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The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

507: What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families

Apr 9, 2024

This week, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Ayesha King (Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles) to talk about letters of recommendation. They get into:

• What goes into a letter of recommendation? 
• How are they evaluated by colleges?
• Who should students consider...

506: What Colleges Want (Part 6): Demonstrated Interest: What Is it, Why Is it Important, and How Do You Show it? with Dean of Enrollment Christine Bowman

Mar 26, 2024

On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Christine Bowman, Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern University. In part 6 in our series on What Colleges Want, Ethan and Christine get into:

• What is demonstrated interest and how do colleges track it? 
• How important is demonstrated interest to a student’s chance of...

505: What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

Mar 12, 2024

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 5 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about some of the other written parts of the application—the activities list, additional information section, and supplemental essays. Tom and Ethan...

504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

Mar 5, 2024

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see...

503: What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?

Feb 13, 2024

In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance. 

In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of...

About the Podcast

Practical, up-to-date interviews with experts in college admissions, financial aid, personal statements, test prep and more. Ethan Sawyer (aka College Essay Guy), interviews deans of admission, financial aid experts, and veterans of the admissions field to extract, then distill their advice into practical steps for students and those guiding them through the process. From creating an awesome college list to appealing a financial aid letter, Ethan skips the general advice and gets right to the action items, all in an effort to bring more ease, joy and purpose into the college admissions process.

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The Activity Essay

The activity essay is an excellent opportunity to expand beyond the 150-character limit of the Common App’s activity descriptions. Colleges want to know the motivations behind your participation and your level of commitment to the enterprises you deem most important. How has this activity had an impact on your life? How has participation in this activity affected the lives of others? Maybe your membership in speech and debate served as the inspiration for your future pursuit of a law degree. Did your after school volunteer work at an animal shelter bring new furry family members into the lives of your friends and family? Has playing the guitar since you were five years old shown you the power of dedication and allowed you the thrill of taking part in your own garage band?

This is also an excellent place to highlight your leadership skills, teamwork and drive. But remember, show don’t tell (if you have the space). Describing how your role as captain improved communication among your cheerleading teammates is much more effective than telling admissions you are a great leader.

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Category: Admissions , advice , College Admissions , Common Application , Essay Resources , Essay Writing , Uncategorized

Tags: Admissions , admissions essay , admissions help , college admissions , college admissions essay , college application , college application help , common application , supplemental essays

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Ten Tips: How to Write Your Common App Activities List, Meet Ethan Sawyer, College Essay Guy

Do Something Awesome; Share With A Friend Who May Benefit

We are so excited to introduce Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy . On the College Essay Guy’s site, you will find all things related to college essay writing, (personal statement), tips, common app, free resources, classes and more. Stop by his site to see why you will love his site as much as I do (he’s personal, warm, empathetic and his classes are unparalleled. Also, he has a ton of FREE resources).

Here is a great starting article about the common app activities list.

10 Tips: How to Write Your Common App Activities List

You only get 150 characters: how do you make the most of them? Some tips:

1. State role and organization name in top box, so you don’t waste characters in the lower, 160 character box. Instead of: (top box) School newspaper (description box) I am the editor for the school newspaper ( And don’t repeat words!)

Try: (top box) Editor of International Column, School Newspaper (description box) Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

2. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact .  Whom did your activity help? How many people? How much money did you raise?

Instead of: Raised money for children in Africa. Try: Raised $3,000 to provide three uniforms and scholarships for students attending the Joseph Waweru Home School in Kenya (http://www.exop.org/home_school.html).

Instead of: Worked at a clinic doing different things. Try: Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

4. To fit in more info: use lists , don’t use complete sentences , cut extra words . Instead of: I raised money to donate to a school in Ghana in Africa by selling t-shirts and bracelets. Try: Arranged advertising events, organized fundraisers, and gave presentations at school meetings.

5. Use the present tense if it’s something you still do. Instead of: I helped tour visitors around the campus and presented some information on school history and student life. Try: I give campus tours, providing info on school history, student activities, boarding life.

6. Aim for variety in your list, making sure your verbs aren’t redundant. Instead of: Instructing, helping, teaching children tennis (how are these three different?) Try: Instructing in proper technique, while imparting lessons in sportsmanship, health and integrity.

7. Include any responsibilities you had to demonstrate leadership skills . Instead of: I swim on the swim team. Try: Responsible for leading swim practices, planning fundraising events; assisting in recruiting process.

8. What if there isn’t much to say, or it was a one-time event?

Explain the significance of the activity: who did the event matter to and why? Rather than: Tutored students. Try: Provided support to fourth graders with particularly difficult math concepts.

Continue reading this list over at the College Essay Guy . In addition, be sure to check out his new course: How to Write a Personal Statement . This course includes seven videos and is 100% guaranteed. The fee is only $149.00 and if you cannot afford it, contact Ethan about his pay-what-you-can program. Yes, pay what you can.

And did I mention he has the #1 Selling College Essay Book in the country right now? Yes, he does.

