College Essay Essentials: Write Essays That Stand Out and Get You In

In my opinion, this book is perfect for helping teens write their college essays. The advice and exercises are timeless and very helpful for teens struggling to find their voice. BUT...I didn't realize that kids these days won't read books, so I had to read it, while my kids showed me up by finding this great website on their own that they used. ...yes, it was the website by Ethan Sawyer (the author). 8D My kids got into their first choice universities, of course with good grades and decent SAT scores. But I think Mr. Sawyer's methodology was key to their successful essays...just be mindful of the format that your teens are willing to accept.

My teacher told me to buy this.

This is one terrific college essay book. Read it cover to cover and you're almost assured of getting into the college of your choice.

Using a fresh approach based on years of experience, Ethan Sawyer has written an explicit how-to guide for any student or college counselor who wants to learn the craft of writing a self-narrative - - in the context of the college application. He begins by helping the writer choose a framework based on life experience, personal values and possible career goals. Next, he includes a variety of cogent tips on how to begin, revise and conclude an essay, as well as trouble-shooting strategies for struggling students and advanced techniques for students who want to take their essays to a higher level. Throughout, Ethan includes sample essays, with line-by-line comments, to illustrate his points. I can speak to the efficacy of his approach -- I'm a college consultant who has been using his techniques for more than three years with my own students! As a frequent participant in many of Ethan's classes, workshops and webinars over the years, I was not certain I also needed this book... But after reading it from cover to cover, I am thrilled to highly recommend it - - the cohesive format, additional source material and nuanced guidance from Ethan will help me give my students even greater insight to writing a successful college admission essay!

Ethan Sawyer is the College Essay Guy. That kind of says it all. While he may have named himself that, he has earned the title. His passion for writing essays that is conveyed in this book, will help any student get through the somewhat stressful and daunting process with fun and ease. As a college counselor, I have used some of Ethan’s methods to help my own clients write their essays. The great thing about this book is that it brings the College Essay Guy and his methods, brainstorming exercises, structures and ideas to everyone. Ethan is inspirational and College Essay Essentials is a must have for any student (or counselor) who is looking to be inspired to write a successful college admissions essay.

So I found the author also a youtuber, while his YouTube videos are super helpful these writing tips of this book is very basic. If you are a high school student who has strong writing skills this book will disappoint you on so many levels. I couldn't find a single helpful tip from this book bc it's like English 9th grade. I also said this bc I'm naturally a good writer and understand how to write college essays after reading lot of successful essays from students got admitted to Ivies league. I rec the havard 50 essays students who got in more. That book have tons of metaphor, ideas, and flows. If you plan to purchase this book I think u should be under 17, never take AP Lamg before (or failed) to read this. Bc lot of info in this book is common knowledge

Ethan Sawyer, aka the College Essay Guy, writes about core values, structure and craft as stages in developing a college essay and his book embodies the use of all three. It’s a compelling read as he engages the reader with his wit, humility and humor. It is easy to learn from his examples and his perfect mix of show and tell that is the hallmark of any great essay. He offers some great exercises and tools for college advisers to help their clients or writers to get started or unstuck in their process of writing personal essays. It really is a very valuable resource for anyone working on a college admissions essay.

I started using some of Ethan's methods to help students get started on their essays a couple of years ago based on some of the content on his website and a seminar I attended, given by Ethan. I found that Ethan's suggested steps to writing great essays essential. I was finally able to effectively help students begin to extract "their stories" from deep within them. These were to be some of the best brainstorming exercises I ever used for essay writing! Even the students were pleasantly surprised what they came up with. The book adds even more structure and suggestions. I will be utilizing Ethan's book to help all my students tell their stories in their college essays. So glad I found him, his body of work is not only a great resource, but he is committed to helping students.

Dear Ethan College Essay Essentials is an amazing book and a beautiful endeavour from your end. There are so many aspects to wrtiting College Application Essays- and you have demystified all of them. Reading from Page 1 till the end, and taking a break in between, was a task! Just to tell yo, have kept a notebook with all my side notes which will help me and our students while working with them. Although we are an International School from Mumbai, can or students sign up for your workshops? Each year we have a graduating Class size of almost 110 students, around 80% move to USA. Look forward to hearing from you A big thank you once again, Priya Gupta

Good product, timely delivery.

This book contains all the information needed to write a comprehensive College Application Essay. I recommend this to all of my friends here. All the best!!

Not at all for graduates...but still earned a three star to giving me my kinda epiphany.