Libsyn Directory

504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

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

Release Date: 03/05/2024

609: Admission Nutrients (Part 3 of 6: Leadership): Important Ingredients for a Well-Balanced College Admission Process—And Life

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

In Episode 3 of our series on Admission Nutrients, Ethan is joined by Deanna Dixon, the Dean of Admission at Smith College, to dive into leadership and initiative. In their conversation, they get into: What are a few of the qualities Smith College looks for? How does their supplemental essay point to their institutional priorities and what they’re looking for in an applicant? Why are leadership and initiative important from Smith’s perspective? What does she think about ChatGPT? When it comes to equity and leveling the playing field, how does she believe the profession...

608: Admission Nutrients (Part 2 of 6: Collaboration): Important Ingredients for a Well-Balanced College Admission Process—And Life with Raissa Diamante

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

In Episode 2 of our series on Admission Nutrients, Ethan is joined by Raissa Diamante, the Director of Admission at Harvey Mudd College, to do a deep dive into collaboration — why is it important to colleges and where does it show up in the application process? Ethan and Raissa get into, among other things: What does the admission review process look like at Harvey Mudd? Why is collaboration particularly important (spoiler: it’s they look for)? Tips for the supplemental essay (side note: it’s a prompt they’ve kept some version of over the past 15 years) via a brief...

607: Admission Nutrients (Part 1 of 6: Intro): Important Ingredients for a Well-Balanced College Admission Process—And Life

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

Welcome back to the College Essay Guy Podcast! Today, Ethan kicks off a brand-new series: Admission Nutrients — qualities that not only enhance a well-balanced college application but can also contribute to a more meaningful life. In Part 1, Ethan introduces these “nutrients,” breaking down what they are, where they show up in the application, and why they matter. In upcoming episodes, Tom and Ethan will be joined by admission officers from different colleges to take a deeper dive into each one. In this episode, Ethan shares: What are Admission Nutrients, and what do they reveal...

606: Navigating College Applications with AI (Part 2): What Colleges Say + My Advice to Students and Counselors

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

Welcome to Part 2 of 2 of this mini-series on AI in college admission! In our , I interviewed Jen Rubin from foundry10 on how students and counselors are using AI in the college admission process. In today’s episode I’ll get into what colleges have to say, and what I would advise as a result. I’ll get into: My biggest concern with AI… in general (spoiler: it’s much bigger than college applications) My concerns related to AI use in the college application process Common App guidelines + What colleges have to say around AI use What I believe students might miss out on if...

605: Navigating College Applications with AI (Part 1): How High School Teachers and Students Use Tools Like ChatGPT

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

In Part 1 of 2 of this mini-series on AI in college admission, Ethan is joined by Jennifer Rubin, Senior Researcher at foundry10 and Principal Investigator of the Digital Technologies and Education Lab. Jen is a first generation college graduate and, like Ethan, she didn't have a ton of support navigating the college application and admission process. When Chat GPT was released, she wondered: How were students actually using these tools for the college essay and application process? And how can we make sure AI becomes a tool for equity, not another advantage for students who already have...

604: Inside the Application (Part 5): How to Decide Which College to Attend with Cassidy, HS Senior

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

Hi friends, and welcome back to the podcast! Many of you have been following Cassidy, a current high school senior, as she navigates the college application process. We've walked through her brainstorming exercises, her personal statement writing, and her supplemental essays. And now, at long last, Cassidy has received her college acceptances. Rather than reading the email she sent me, I replied, "Hey, I know you got your acceptances. What if we do a live reveal on the podcast?" So, I genuinely don’t know yet where she's been accepted. Huge shoutout to Cassidy for agreeing to do this live!...

603: Leading Through Chaos: 7 Superpowers for Uncertain Times with Angel Pérez

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

Welcome back to the podcast! Ethan is joined today by Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (). Angel has just written a new book on leadership called . It’s written for leaders on college campuses, but the advice he gives is applicable to leaders everywhere, whether you are a college counselor leading in your office, a parent leading in your home, or even a student leading in your school or community. In their conversation, Angel and Ethan discuss: How does Angel define leadership? Why is detachment so important (and how do we do it)? What’s the...

602: Roles and Identities Part 2 (for Counselors and Educators): A Framework for Understanding How Your Roles Shape Your Work

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

To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring. If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. In case you missed it, of this mini-series where Ethan walked through some practical exercises for students and parents based on the Roles and Identities framework. But...

601: Roles and Identities Part 1 (for Students and Parents): A Framework for Exploring Who You’ve Been, Who You Are, and Who You’re Becoming

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

To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring. If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. Today’s episode is the first of two where Ethan will dive into a few short, practical exercises for students and parents that can help them figure out things like how...

523: Busting College Admission Myths Using Data: Standardized Tests, Rankings, and the Cost of College with Akil Bello

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

In today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Akil Bello to talk about standardized tests, rankings, and the cost of college. They dig into some common misconceptions about college including: Are most colleges returning to requiring standardized testing scores? Is it too hard to get into college? Are highly-ranked colleges better? Is it true that most colleges now cost more than $100,000 per year to attend? And more! Akil Bello is an educator, strategist, researcher, policy consultant, and advocate for equitable access to education. For more than 30...

More Episodes

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see previous episodes), the college essay is what colleges care about most. Tom and Ethan get into:

What is the purpose of the personal statement?
How do you find a topic, especially if you’re not writing about challenges?
Why do I recommend students NOT choose a common extracurricular activity as their main college essay topic?
How do you stand out?
And how do you know when you’re done?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Play-by-Play

1:38 - What is the purpose of the personal statement in the college admission process?
2:53 - How might students use this statement for multiple schools?
3:48 - Should students talk about challenges they’ve faced in a personal statement?
6:47 - Should students talk about their major or career goals?
8:33 - Where is the best place to discuss extracurricular activities?
10:20 - Should students explain red flags in their personal statement?
11:26 - How can students brainstorm potential topics for their personal statement?
17:56 - What is the structure of a personal statement?
21:11 - How can students stand out?
28:57 - Case Study: What does the process look like from brainstorming to final draft?
35:39 - How does a student know when their essay is done?
38:27 - Is there a place for artificial intelligence in the college essay?
41:47 - have personal statements shifted since the Supreme Court ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions?
44:04 - Why does the personal statement process matter?
49:14 - Closing thoughts

Resources

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