About: Ethan Sawyer is a nationally recognized college essay expert and sought-after speaker. Each year he helps thousands of students and counselors through his online courses, workshops, articles, products, and books, and works privately with a small number of students. 

Raised in Spain, Ecuador, and Colombia, Ethan has studied at seventeen different schools and has worked as a teacher, curriculum writer, voice actor, motivational speaker, community organizer, and truck driver. He is a certified Myers-Briggs® specialist, and his type (ENFJ) will tell you that he will show up on time, that he’ll be excited to meet you, and that, more than anything, he is committed to—and an expert in—helping you realize your potential. 

A graduate of Northwestern University, Ethan holds an MFA from UC Irvine and two counseling certificates. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife, Veronica, and their amazing daughter, Zola.

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Extracurriculars.

3 Successful Extracurricular Activity Essay Examples

The purpose of the extracurricular activities essay is for admissions officers to better understand how your extracurricular activities have shaped and motivated you. This essay shouldn’t restate the activities you’ve already shared in your resume, but should elaborate on their impact and significance to you as a person.

In this post, we will share three extracurricular essays, written by real students, that are strong responses. Read them to be inspired in your own essay writing!

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Essay Example #1

My fingers raced across the keys, rapidly striking one after another. My body swayed with the music as my hands raced across the piano. Crashing onto the final chord, it was over as quickly as it had begun. My shoulders relaxed and I couldn’t help but break into a satisfied grin. I had just played the Moonlight Sonata’s third movement, a longtime dream of mine.

Four short months ago, though, I had considered it impossible. The piece’s tempo was impossibly fast, its notes stretching between each end of the piano, forcing me to reach farther than I had ever dared. It was 17 pages of the most fragile and intricate melodies I had ever encountered.

But that summer, I found myself ready to take on the challenge. With the end of the school year, I was released from my commitment to practicing for band and solo performances. I was now free to determine my own musical path: either succeed in learning the piece, or let it defeat me for the third summer in a row.

Over those few months, I spent countless hours practicing the same notes until they burned a permanent place in my memory, creating a soundtrack for even my dreams. Some would say I’ve mastered the piece, but as a musician I know better. Now that I can play it, I am eager to take the next step and add in layers of musicality and expression to make the once-impossible piece even more beautiful.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay has a descriptive and engaging hook that immediately places the reader in the middle of the action and captivates us for the rest of the essay. The way the student describes playing piano as a full-body experience, from their splayed out fingers to their tensed shoulders, allows the reader to envision the student in front of them, passionately losing themselves in the music. Seeing the way they write about the piano is a sign that this student is dedicated to this extracurricular. 

Another strength of this essay is how it shows this student’s character, particularly their determination. By describing the challenge of playing this piece, we can fully appreciate all that they had to overcome to be successful. Rather than simply saying it was a hard song, they show us how it was physically and mentally daunting: “ The piece’s tempo was impossibly fast, its notes stretching between each end of the piano, forcing me to reach farther than I had ever dared. It was 17 pages of the most fragile and intricate melodies I had ever encountered.”

This student knows how to make music in their writing, as well as on the piano. The use of elevated and creative language throughout the essay makes it flow smoothly for the reader. They take a rather simple story, but through their deft writing the student makes it both enjoyable and reveals details about themself.

What Could Be Improved

This essay could have been made even stronger if this student included details about them actually practicing. They go from telling us about how daunting this piece was to suddenly being able to play it months later, but admissions officers are curious about how you overcome challenges, not just the fact that you did.

Two or three sentences that describe the tedious process of practicing a particular scale or how they continuously messed up a certain bar of music would be sufficient to express what this student actually accomplished. Although space is tight in this essay, this would have been a better use of the third paragraph than what the student currently has. 

Essay Example #2

My school’s newspaper and I have a typical love-hate relationship; some days I want nothing more than to pass two hours writing and formatting articles, while on others the mere thought of student journalism makes me shiver. Still, as we’re entering our fourth year together, you could consider us relatively stable. We’ve learned to accept each other’s differences; at this point I’ve become comfortable spending an entire Friday night preparing for an upcoming issue, and I hardly even notice the snail-like speed of our computers. I’ve even benefitted from the polygamous nature of our relationship—with twelve other editors, there’s a lot of cooperation involved. Perverse as it may be, from that teamwork I’ve both gained some of my closest friends and improved my organizational and time-management skills. And though leaving it in the hands of new editors next year will be difficult, I know our time together has only better prepared me for future relationships.

This response is great. It’s cute and endearing and, importantly, tells readers a lot about the student who wrote it. Framing this essay in the context of a “love-hate relationship,” then supplementing with comments like “We’ve learned to accept each other’s differences” allows this student to advertise their maturity in a unique and engaging way. 

Personifying the newspaper is a creative way to demonstrate the role it plays in this student’s life. Because it is an unexpected tactic, it lets the reader appreciate the humor and wit of the author, while also being a lighthearted and fun response to read. 

