College Essay Coach & Admissions Consultant in Dallas-Fort Worth
Get one-on-one help with your college essays and applications. We work with students virtually via Zoom, allowing us to serve students around the US & world.
Thousands of students from the Dallas-Fort Worth area apply to college each year
Most selective colleges use a regional admissions process. Your student’s application is read against other students from Dallas-Fort Worth, not against applicants from Ohio or Georgia. They are competing directly with classmates from their own school, and with students from the most competitive high schools in the DFW area.
Standing out in that context takes more than a strong GPA. It takes a clear, coherent story that shows who your student is, what they care about, and why they belong at each school on their list. That story lives in the essays, and that is where we work.
As seen in
How College Essay Guy guides Dallas-Fort Worth area families
College Essay Coaching
The college essay is one of the few places in the application where a student gets to tell their story. Our coaches help students figure out what is actually worth writing about and build an essay around it that is specific, honest, and memorable.
- Common App personal statement
- Supplemental essays for every school on the list
- Brainstorming and topic selection strategy
- "Why Us?" essays, activity descriptions, and short answers
- UC Personal Insight Questions
- Internal team review of every essay
College Admissions Counseling
Good essay coaching doesn't happen in isolation. Strong essays need to be supported by a strong academic profile, compelling extracurriculars, a strong college admissions plan, and positioning a student's strengths across the application. This is what our team of veteran college counselors do.
- Customized college list development
- Academic planning and course selection
- Major exploration and selection strategy
- Extracurricular and summer planning
- Early Decision and Early Action strategy
- Standardized test planning and prep
“Ethan and the College Essay Guy team were amazing in every sense of the word. Their constant back-and-forth on what works and doesn’t work in each of my essays taught me how to become a better writer.
— Kajal, admitted to Yale University
What sets College Essay Guy apart
The most trusted name in college admissions
For 20 years, counselors, parents, and students have come to College Essay Guy first. Ethan Sawyer's books are taught in classrooms, his frameworks are used by independent and school-based counselors around the world, and millions of students have learned to write their personal statements through our free resources. Even many selective colleges have used CEG resources to train their college admissions staff on how to read applications.
Comprehensive admissions guidance
While essays are important, they aren't the most important thing in a sound college admissions plan. Our team of veteran college counselors average 20+ years of experience each and help students think through the entire process: building a balanced college list, planning a challenging course load, shaping a meaningful activities list, navigating financial aid, and telling your story.
A values-based approach
We find that digging deep and starting with self-discovery is the best recipe to creating compelling college applications. Before we touch a college list or an essay draft, our team helps students identify what they actually care about, what they're good at, and what they want the next four years to look like. Applications built on that foundation lead to not just better choices during high school, but more compelling applications and essays.
Consultation and match
Start with a free call, then get paired with a coach chosen for your student's goals and personality.
Brainstorm and discovery
Your student works through our signature brainstorming exercises, so every session starts with real material.
Draft with expert coaching
Round after round of feedback shapes each essay until the writing is specific, honest, and clearly theirs.
Multi-coach review
A second coach reviews the work for range and depth, so more than one expert weighs in before anything is final.
Final review before submission
Your coach does a last pass on essays, activities, and the full application before your student hits submit.
Serving students across the Dallas-Fort Worth area
We work with students and families in every part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, including:
- Highland Park
- University Park
- Preston Hollow
- Lakewood
- Uptown
- Plano
- Allen
- Frisco
- McKinney
- Prosper
- Southlake
- Colleyville
- Westlake
- Trophy Club
- Keller
- Flower Mound
- Grapevine
- Aledo
- Benbrook
- and surrounding communities
Because all coaching is online, we also work with students throughout the wider Dallas-Fort Worth region and across Texas.
We hate to brag…
But we know parents are often curious about the numbers.
Schools We Serve
We work with families attending top private and public high schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
We've worked with students from public, private, and charter high schools across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
- Highland Park High School
- Plano Senior High School
- Southlake Carroll High School
- Coppell High School
- Flower Mound High School
- Grapevine High School
- Argyle High School
- Allen High School
- Frisco Centennial High School
- St. Mark's School of Texas
- Hockaday School
- Greenhill School
- Cistercian Preparatory School
- Parish Episcopal School
- Ursuline Academy of Dallas
- Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas
- Trinity Christian Academy
- Fort Worth Country Day School
...and dozens of other schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. All our coaching is 100% online, so we can work with students throughout the US and world.
Colleges our Dallas-Fort Worth students apply to
Dallas-Fort Worth students often have a mix of Texas publics and selective privates on their list. We help with the full range.
State & Public Universities
The University of Texas at Austin is the most common target for DFW students, and automatic admission (top 6%) makes it accessible — but program-specific competition for McCombs, Cockrell, and CNS is real. Texas A&M is a strong second choice, especially for engineering and business, and both require essays that go beyond grades and test scores.
Selective Private Universities
We work with students applying to the full range of selective private universities, from the Ivies to top research and liberal arts schools. For each application, we help tailor the "Why Us?" essay so it does not read like it was written for five different schools at once.
Top Public Flagship Universities
Strong out-of-state applicants face their own kind of competition at the top public flagships. We help students build applications that show why they would be a fit at each one.
Let's connect.
Schedule an initial consultation.
We'll learn about your college admissions goals and share more about how we can help.
Here's what happens
on the call.
- Talk through where your student is in the process — grade, timeline, and what's feeling hardest right now
- Hear how CEG's coaching approach works and what makes it different from typical essay help
- Get a clear picture of package options so you can make an informed decision — no pressure
- Ask anything — about our coaches, our process, our free resources, or all of the above
Whether you sign up or not, you'll leave with more clarity than you came in with.
“As someone who considers myself an average writer at best, I had a lot of fear facing the 25+ essays I had to write. CEG broke it into manageable pieces, and after many rounds of feedback I wrote deeply personal, finely-crafted essays.
— Andie, admitted to Boston University
Frequently Asked Questions
Is coaching online or in-person?
All coaching happens online over video calls. We’ve worked this way from the beginning, so the process is smooth, and parents say they love the flexibility to reschedule and avoid wasting time in traffic. Plus, being virtual allows us to have a broader range of counselors and coaches to pair you with, rather than limit your choices to those in your zip code.
Students just need a quiet spot and a reliable connection.
When should we start?
The earlier the better, though the right answer depends on your student’s year and goals. Rising seniors just looking for support on their essays and applications benefit most from starting in the spring or summer before senior year.
Students who want help with building a broader strategy and extracurricular positioning start as early as 9th or 10th grade to allow time for exploring academic and extracurricular interests.
What's included in coaching?
It depends on the package. Most students work with a coach on their personal statement and a set of supplemental essays. Full college admissions consulting packages including everything else: school list strategy, timeline planning, extracurricular profile building, and more. Schedule a call to learn more about the options.
How do I know if College Essay Guy is a good fit for my student?
The best way is to book a free consultation and talk through your student’s situation. We will ask about their schools of interest, timeline, and what they have already figured out. If we are the right fit, we will tell you how we would work together. If we are not, we will say that too.
Students considering a college admissions planning package and working with our college counselor will have a chance to schedule a Get to Know You call.
Do you work with students who already have strong applications?
Yes. Often the students who get the most from essay coaching are the ones who look great on paper but have not yet translated that into a compelling application in their essays, activities list, and Additional Info section. Essays are where the differentiation happens, especially at highly selective schools where most applicants are already academically qualified.