University of California
Ethan Sawyer
How to Write the UC Essay Prompts 2025/2026 (+ ...

This guide covers how to write the UC essay prompts (or PIQs) with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

Common App, Student Resources
Ethan Sawyer
How to Write a Successful Common App Activities ...

Write an impressive college activities list for your common app using this step-by-step guide and awesome activities list for college applications example, with notes on how to select the right verbs and to decide how many hours per week to list. 

How to Write a Successful Common App Activities List
Personal Statement
Ethan Sawyer
27 Outstanding College Essay Examples From Top ...

Use these outstanding college essay examples to learn how to write your personal statement and supplemental essays for the college application.

Supplemental Essays
Ethan Sawyer
Why This College Essay Guide + Examples

Stand out on your Why This College essay. Read our Why This College essay examples and follow our clear guidelines to make sure you avoid potential pitfalls, include essential details in your Why This School essay, and use our tried-and-true research tools.

Student Resources
Andrew Simpson
How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for ...

Learn how to ask for a letter of recommendation for college with my comprehensive step-by-step guide and real-world examples

How to Write the Emory University Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2025/2026

This guide covers how to write the Emory University supplemental essay prompts with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

How to Write the Tulane University Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2025/2026

This guide covers how to write the Tulane University supplemental essay prompts with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

How long should a college essay be?

This guide explains how long a college essay should be, whether your writing for the common app, coalition app, UC schools, or for any supplemental essays.

How to Write the Amherst College Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2025/2026

This guide covers how to write the Amherst College supplemental essay prompts with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

How to Write the Babson College Supplemental Essays: Examples + Guide 2025/2026

This guide covers how to write the Babson College supplemental essay prompts with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

How to Write the Syracuse University Supplemental Essay: Examples + Guide 2025/2026

This guide covers how to write the Syracuse University supplemental essay prompt with exercises and essay examples to help you along the way.

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The Values Exercise

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Brainstorming before writing is a MAJOR key to coming up with successful topics and ideas for your college essay. With the Values exercise, you can connect to your core values and beliefs in a way that inspires authentic sharing (and a pretty darn good essay).

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How to End a College Essay: 10 Tactics & Strategies

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How to End a College Essay: 10 Tactics & Strategies

Because a strong ending can help a college application essay stand out, this guide offers 10 approaches students can use to build better endings.

How to Format a College Essay: Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, we’ll teach you two different essay formats to outline and structure the perfect college essay (aka structures) to help write your best college application essay.

How to Write a Challenges-Based (i.e., Narrative) College Essay That TBH Wasn’t That Big of a Deal

There’s nothing wrong with writing your personal statement about a challenge you faced. Before you get in too deep though, consider these insightful points about narrative (challenge-based) essays plus other essay types that could be a better fit for you.