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) should connect back to the 14 points of comprehensive review

  7. Transfer Essay tip