While Extracurricular Essays can be a place to show how you’ve grown within an activity, they can also be a place to show how you’ve grown through an activity. At the end of this essay, readers think that this student is mature and enjoyable, and we think that their experience with the school newspaper helped make them that way.

One strike against this essay is that in the first sentence it claims the student has a love-hate relationship with the newspaper, but the rest of the essay really only addresses their experience from a positive perspective. They say the “ mere thought of student journalism makes me shiver ” but there is little-to-no elaboration about the negatives. Since they poised their essay as a love-hate relationship, it feels like it is missing something without any discussion about the hate aspect of the relationship. 

Essay Example #3

The cool, white halls of the Rayburn House office building contrasted with the bustling energy of interns entertaining tourists, staffers rushing to cover committee meetings, and my fellow conference attendees separating to meet with our respective congresspeople. Through civics and US history classes, I had learned about our government, but simply hearing the legislative process outlined didn’t prepare me to navigate it. It was my first political conference, and, after learning about congressional mechanics during breakout sessions, I was lobbying my representative about an upcoming vote crucial to the US-Middle East relationship. As the daughter of Iranian immigrants, my whole life had led me to the moment when I could speak on behalf of the family members who had not emigrated with my parents.

As I sat down with my congresswoman’s chief of staff, I truly felt like a participant in democracy; I was exercising my right to be heard as a young American. Through this educational conference, I developed a plan of action to raise my voice. When I returned home, I signed up to volunteer with the state chapter of the Democratic Party. I sponsored letter-writing campaigns, canvassed for local elections, and even pursued an internship with a state senate campaign. I know that I don’t need to be old enough to vote to effect change. Most importantly, I also know that I want to study government—I want to make a difference for my communities in the United States and the Middle East throughout my career.

The strength of this essay comes from its connections. It connects the student’s extracurricular activity to their studies and connects theirs studies to their personal history.

While this prompt is about extracurricular activities, it specifically references the idea that the extracurricular should support the curricular. It is focused on experiential learning for future career success. This student wants to study government, so they chose to describe an experience of hands-on learning within their field—an apt choice!

As this student discusses their extracurricular experience, they also clue readers into their future goals—they want to help Middle Eastern communities. Admissions officers love when students mention concrete plans with a solid foundation. Here, the foundation comes from this student’s ethnicity. With lines like “my whole life had led me to the moment when I could speak on behalf of the family members who had not emigrated with my parents,” the student assures admissions officers of their emotional connection to their future field.

Something that is missing from this essay is the emotional reflection this student has from their experiences in politics. They tell us they felt like a participant in democracy and they know they want to study government and make a difference, but for a really strong essay you need to dig deeper and tell the reader more about how this extracurricular makes you feel.

What does it feel like to be a participant in democracy? Liberating? Empowering? How did volunteering impact them personally? Did they develop a new appreciation for what it means to be an American? What feeling is this student trying to elicit by studying government? While all of these questions don’t have to be addressed, the idea is to inject more of the student’s feelings and emotion into the essay to help us better understand exactly what this extracurricular meant to them. 

More Supplemental Essay Tips

4 Tips for Writing a Diversity College Essay

How to Write the “Why This College” Essay

Where to Get Your Extracurricular Activity Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Extracurricular Activity essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

College essay resources

How to write a great “describe an activity” essay | guide and examples, school supplements.

Brad Schiller

You’re going to enjoy writing this essay more than you might think. As college essay coaches , we’ve found students tend to like it. (Well. As much as you’re gonna “like” any of these.) 

Usually a short one, this supplemental essay is a chance to talk about something you already love and connect it to your dreamiest ideas of what you might be getting up to on the college’s campus in a few short months.

This post will take you through 5 easy steps for writing a killer “Describe an Activity” essay without wasting any time. 

(For tips on writing all college essays and supplements, check out our College Essay Help Center .)

Choose your second-best activity 

No, that’s a joke. Of course, choose your “best” activity. Except if you already used your “best” activity in your personal statement (which many people do - writing about activities in your essays is a great idea). In that case, let’s go with the second best. 

The important thing here is to spend 15-30 minutes brainstorming all of your activities. Put down on paper the obvious ones; the ones you dropped; the unusual ones that aren’t really “Debate Club” stuff — maybe you make your own umbrellas; maybe you’ve read every Jane Austin biography known to man. Think carefully and get everything down so you can see your candidates clearly. 

Next, assess which extracurricular is “best” using the 4 criteria below:

Choosing your activity: 4 big things to look for

1. Steady commitment — Choose an activity you’ve spent real time on. You need to talk about something that’s meaningful to you. 

“Commitment” implies that you’ve kept up with the activity until relatively recently . That is, through most of high school. For example, if you were all-in on Debate from middle school through the first half of freshman year, that’s not the steady commitment colleges are looking for. 

