ethan sawyer college essay guy

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

511: Identity, Self-Care, and the Future of College Admission w/ NACAC CEO Angel Pérez

Jun 27, 2024

In today's episode, Ethan connects with Angel Pérez (CEO of the National Association of College Admission Counselors) to discuss identity, his personal journey with self-care, and where he sees the college admission profession heading. 

On the episode, you’ll hear Angel and Ethan discuss:

• Angel’s brainstorming...

510: What Colleges Want (Part 9): A Crash Course in Standardized Testing

Jun 11, 2024

Today’s episode concludes our 9-part “What Colleges Want” series, where we’ve been walking through the results of the report released by the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) regarding the factors that colleges deem important. Ethan is joined by Jay Rosner (Executive Director of...

509: What Colleges Want (Part 8): Extracurricular Activities Deep Dive: How Getting Involved In and Out of School Can Boost Your Application

May 28, 2024

On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Carolyn Starks, a former Pomona and Bates admissions officer and Associate Director of College Counseling at Oakwood School (North Hollywood, CA) at the time of recording, to talk about extracurricular activities and the activities list...

508: What Colleges Want (Part 7B): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Counselors and Teachers

Apr 30, 2024

Today’s episode is all about writing letters of recommendation for teachers and counselors. Continuing our series on What Colleges Want, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Hanah Lim (CEG’s Director of Workshops and a former high school English teacher), where they provide their tips, tricks,...

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...

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.

College Essay Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay

Ethan sawyer.

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2016

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Help Students Write their Personal Statements with Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy!

For our newest collection of assignments we’ve partnered with Ethan Sawyer, better known ‘ College Essay Guy ‘, to bring a guided instructional experience that helps all students master their personal statement. Ethan is a nationally recognized college essay expert and the author of the Amazon bestsellers College Essay Essentials and College Admission Essentials . Each year he and his team reach more than one million students and counselors through the College Essay Guy blog, online courses, workshops, books, and one-on-one work.

The personal statement is just that: personal, which is why we’ve created a ‘choose your own adventure’ style experience that is able to support every student on their journey to an outstanding college essay. The first step on this adventure is to choose one of three possible writing paths: a montage essay, a narrative essay, or a non-guided approach that allows the student to write from a chosen prompt. For an optimal essay we suggest choosing the montage or narrative path.

How to Choose an Essay Path

In Writable you’ll notice the paths are written as multiple assignments in a collection that can and should be used as an instructional block. This gives students agency in what they write. By assigning all assignments within the collection a student will be able to forge their own path with the assistance of Ethan Sawyer himself.

Inside the assignments in Writable students will also have access to:

• Model essays
• Guided brainstorming exercises
• Printable readings and resources
• Side-by-side rubrics and checklists
• Video instruction from Ethan Sawyer
• Step-by-step instructions for writing, editing, and refining
• Graphic organizers for planning essays and exercises
• Easy access to multiple types of feedback, including teacher, peer, and self review
• AI-powered revision recommendations for on-demand support

By completing a montage or narrative path, students will craft a personal statement that will:

• show their core values and what is most meaningful to them.
• demonstrate insight and their ability to think critically.
• communicate vulnerability that will help readers connect with them.
• showcase their writing craft .

The Montage Path

The Montage Personal Statement unit is for students who answer NO to the question, “ Have you faced significant challenges in your life? ” This path helps students create an essay not around a challenge they have faced, but that shows many sides of themselves through the lens of a favorite object, skill, aspiration, identity, or hobby.

The Narrative Path

The Narrative Personal Statement unit is for students who answer YES to the question, “ Have you faced significant challenges in your life? ” This path helps students create a story-based essay that demonstrates their skills, qualities, and values through how that challenge impacted their life and the insights and lessons learned through overcoming the challenge.

The ‘Write to The Prompt’ Path

This path is not supported with guidance from Ethan Sawyer, but can be helpful if a student knows exactly what they plan to write about or may be lacking enough time to go through the instructional paths above. While this essay will also fall under either a narrative or montage structure, the student will only write one essay around a single chosen prompt.

Answers from Ethan Sawyer

In addition to the guided assignments that Ethan has created for Writable, he’s also compiled his most commonly asked questions and favorite tips into a series of short videos. These can help support your instruction and are great to share with students for inspiration as they work on their personal statements.

What are the most common mistakes to avoid when writing the personal statement?

What makes a great personal statement?

What are the best strategies for teaching the college essay?

How should you change your strategy when applying to college during a pandemic?

Additional College & Career Preparation

In addition to helping students craft powerful personal statements with the help of Ethan Sawyer, you’ll find many more assignments that can help high school students prepare for college or for starting their careers.

Writable’s SAT and ACT practice include prompts taken directly from the tests so that the assignments help to simulate the real tests that students will be taking. You’ll notice embedded readings alongside the assignment prompts, just like on the tests, as well as student-friendly rubrics side-by side the assignments as students write.

Explore SAT & ACT Practice >

In Writable we have practice assignments for AP English Literature & Composition, AP English Language & Composition, and AP United States History. All assignments include a range and variety of prompts written in the new “stabilized text” format including the new 6-point rubrics alongside all assignments.

Explore AP Practice >

Writable’s business, career, and technical writing collection is built for young adults working on writing in a career pathway or CTE track at school, or who just want to get ready for the type of writing they’ll encounter in the “real world”. Whatever career a student chooses beyond high school, it’s likely that writing will come into play. This collection includes assignments for resume and cover letter writing, business letter writing, and more.

Explore Business Writing >

Are you new to Writable or curious to learn more? Create a free teacher account , check out our pricing , schedule a personalized demo , or Join the Writable Educators Facebook Community .

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College Admission Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide to Showing Colleges Who You Are and What Matters to You Paperback – Illustrated, July 21, 2020

You can get into the perfect school!

Discover the key to standing out from the crowd and capturing the attention of top-tier colleges with strategic insights, insider tips, and proven techniques. With expert guidance, you'll navigate the intricate college admissions landscape, ensuring you masterfully craft an application that vividly reflects who you are and what truly matters to you.

You can take control of your college admission process, and you can do it in a way that's as effective as it is empowering. From describing your extracurriculars to interviews with admission officers, it comes down to two questions:

What matters most to you?

How does it manifest in your life?

The answers will give direction to every part of the admission process. Ethan Sawyer (the College Essay Guy), along with dozens of top admission experts, will help you stand out by showing colleges and universities how your values and your drive will change you, your alma mater, and the world.

Inside you'll find...

• Advice and insight from a team of counselors, advisors, and deans of admission
• Interactive exercises that quickly and easily provide the best content for your application
• Access to a massive database of online resources, including organizational tools and in-depth guides
• Guidance for veterans, students with learning differences, LGBTQ+ students, students interested in women's colleges or HBCUs, and more

Whether you're a high school junior just beginning your college admission journey or a senior seeking that extra edge, College Admission Essentials equips you with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to showcase your true self and achieve unparalleled success.

• Print length 432 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Sourcebooks
• Publication date July 21, 2020
• Dimensions 6 x 1.08 x 9 inches
• ISBN-10 149267883X
• ISBN-13 978-1492678830
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

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.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sourcebooks; Illustrated edition (July 21, 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 149267883X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1492678830
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.08 x 9 inches
• #25 in College Guides (Books)
• #56 in College Entrance Test Guides (Books)

About the author

Ethan sawyer.

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, 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 and their amazing daughter.

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