College Essay Guy's 2025
College Essay & Application Program for Students
Join me live this summer to draft, outline, and write outstanding college essays and applications.
Hi, Students
The summer is the best time to sit down, dig deep, and craft strong college applications and essays.
Why?
Over the past 15 years, I've found that students often underestimate the time it takes to craft great college essays. With many students applying to 8-12 colleges, writing 10-20+ supplemental essays that do a great job of helping you stand out takes time, sustained effort, and deep thinking.
So I'm excited to invite you to join me in my 8-week college essay & application course. Have a busy summer? Don't worry. I designed this course so you can go through it wherever, and whenever you'd like.
Introducing My 2025 College Essay & Application Program
Updated and revised to be even more effective and more practical than ever.
What Is It?
Based on the culmination of the 18+ years I’ve spent helping students navigate the college application process, my College Essay & Application course is a live two-part course that equips students and families with the tools, skills, and resources they need to more confidently move through the college application process.
It remains the most effective way I know to help students go from 'I have no idea where to start' all the way to a personal statement and supplemental essays that stand out.
What's Included?
Featuring My Two Signature Courses for Students & Families
Join me live or take the courses on-demand.
Learn to find your deepest story, structure your essays, and craft a personal statement you’re proud of.
PART ONE
LIVE SESSION DATES & Times:
June 26th, and July 3rd, 10th & 17th
10-11:30am pt & 4-5:30pm pt
(1-2:30pm ET & 7-8:30PM ET)
Session 1: Brainstorming
(Thursday, June 26th)
Session 2: Outlining & Writing
(Thursday, July 3rd)
Session 3: Revising
(Thursday, July 10th)
Session 4: Refining & Upleveling
(Thursday, July 17th)
CAN’T MAKE A SESSION?
All sessions will be recorded and made available to watch on-demand in your own time.
Take a Look Inside part one
Week 1: Brainstorming & Choosing a Topic
Included in this module:
- What’s the Purpose of the Personal Statement?
- What are the Four Qualities of an Outstanding Personal Statement?
- 7 Mini Brainstorming Exercises
- How These Exercises Can Lead to an Essay Topic
- What Should I Do if I Can’t Decide on a Topic?
- Montage vs. Narrative Structure
- 7 Types of Montage Essay
- What Is Narrative Structure & How Does it Work?
Week 2: Outlining & Writing
Included in this module:
- Why Other People Write Bad First Drafts (And How to Not Be Like Them)
- Why You Should Create a Solid Outline Before You Start
- How to Outline Using the 7 Montage Paths
- How to Outline Using the Narrative Path
- How to Write Your First Draft
- How to Get Feedback (If You Want it) on Your First Draft
- Personal Feedback from Me on Some of Your Topic Ideas
Week 3: Editing
Included in this module:
- How to Raise the Stakes and Draw Your Reader in
- 11 Ideas for Improving the Middle of a Challenges-Based Essay
- How to Uplevel Each Paragraph in a Montage Essay
- How to Make My Challenges More Clear
- How to Make Sure Your Personal Statement “Flows”
- Personal Feedback from Me on a Variety of Your Essays-in-Progress
Week 4: Refining & Up-Leveling
In our live Session 4, you can expect:
- 10 Ways to End a Personal Statement
- The Great College Essay Test (i.e., How to Know If Your Personal Statement Is Doing its Job)
- Tips for Polishing (When You’re Ready)
- Personal Feedback from Me on (Basically) As Many Essays As I Can Get to
“Cannot imagine going through this process without you. The process flow is terrific with the value brainstorming at the beginning and the thoughtful essay shaping to bring out the story behind the applicant. Highly recommend.”
Nira, Student
Learn to create an outstanding application, develop a solid strategy, and write supplemental essays that stand out.
PART TWO
LIVE SESSION DATES & TIMES:
July 24th & 31st, August 7th & 14th
10-11:30am pt & 4-5:30pm pt
(1-2:30pm ET & 7-8:30PM ET)
Week 1: Brainstorming & The Big Picture
(Thursday, July 24th)
Week 2: Activities List, Additional Info & 'Why Us' Essay
(Thursday, July 31st)
Week 3: Extracurricular + Supplemental Essays
(Thursday, august 7th)
Week 4: Reviewing the Whole Application
(Thursday, august 14th)
CAN’T MAKE A SESSION?