2. The 5 traits — there’s never a time admissions officers aren’t interested in the 5 traits . Bonus: activities are great at showing off the 5 traits. For example: 

• Drive — you’ve never missed a soccer practice, you convinced the team to add another practice when the team hit a rough patch, you added weights to your fitness routine when you learned it might help your performance.
• Intellectual curiosity — if you write for your high school fiction magazine, talk about the authors you’ve discovered in extra reading you’ve done in your own time; talk about a seminar you sought out on the basics of fiction writing.
• Initiative — there was no band before you came to your high school. Or there was a band, but it had old, broken instruments, and you held a fundraiser to pay for upgrades, and advocated for a budget change, too. 
• Contribution — you started volunteering more and more hours at a local food pantry and got involved with neighborhood groups publicizing free food pantries during the pandemic. You’ve learned how deep food insecurity goes in your own community, and you’ve recruited friends to help and to see that for themselves.
• Diversity of experiences — Your love of band comes from growing up in jazz-soaked New Orleans, where you learned jazz trumpet. Your volunteer work gives you a perspective into your community that many others lack. (Activities are a great place to show off what gives you a unique perspective.)

3. Awards, leadership - Awards and leadership experience are pretty irrefutable proof that you developed the interest fully and well. They’re not necessary (unlike commitment and the 5 traits, which are necessary), but they’re nice. 

4. Unique, interesting - Something memorable and unusual can be more tantalizing to a college admissions officer than all the awards in the world. Not always — you’d generally want to talk about an interest for which you were a leader and won rewards (ex: Debate Club) over an unusual one (ex: making your own umbrellas), but if you didn’t really shine in Debate, go for the umbrellas every time. There’s a lot to be said for writing about something genuine that the admissions officer has never read before. 

Write an essay that shows off what you might do on campus

Think of this supplement as something of a “preview.” Colleges are wondering if you’re likely to fully develop an interesting extracurricular with them , on their campus. (And also, maybe later, once you graduate.) That’s hard to predict, of course. But the best evidence you have of your future success is to show you’ve done it before — with a really cool high school activity. 

Paint a picture for your admissions reader of you doing this exciting activity on their campus. Making their campus better and more interesting because of your work. Make them salivate over the prospect of seeing you doing your thing. 

They’ll be itching to get you admitted. 

To do this, you do want to research that campus and what opportunities it offers to further your activity . This might mean what clubs and funding it has available, but it also could mean showing how the activity would influence or benefit from certain academics. 

Structure: Use 1 of our 3 outlines to write a strong essay

‍ If your essay is short (under 150 words) , you only need to keep in mind two things:

• Cram the essay as full of how this activity helped you exemplify 1 or more of the 5 traits as you can, and 
• Write clearly. 

You want this short piece of writing to unambiguously portray you as someone with tremendous potential. 

For medium to long essays (150 words or more) , almost any activity essay (and many others) can benefit from one of these structures. Actually, the best way to access them is via the supplemental materials section of our Dashboard — it walks you through exactly what to write (and you end the process with an essay that’s mostly done). 

The gist of them is this: 

1. Initiative and Impact — for activities where you solved a problem, overcame a challenge, or had a concrete impact. 

• Hook ( 1-2 sentences ). Briefly describe your achievement. Aim to make the reader think, “Impressive! How did they do that?” 
• Raise the stakes ( 1 paragraph ). Add context and detail about the challenge/problem. Hint: The lower the starting point, the more meaningful your achievement will seem.
• Your actions ( 1 paragraph ). List the actions you took. Think: How would things have been different if I hadn’t been there?
• The impact ( 1 paragraph ). The most important part!! Using concrete language — quantify where you can — describe what you achieved. 
• Optional - At the college ( 1-2 sentences ). The last “impact” paragraph is the place to add a word or two on how you might carry on or further develop your activity on the college’s campus. 

2. Personal Growth — for activities where you changed as a person, improved your skills, or learned to see yourself or others differently.

• Hook ( 1-2 sentences ). Briefly describe the activity and how you grew from it. Aim to make the reader think, “What a cool way to be. How did they get that way?” 
• Raise the stakes ( 1 paragraph ). Add detail about Before You’s problems. Show clearly, but briefly, how Before You thought or acted, so the reader can see how much you've grown.
• Your actions (1 paragraph). List the actions you took. Think: How would things have been different if I hadn’t been there?
• What you learned (1 paragraph). The most important part!! Describe what the experience taught you, and what New You does differently (better).
• Optional - At the college ( 1-2 sentences ). The last “What you learned” paragraph is the place to add a word or two on how you might carry on or further develop your activity on the college’s campus.

3. Passions — for essays in which you pursue a meaningful activity in a deeply engaged way. 

• Hook (1-2 sentences). Briefly describe your activity and how you pursue it. Aim to make the reader think, “What a fascinating interest. How do they pursue it?” 
• Raise the stakes (1-2 paragraphs). Add detail on the actions you take to pursue this interest. Hint: You should show how you've gone above and beyond to engage in this activity outside of your teacher's or parent's instruction.
• How it makes you feel (1 paragraph). The most important part!! Show why the interest is meaningful to you by describing what it brings out in you, or how it’s changed you.
• Optional - At the college ( 1-2 sentences ). The last “How it makes you feel” paragraph is the place to add a word or two on how you might carry on or further develop your activity on the college’s campus.

