Courses for Counselors & Educators
As seen in
My Two-part College Essay & Application Course Series
How to Write an Outstanding Personal Statement
Part 1 of the Counselor Training Program. A comprehensive live video course for college counselors, English teachers, and other educators on guiding students through writing a great college personal statement.
- 25+ Video Modules
- 30+ Sample Essays
- From working with students one-on-one all the way to large groups
Sessions start in March 2026!
How to Create a Compelling College Application + Supplemental Essays
Part 2 of the Counselor Training Program. A comprehensive live video course for counselors on college list building, the activities list, additional info section, and tons of supplemental essays for the most competitive schools.
- Course workbook
- 30+ Video Modules
- 30 Sample Essays
Sessions start in April 2026!
Upcoming Live Courses & Programs
Each of our courses comes with on demand content and a schedule of live sessions with Ethan or an industry expert.
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The College Counselor Course Bundle
Here’s your chance to combine our two most popular courses with access to any three of our mini-courses and our counselor community.
How to Build a Great College List
How to Make College Affordable
How to Write the UC Personal Insight Questions
Helping Students Apply to Highly Selective Colleges
Practical Coaching Strategies for the Average Writer
How to Give Great Essay Feedback
Save Money • Uplevel Your Counseling • Find Your People
Courses for Counselors & Educators
(Live and On Demand)
We have a huge range of courses, many of which you can start watching right away.
Some of our most popular include:
Helping Students Apply to Highly Selective Universities
Live mini course led by Tom Campbell and Ethan Sawyer. This course will cover all things highly selective admissions. Counselors will leave with a clearer understanding of the current selective admissions landscape (and what’s changed in recent years), an inside look at how admissions officers read applications, and case studies of successful applicants.
Live sessions begin in April 2026!
How To Write the UC Personal Insight Questions
An on-demand comprehensive video course for counselors on helping students apply to the University of California School school system and writing those pesky Personal Insight Questions.
30+ Video Lessons & exercises
Detailed Steps for each of the 8 PIQs
How to Write Better Recommendations in Less Time
An on-demand mini-course where a panel of college counseling experts in an 1.5 hour session to learn how to navigate through the recommendation letter writing process,
This is a fundraiser for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC).
Practical Coaching Strategies for the Reluctant Student Writer
An on-demand course where we partnered with Lyn Fairchild Hawks—college essay coach and author—to offer specific and practical strategies to help students of varying writing abilities tell powerful stories, offer meaningful insight, and complete serious revisions on their college essays.
How to Build A Balanced College List
An on-demand course on crafting a great college list for each of your students. We’ll cover the latest list-building methods and techniques from a nationally-recognized expert.
Spend four hours with Ethan and Dr. Steven Antonoff to craft informed, appealing, even outside-of-the-box college lists for your students.
How to Give Great Essay Feedback
An on-demand course on how to provide concise, insightful feedback on a student’s essay draft. We’re bringing on several experts from the CEG team (and Ethan) to provide you with a broad range of perspectives on this critical point in the application process.
All proceeds from registrations will benefit the Matchlighters Scholars program.
How to Make College Affordable Mini-Course
An on-demand mini course led by our friend and colleague Amanda Miller. This professional development workshop will deliver knowledge you can use immediately in your conversations with students and their families as they begin building their college lists choose among the many wonderful offers you’ve helped guide them to.
The Advanced Personal Statement Course for Counselors
An on-demand mini course.
Are you a college counselor or essay coach looking to take your essay coaching to another level? Looking for techniques and resources to help your students dig deep and get creative in how they tell their story?
I will introduce brand new techniques for counselors by sharing step-by-step guides, live meetings and answering all of your questions.
How to Design and Run an Effective College Counseling Department
An on-demand course with Ethan and Mr. Sanjay Mitchell to get equipped with practical strategies and resources to make your counseling program more efficient without compromising care or equity for you or your students/families.
How to Help Students Stand Out With Common Personal Statement Topics
An on-demand course.
The “soccer” essay. The “family challenges” essay. And, of course, the “inspiring person who is totally not the student” essay. How can students make these ideas work, come up with alternate topics that might work better—and how can they tell the difference? We answer the most important questions counselors face when working with a student on their essays.
How to Work Effectively with Multilingual Students
An on-demand course led by Rene Caputo, who has been teaching and coaching multilingual writers for over 20 years and who serves as the ESL specialist for Duke University’s writing program. You’ll discover what strategies you can use with students who have more experience with speaking English rather than writing in English, and what resources might support your students with improving their language use and word choice for an audience of US admissions readers
Additional Helpful Resources and Workshops
Counselor Training Program
The Counselor Training Program is a professional development and learning community that equips college counselors with the tools, skills, and resources they need to more confidently guide students through the college admission process.
The program is taught through a combination of 60-min workshops, 4-week courses, practicum sessions with other counselors taking the course, plus collaborative discussion in the learning community.
It is, as far as I know, the most comprehensive professional development program of its kind and unlike anything else that exists for college counselors and educational consultants.
Sessions start in March 2026!
College Essay Guy LIVE
Summer Workshops for Schools and Organizations
What is it? A series of live virtual summer workshops and college essay resources to help your students create outstanding college applications.
I’ll walk your students through the process of learning how to write and revise their personal statement and the most popular supplemental essays, while you focus on helping them through the rest of the process.
Counselors at high schools, non-profits, and community based organizations (CBO’s) are invited to join.
Sessions start in June 2026!
How To Lead A Life-changing College Essay Workshop
A comprehensive, step-by-step video course for helping counselors lead a life-changing college essay workshop for their students.
4+ Video Modules & 45-page Workbook
FAQs
What qualifications do your coaches have?
All coaches are experienced educators, former admissions officers, or college counselors with years of experience helping students write compelling essays. Many have advanced degrees and backgrounds in teaching, writing, or college admissions..
How long does the coaching process typically take?
Most students work with a coach for 8-12 weeks, depending on how many essays they need to write and where they are in the process. Some start earlier for full application support, others come in just for essay help closer to deadlines
What's the difference between your free resources and paid coaching?
Free resources give students frameworks, examples, and step-by-step guides they can work through on their own. Paid coaching provides personalized feedback, accountability, and an expert who helps your student find their specific story and refine their writing until it’s submission-ready.
Can I access the courses I purchased for my student?
Courses are accessed through the student portal using the email provided at checkout. If your student is working one-on-one with a coach, login details are included in the welcome email. Parents can request updates or ask to review materials anytime.
Got a Question?
View Our Frequently Asked Questions
Or, if you can’t find the answer there, shoot an email to my team: [email protected]