All sessions will be recorded and made available to watch on-demand in your own time.
Take a Look Inside part two
Week 1: The College Application
Included in this module:
- How to Create an Inspired Application and Supplemental Essays in Half the Time
- The Overlapping Prompt Game & The Super Essay
- A Sample Super Essay & The BEABIES Exercise
- How to Create an Outstanding Activities & Awards List
- The Difference Between a Very Good Activities List and an Outstanding One
- How to Up-Level the Activities and Awards List in Three Steps
- How to Write the Additional Information Section
- And more
Week 2: The “Why Us” Essay
Included in this module:
- Six Common Mistakes Students Make on the “Why us” Essay
- How to Write the “Why us” Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How To Find All the Resources You Need to Learn about a Particular School
- The Top Secret Three-Word Trick to Finding Specific Info for Your “Why us” Essay
- Approach #1: The Basic, Solid ‘Why Us’ Essay That Includes a Bunch of Reasons
- Approach #2: The “3-5 Unique Reasons” Strategy
- Approach #3: The “One Value” Strategy
- How To Write a “Why us” Essay If You Don’t Know What They Want to Study
Week 3: Common Supplemental Essays
Included in this module:
- The Difference Between a Regular and a “Super” Extracurricular Essay
- Eight Mistakes Students Make on Their Extracurricular Essays—and How to Avoid Them
- How to Write an Outstanding Narrative Extracurricular Essay: The Powerwall Exercise
- How to Write an Outstanding Montage Extracurricular Essay: The UC Exercise
- How to Stand Out on the Extracurricular Essay If Your Topic and Achievements Are Common
- How to Write a Super Extracurricular Essay
- How to Write the "Why Major?" Essay (Including: What to do When Applying Undecided)
- How to Write the "Community" Essay
- How to Write the “Diversity” Essay (to be covered live)
- How to Write the 150-Word Extracurricular Essay
Week 4: Bonus Content
Included in this module:
- How to Make the Short Answers Awesome: 11 Dos and Don’ts
- How to Make Sure the Application Is Doing Its Job
- The U Chicago Essays (in “Bonus Content” module)
- Supplemental Essays That Are Too Good to Share (And Why I Don’t Share Them)
- How to Create a Great College List
- Do interviews matter? If So, Should You Prepare?
- Demonstrated Interest: A Brief and Practical How-To Guide
- How to Turn Your Common App Activities List into an Awesome Resume
- How to Write a Great Transfer Essay
“You’re an amazing teacher! Thanks to you, I’ve been able to say what I’ve wanted to say about my life and show how it has impacted me. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you!”
MILES P, STUDENT
New This Year: Two Additional Essay Review Sessions
This year, beyond the reviews of college essays I'll be doing at each weekly session, we'll be hosting two college essay & application review sessions where college essay coaches from my team will be reviewing your essays and providing feedback.
Note: While we don't guarantee every student will have their essays reviewed, we're providing more opportunities to get direct feedback on your college essays and apply the principles in the course to your own essays.
- BONUS SESSION ONE: Topic Selection (Date & Time TBD)
- BONUS SESSION TWO: Essay Review (Date & Time TBD)
My approach has evolved and I’m excited to share these updates with you.
Inside the courses, you'll learn things like:
- The New (Updated for 2025) Brainstorming Process I Use With My One-on-one Students (Including the Google Doc I Send Them)
- My Proven Process for Choosing a Great College Essay Topic
- What to Do When You Feel Like You Have “Nothing to Write About”
- How to Outline & Structure an Essay When You Have a Great Topic
- How to Draft, Refine, Revise & Up-level Your College Application
- How to Create an Inspired Application and Supplemental Essays in Half the Time
- How to Write All the Major Supplemental Essays Required of Selective Colleges
- The Difference Between a Very Good Activities List and an Amazing One
- How to Up-level Your Activities List if You "Haven't Done Much"
- What You Should and Shouldn't Include in the Additional Information Section (& How this Section Could Make the Difference in Your Application)
PLUS... You'll Get Access to My Comprehensive Choose Your Own Adventure Essay Revising Tool
What is the CYOA tool? It's the comprehensive curriculum I use with students to teach great college essay writing.