Writing Style: Clear and straightforward

College essays are the wrong place for “beautiful” writing . That’s particularly true here, where your space is more limited than in the personal statement. 

Put all your energy into showing off 1 or more of the 5 traits via the activity you chose. Then invest the time to get feedback. Obviously, using a college essay coach , who knows what colleges are looking for, is best. 

You can also ask someone you trust to read it through only for clarity. Ask your mom (let’s say) to circle places where she gets confused or has questions. Tell her not to focus on content. 

(She’s apt to think your fascinating and unique umbrella-building activity is less good than your lackluster Debate Club performance that you only did to make her happy. You have to be firm on that.)  

More articles on Prompt.com’s admissions-boosting methods:

• Work with a college essay coach
• Strong essays increase your chance of admission by up to 10x
• Don’t let influencers influence your college essays
• Should I apply test-optional?
• Early admissions: Everything you need to know
• College Essay Help Center

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Supplemental Essay Guides from College Essay Guy

Looking for some extra guidance on your supplemental essays? Look no further! In this blog post, we'll be exploring College Essay Guy's incredible (and free!) Supplemental Essay Guides! Links to resources below.

What is a supplemental essay? 🤔

As College Essay Guy explains , supplemental essays are "additional pieces of writing required by many colleges, especially by highly-selective universities." These essays are different from your personal statement and focus on a prompt that is specific to that college. For example, a college may ask how you would engage in their community if admitted or why you want to study at their college specifically . Or they might ask you to share something that wouldn't be gleaned from the rest of your application: like sharing an unusual talent , a time you felt empowered or on top of the world , or what piece of technology you'd want to show a historical figure .

Why are supplemental essays important? 💡

With college applications, making a personal connection is key. These supplemental essays help add personality and unique context to your application that can further the connection between you and a reader!  Your response to prompts like those above can also allow colleges to see how you and the school fit together (and whether you've actually done your research to find out how and why you fit together), and also get a clearer sense of who you are and what you value.

Many colleges will encourage you to have fun with your supplemental essays and to use them as an opportunity to take a risk, be creative, or get a little vulnerable.

How do I write my supplemental essays? ✏️

CEG has you covered! Take a look at their Supplemental Essay Guides for a breakdown of 70+ colleges' prompts, each with examples from past students, tips and analysis for your own essays, and more!

Looking for more college essay help? 📝

Are you looking for that unique twist to make your college essay stand out? It might actually be in your niche laptop stickers or celeb fandom!  In our podcast episode, "How The 'Little Things' Make Your College Essay Stand Out," we discuss how the little things in your life can be essay inspiration, and small tweaks to make your essay really stand out.

Our guest, Tom Campbell, is a Community Manager with the College Essay Guy Team . With years of admissions experience at Pomona College and College of the Holy Cross, Tom brings such valuable experience and shares those insider insights that could make a huge difference in your college essay! Here is a preview of a few of the College Essay Guy resources we talk about in the episode: Brainstorming Exercises

• The Values Exercise in the episode (at 12:06 )
• Essence Objects Exercises  in the episode (at 13:51 )
• Includes the Laptop Sticker and iTaylor examples from the episode (at 15:17 and 20:58 ) 

How to Structure Your Essay

• Overview of Narrative and Montage paths from the episode (at 23:20)

Social Resources

• Join the College Essay Guy Students-Only Discord
• Join the College Essay Guy Parent Community

For more advice on all things high school, college applications, and more, follow us on Instagram ( @scoirinc )! See you next time for more college application advice! ☺️

The links included on this page are sponsored, and Scoir will receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.

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63 episodes

Practical, up-to-date interviews with experts in college admissions, financial aid, personal statements, test prep and more. Ethan Sawyer (aka College Essay Guy), interviews deans of admission, financial aid experts, and veterans of the admissions field to extract, then distill their advice into practical steps for students and those guiding them through the process. From creating an awesome college list to appealing a financial aid letter, Ethan skips the general advice and gets right to the action items, all in an effort to bring more ease, joy and purpose into the college admissions process.

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions Ethan Sawyer

• 4.6 • 198 Ratings
• APR 9, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families

This week, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Ayesha King (Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles) to talk about letters of recommendation. They get into: What goes into a letter of recommendation?  How are they evaluated by colleges? Who should students consider asking, and how do they ask? What can students and families do to ensure that their letters are the best they can be? What are FERPA rights and why should you waive them? Ayesha King (she/her) has over twelve years of experience in admissions at the secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels, developing her values of social justice, equity and access. She is currently the Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles (LILA), a French International school, where she is stretching her skills working with students considering post-secondary options all over the world. She holds her Bachelors degree from the University of Redlands and her Masters degree from California Lutheran University. Ayesha loves spending time with her two boys and two dogs, visiting Disneyland, and talking about pop culture.   This is the next episode in our series on What Colleges Want. Stay tuned for our upcoming episode about writing letters of recommendation for teachers and counselors. Tom will be joined by Hanah Lim (CEG’s Director of Workshops and a former high school English teacher), where they provide their tips, tricks, and hacks to help you write more efficient and effective letters for your students.   Play-by-Play 2:49 - How important are letters of recommendation to admissions officers?  5:55 - Why might it be called a “Letter of Advocacy” instead? 7:19 - When would a letter of recommendation make a big impact on a student’s application? 13:38 - Should students also share this important context if it’s already in their recommendation letter? 15:35 - How can students determine how many letters to request? 19:49 - What is being said in these letters? 26:38 - Which teachers are typically the best to ask for a recommendation letter? 29:51 - Why should students consider asking a teacher from a class they struggled in? 30:47 - What can students do to help their teachers & counselors write the best letter possible? 36:06 - What information should students share with their recommenders? 39:20 - How should students ask for a letter once they have determined who to ask? 44:41 - Do students ever see their letters of recommendation?  48:24 - Closing advice for parents & students   Resources How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College: Step-by-Step Guide for Students CollegeTransitions Blog Post - College Recommendation Requirements Podcast Ep. 505 - What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) How to Write a Successful Common App Activities List How to Use the Common App Additional Information Section: Guide + Examples 100 Brave + Interesting Questions Pedro Pascal Cries From His Head While Eating Spicy Wings  

• MAR 26, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 6): Demonstrated Interest: What Is it, Why Is it Important, and How Do You Show it? with Dean of Enrollment Christine Bowman

On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Christine Bowman, Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern University. In part 6 in our series on What Colleges Want, Ethan and Christine get into: What is demonstrated interest and how do colleges track it?  How important is demonstrated interest to a student’s chance of getting in? How might students find out if a particular school considers demonstrated interest in their admission review? What are some practical ways you can demonstrate your interest to colleges? Christine Bowman is the Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern, where she oversees the admission department to set enrollment and retention philosophies. She has a Masters in Higher Ed Administration from UT-Austin, was the Co-Chair for the 2007 NACAC National Conference in and has served two terms as the Chair of the Colleges that Change Lives Board of Directors (see last season’s episode with Ann Marano for more on CTCL’s work). She currently serves on the advisory board of ROCA-NM (Rural Opportunities for College Access) and, with almost 30 years of experience in the admission profession, Christine believes in guiding students to find the right college fit and regularly gives presentations encouraging a stress-free college search process. We hope you enjoy the conversation!    Play-by-Play 2:15 - What is demonstrated interest? 5:00 - Why might demonstrated interest be important to colleges? 8:22 - What is yield? 11:24 - How can students demonstrate interest for a particular school?  15:17 - What can colleges track? 18:52 - For whom does demonstrated interest matter most?  23:47 - How to “break up” with a college 27:05 - What are some practical tips for students as they reach out to a college? 30:10 - How might an admissions officer use demonstrated interest? 32:58 - What ways can students demonstrate interest without visiting campus? 37:24 - What is the difference between early action, early decision, and regular decision? 40:25 - How important is the college interview? 48:10 - What can parents do to support their students during this process? 53:02 - Closing advice for parents, students, and counselors    Resources A Behind the Scenes Look at Demonstrated Interest w/Christine Bowman (Southwestern University) What is Demonstrated Interest? A Practical How-To Guide Factors in the Admission Decision (NACAC Report) How to Decide Whether to Apply Early Action (EA) or Early Decision (ED) College Interview Tips and Strategies - The Ultimate Guide CEG Podcast Episode 411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want w/ Ann Marano (CTCL)  

• MAR 12, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 5 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about some of the other written parts of the application—the activities list, additional information section, and supplemental essays. Tom and Ethan get into: How can students write a great Activities List?  How can you find out what colleges are looking for in the supplemental essays? And what even is the additional information section? What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how might it be useful? How does a student know when their application is complete? Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.   Play-by-Play 1:09 - What are the other writing components of a college application? 5:26 - How can students write a great Activities List?  9:33 - Does the order of the activities matter? 11:41 - Are activities from 9th and 10th grade worth putting in the Activities List? 13:37 - When should students elaborate on Activities in their Additional Info section? 17:05 - What else can go into the Additional Info section?  23:14 - What are some things to avoid putting in the Additional Info section? 24:41 - How should students format the Additional Info section? 26:19 - Why do some colleges have supplemental essays? 27:31 - What are some of the most common supplemental essays prompts? 34:11 - How might institutional priorities impact an individual applicant?  44:14 - What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how is it used? 49:12 - How does a student know when their application is complete?   Resources How to Write a Successful Common App Activities List How to Use the Common App Additional Information Section: Guide + Examples My College List (Research + Essay Topic Tracker) School-Specific Supplemental Essays Why This College Essay Guide + Examples How to Combine Your College Essay Prompts (To Save 20+ Writing Hours) What the Heck are "Hooks" and "Institutional Priorities"? The Values Exercise CEG Podcast Episode 101: Life As an Undocumented Student at Harvard CEG Podcast Episode 504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