Inside the tool, you'll get answers to questions like:
Inside the tool, you'll get answers to questions like:
- What’s the purpose of the personal statement?
- What are some of the most effective exercises for brainstorming a topic?
- What if I can’t decide if my topic will make a “good” essay?
- Should I write about mental health challenges?
- How can I bring more insight into my essay?
- What are some ways that I can write a great hook/intro?
- How can I more effectively communicate how I overcame and grew from my challenge(s)?
5,000+
STUDENTS have taken their essays & applications to the next level through CEG courses.
“The College Essay Guy reduced our family's stress, increased my daughter's confidence, and kept her on schedule while helping her create fantastic essays that reflected her personality and future goals—priceless!”
Sarah, Parent
“I came into this course thinking I was a hopeless case because I didn't have any harrowing tales of struggle. I tried just being really braggy in my essay, but I found a real focus in my last paragraph, where I talked about a topic that meant a lot to me. I had originally thought I shouldn't talk about that topic because it was such a GOOD experience for me and I thought it would be too shallow. I learned that I could talk about what I loved as an essay topic if I could infuse it with my values.”
Jordan, Student
Here's what Shreya said about the course
Here's what Sophie's said about the course
Flexible Payment Options
for 2025
Access is important to us. We want you to enjoy these courses in a way that fits your needs and budget.
The cost of each of my flagship courses when purchased individually is $297, so $594 in total.
For 2025: Get BOTH courses for just $450
PLUS... My "First 100" Offer:
The first one hundred folks to join the program this year will also be invited to:
“Inside College Admissions” Private Q&A
Join a LIVE private call with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) + Tom Campbell (Former Pomona Admissions Officer).
- Have questions beyond college essays? Get insight from a former admissions officer from a highly-selective college
- We’ll cover everything from demonstrated interest to communicating with the people who read your application, and more
- We imagine answering more than 50 questions on this session
The first one hundred folks to join the program this year will also be invited to:
“Inside College Admissions” Private Q&A
Join a LIVE private call with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) + Tom Campbell (Former Pomona Admissions Officer).
- Have questions beyond college essays? Get insight from a former admissions officer from a highly-selective college
- We’ll cover everything from demonstrated interest to communicating with the people who read your application, and more
- We imagine answering more than 50 questions on this session
Single-
Payment
Option
Summer 2025 College Essay & Application Program for Students & Families
$594
$450
Save $144
Pay-what-you-can spots available. See right column to apply.
3-
Payment
Option
Summer 2025 College Essay & Application Program for Students & Families
$594
$450
Save $144
Pay-what-you-can spots available. See right column to apply.
Pay-What-You-Can
Spots
Available
We offer Pay-What-You-Can spots to qualifying students and families.
Just looking to sign up for one of my courses?
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Money Back Promise
We want the investment in our summer essay writing & application courses to be an absolute no-brainer for you.
So if you register for the course, engage in the sessions, and still don’t find them useful, email us and we'll refund your money within 60 days of the date you signed up.
This money-back guarantee only applies if you actually engage with the course sessions and complete the assignments.
So if you register for the course, engage in the sessions, and still don’t find them useful, email us and we'll refund your money within 60 days of the date you signed up.
This money-back guarantee only applies if you actually engage with the course sessions and complete the assignments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will CEG still offer individual live courses a la carte in 2025?
Yes. We’ll be launching our full, individual courses as we’ve done in past years at $297 each. The benefit of signing up for the full program (both courses) is that you pay a heavily discounted price.
Do I need to attend all the live sessions?
No need. All the live sessions are recorded and will be uploaded for viewing inside your course library once you register.
When are the live sessions?
You’ll find the course dates and times listed here.
Is there Pay-What-You-Can for this offer? Do you offer payment plans?
Yes to both! PWYC offers are available to qualifying students, and we have payment plan options listed on the pricing section of this page.
Will you record all the live sessions?
Yes, we’ll record all the live sessions for the two courses.
How long do I have access to the courses?
You’ll have lifetime access to the courses. In addition, you'll have access to the Choose Your Own Adventure Tool through June 1st, 2026.