• MAR 5, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see previous episodes), the college essay is what colleges care about most. Tom and Ethan get into:  What is the purpose of the personal statement?  How do you find a topic, especially if you’re not writing about challenges?   Why do I recommend students NOT choose a common extracurricular activity as their main college essay topic?  How do you stand out?  And how do you know when you’re done? Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.   Play-by-Play 1:38 - What is the purpose of the personal statement in the college admission process? 2:53 - How might students use this statement for multiple schools?  3:48 - Should students talk about challenges they’ve faced in a personal statement?  6:47 - Should students talk about their major or career goals? 8:33 - Where is the best place to discuss extracurricular activities?  10:20 - Should students explain red flags in their personal statement? 11:26 - How can students brainstorm potential topics for their personal statement? 17:56 - What is the structure of a personal statement? 21:11 - How can students stand out? 28:57 - Case Study: What does the process look like from brainstorming to final draft? 35:39 - How does a student know when their essay is done? 38:27 - Is there a place for artificial intelligence in the college essay? 41:47 - have personal statements shifted since the Supreme Court ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions? 44:04 - Why does the personal statement process matter? 49:14 - Closing thoughts   Resources YouTube Video version of this episode (504) Sample personal statements 7 Brainstorming Exercises (YouTube video) The “Food” essay (YouTube video analysis) The Great College Essay Test Why You Don’t Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead Matchlighters Informaiton CEG Podcast Episode 404: Race-Conscious Admission Was Struck Down—What Does This Mean and What Can Students and College Counselors Do? w/ Jay Rosner Is It “Okay” to Talk About Race in Your College Application and Essays—And If So, How Should You Do It?  

• FEB 13, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?

In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance.  In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Bob Massa (former chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University) to discuss: What are these positive character attributes? Why are they important to colleges? How do colleges decide which qualities to seek and how to evaluate for them? How do students show these qualities in their application?  Part 2 is with Trisha Ross Anderson, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common Project, and we get into: How Making Caring Common helps colleges figure out what they are looking for How some colleges are working to increase access and equity in admissions Advice to parents as they navigate this process with their students Tom Bear has been working in college enrollment since 1987 at a variety of institutions, including as VP for Enrollment at University of Evansville, Senior Director of Enrollment at Notre Dame and now as the VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He joined the Character Collaborative in 2017, served as Board Chair and will chair NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative. Bob Massa got his Doctorate in Higher Education from Columbia, served as the chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University and Co- founded the Character Collaborative in 2016. Although he has retired from full-time work after 45 years of campus-based work, he is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s online masters program in enrollment management. Trisha Ross Anderson has served on research teams at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for the past 13 years. She’s worked with the Making Caring Common (MCC) Project to help write reports including one called Turning the Tide that focuses on reform of the college admission process. She leads MCC’s college admissions initiatives with Richard Weissbourd and currently serves on NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative Advisory Council.    Play-by-Play 0:00 - Meet Tom Bear and Bob Massa (Part 1) 2:12 - What do colleges mean by “positive character attributes”?  3:55 - What are some examples of these “positive character attributes”?   4:58 - Why is it important for students, parents, and counselors to think about these qualities? 7:16 - How do colleges decide what qualities they’re looking for? 12:04 - How do colleges evaluate students for these qualities? 13:09 - Example of a rubric on extraordinary commitment to others 19:10 - Why don’t colleges share their rubrics for what they’re looking for? 21:18 - What can students do to better understand what a particular school is looking for? 24:08 - How do colleges evaluate “character” in an applicant?  29:58 - What is the high school profile and how is it used in a student’s evaluation? 31:20 - Why is it important to think about positive character attributes now? 35:56 - How can students demonstrate these qualities in their college applications?  40:00 - What can parents do to help their students in this process?  42:01 - Meet Trisha Ross Anderson (Part 2) 43:09 - What is the Making Caring Common (MCC) project? 44:37 - How is MCC working with colleges?  46:17 - Why is it difficult to create a rubric for these qualities? 48:16 - How is MCC helping colleges decide on what they are looking for?  52:45 - How is MCC helping colleges to increase equity and access in the college admissions process? 57:33 - Advice for parents on navigating this process with their students 1:01:31 - Closing thoughts    Resources Making Caring Common Character Assessment in College Admission Guide Turning the Tide (2016): Insp

• JAN 24, 2024

502: What Colleges Want (Part 2): A Deep Dive into GPA, Course Selection, and Making the Most of the Academic Opportunities Available to You

On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Nitzya Cuevas-Macias (Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep) cover: How do students decide which classes to take—and what questions should they ask when deciding? Key recommendations for selecting English, math, science, social studies, language, and elective courses The most frequently asked questions we get asked about courses and grades Nitzya Cuevas-Macias was a first-gen college student at UC Berkeley where she studied History and Legal Studies, and earned her Master’s in Mexican American Studies from San José State. She’s been working in education for 16 years where the majority of her time has been in college access and success, in the CBO, non-profit world, k-12 public and charter, and community college. Currently, she is the Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep, a free public charter in San José, CA and serves as a board member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling.  We hope you enjoy!   Play-by-Play: 2:21 - Introductions 6:02 - What are key things to keep in mind when planning your high school experience?  10:21 - Subject area recommendations 11:40 - English  16:04 - Math 21:34 - Science  28:02 - Social Studies 31:11 - Languages 33:06 - Visual/Performing Arts  36:17 - Electives 36:39 - Rapid-fire FAQs about grades 37:43 How do colleges evaluate my course grades and transcript? 38:22 - Is it important to only get Straight-As to have a chance?  40:29 - How do colleges evaluate my GPA? 42:05 - How can students balance a high GPA with challenging courses? 44:28 - Should students increase their rigor every year? 45:23 - Is it a good idea to take additional summer or online courses? 49:43 - How important is class rank? 51:19 - Should I pick Honors, AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment?  54:17 - Are AP and IB scores important if my school doesn’t offer AP courses? 57:28 - How do I know what classes to take if I don't know what I want to study or where I want to go to college? 59:59 - Wrap up / closing thoughts Resources: Coursera UC Scout Episode 403: AP, IB, Honors, Oh My!: How Admissions Officers View Your High School Courses, Rigor, and School Context - Susan Tree Episode 213: Self-Directed Learning (Why You Can Quit HS & Be Okay) What are AP classes? IB vs AP Easiest AP Classes Hardest AP Classes

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How to Write Your Common App Activities List

This is a guest blog post written by Ethan Sawyer,  The College Essay Guy . Ethan helps students write amazing college essays by offering free resources, one-on-one essay sessions, online webinars, and in-person workshops.  We encourage you to learn more about  The College Essay Guy  and check out the original post !

1. State role and organization name in top box, so you don’t waste characters in the lower, 160 character box. Instead of: (top box) School newspaper (description box) I am the editor for the school newspaper ( And don’t repeat words!)

Try: (top box) Editor of International Column, School Newspaper (description box) Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

2. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact .  Whom did your activity help? How many people? How much money did you raise?

Instead of: Raised money for children in Africa. Try: Raised $3,000 to provide three uniforms and scholarships for students attending the Joseph Waweru Home School in Kenya (http://www.exop.org/home_school.html).

3. Use active verbs  to explain what you actually did (list your tasks). Instead of: Worked at a clinic doing different things. Try: Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

4. To fit in more info:  use lists ,  don’t use complete sentences ,  cut extra words . Instead of: I raised money to donate to a school in Ghana in Africa by selling t-shirts and bracelets. Try: Arranged advertising events, organized fundraisers, and gave presentations at school meetings.

5.  Use the present tense  if it’s something you still do. Instead of: I helped tour visitors around the campus and presented some information on school history and student life. Try: I give campus tours, providing info on school history, student activities, boarding life.

6. Aim for  variety  in your list, making sure your verbs aren’t redundant. Instead of: Instructing, helping, teaching children tennis (how are these three different?) Try: Instructing in proper technique, while imparting lessons in sportsmanship, health and integrity.

7. Include  any responsibilities you had  to  demonstrate leadership skills . Instead of: I swim on the swim team. Try: Responsible for leading swim practices, planning fundraising events; assisting in recruiting process.

8. What if there isn’t much to say, or it was a one-time event? Explain the significance of the activity: who did the event matter to and why? Rather than: Tutored students. Try: Provided support to fourth graders with particularly difficult math concepts.

9. Avoid extreme language . Instead of: to help all those in need (or) to end poverty in the world Try: to help those in need (or) to aid in the fight against global poverty

10. Use bigger words.  Instead of: “Come up with” (or) “told people about” Try: Develop, brainstorm (or) advertised, marketed

Here are some examples: 

Important: list them in descending level of importance.

Editor of International Column, School Newspaper Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

Intern at Children’s Institute Otis Booth Campus Brainstormed ideas for after school programs for teens,created surveys,presented data to supervisor

Intern at Department of Cardiovascular Disease Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

Worked as assistant at Ye-In Dental Clinic Helped with patient registration, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with surgical processes.

Speech and Debate Academic All-American Award, NFL Tournament Qualifier (’11, ’12), Rupe Scholar, Stanford Invitational Semi-finalist, Harker Invitational Semi-finalist

Korean Compassion: Korean-to-English Letter Translator Translated letters sent by supporters to impoverished children in Asian and African countries.

Junior Researcher at Benetti Sport Inc. Conducted surveys to research youth interests, contributed ideas for future products.

Math Tutor at Sippican Elementary School Using card games and quizzes to simplify concepts, taught basic math skills to third graders.

School Tour Guide – International Guiding Staff I tour visitors around campus, while presenting school history, student activities, boarding life.

Global Partner for International Orientation I help new international students with registration and adjustment to the new school environment.

Click here for 10 Tips on Writing Your UC Activities List

Click here for a Brief Guide to Writing Your Common App “Additional Info” Section

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