2-Day Boot Camp:
Crafting Standout College Essays & Applications
- What colleges are looking for in a personal statement
- How to know if your current topic is working
- 9 ways to write a compelling hook
- Tips and resources for the activities list
- How to write the “Why us” essay
- Much more
What's the boot camp all about?
Crafting standout college essays and applications can be challenging for a few reasons.
You need to show your unique skills and attributes, how you’ll contribute to life on campus, and what qualities you bring, all without coming across as overly boastful or arrogant.
It can be a lot.
That’s why I put together this 2-day boot camp to help you understand what it takes to produce your strongest personal statement, Common Application, activities list, and additional information section. I’ll also cover some of the most common supplemental essays that many selective schools require.
When is it?
Session 1: Personal Statement - Saturday, November 30th
Session 2: Application & Supplemental Essays - Sunday, December 1st
Both sessions will be held at 2-4:00pm PT (5-7:00pm ET).
All sessions will be recorded and shared with you after the boot camp, just in case you miss a session or want to revisit anything we cover.
My Choose Your Own Adventure Essay Writing Tool
As part of the boot camp, you’ll get access to my Choose Your Own Adventure Essay Tool, which you can use to write, revise, and uplevel your personal statement, well after the boot camp is finished.
All homework for the course is optional, but we highly encourage you to get done as much as you can.
Pre-Work
When you register for the boot camp, you’ll get access to the pre-work I’d like you to complete before our first session.
This will help you get the most out of our sessions we spend together.
(But hey, if you can’t get to the pre-work—still show up! You can do it in between sessions.)
Day 1 - Personal Statement
• What colleges are looking for in a personal statement
• How to know if your current topic is working or if you should maybe consider a new one
• How to effectively brainstorm a stand-out topic (if you’re just starting, or starting over)
• How to revise your essay using 4 questions (if you have a topic you already like)
• How to stand out with a common topic
• 9 ways to write a compelling hook
• How to bring more insight into your essay
• 10 ways to end your essay
• Answering your questions and reviewing your essays, LIVE (with remaining time)
Day 2 - College Application & Supplemental Essays
• How to use the crash course brainstorming document
• Tips and resources for the activities list
• What goes in the Common App additional information section?
• Super Essays (i.e., how to create an inspired application and write better essays in less time)
• How to write the “Why us” essay
• How to write the “diversity”/community essay
• The best extracurricular activity brainstorming I’ve ever seen (BEABIES)
• Answering your questions and reviewing your essays, LIVE (with remaining time)
"“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
Watch me review essays and applications... LIVE
I may have time to review a few examples in the live sessions.
If you’d like to submit a draft of your Personal Statement, Activities List, Additional Info section, or supplemental essays for potential review, share a draft of your Google doc with CEGLIVE@collegeessayguy.com.
Note: By sharing your drafts, you’re granting permission for me to review your work live on the session and to have it recorded for later on-demand viewing. Also, keep in mind that I can only review a limited number of examples live, but I work hard to choose examples that I believe will have relevance for many on the course.
Who's leading the boot camp?
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.
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.
“I’ve been known to procrastinate on EVERYTHING. However, this course helped to keep me motivated and productive as I knew that this course would be able to really help me on the college application process. If you are one to slack off or procrastinate, I suggest taking this course. It may seem like a lot of work, but it will be worth it when your hard work pays off and you accomplish your goals.”
- Imani, Student
All proceeds from registrations go towards the Matchlighters Scholars Program.
That means all the money we raise from sign-ups will go towards helping low-income students receive free college essay help.
Thank you.
One Time Payment
$97
- What colleges are looking for in a personal statement
- How to know if your current topic is working
- 9 ways to write a compelling hook
- Tips and resources for the activities list
- How to write the “Why us” essay
- Much more
Pay-What-You-Can
$0-$97
- Only available for students from low-income families
- Simple income verification required
- Exactly the same course content
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have purchased any of our online video courses or live webinars, you can log in by going to the website menu bar > Log In > Online Courses. You can view that page here. From there you can access all of your products in your library.
If you already have access to our Choose Your Own Adventure Tool, go to the menu bar, click “Log In,” and click “Choose Your Own Adventure Tool.”
Keep in mind that the Choose Your Own Adventure Tool is hosted on a different platform than our courses, so registration and a separate login are required for it. When you buy the course, you'll get instructions on how to set up a Choose Your Own Adventure Tool account. If you can't find the instruction email in your inbox or spam folder, email us at help@collegeessayguy.com.
Recordings from previous sessions are inside your CEG account, specifically inside the course modules.
Students have access to the course for one year from the date of purchase.
Unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee essay reviews as a part of this course.
Our team provides one-on-one essay coaching with a team of veteran essay coaches and college counselors. Reach out and schedule a call to learn more here.
Access is really important to all of us at College Essay Guy. It’s at the heart of most everything Ethan does and is why so many resources on the site are free. As this is something we are passionate about, you have the option to submit a pay-what-you-can request on each of our course pages. The form for it is located right above the FAQ section.
Sure! If you purchased the course within 30 days and feel it did not help you, you can get a 100% guaranteed, no-questions-asked refund.
My FAQ page has you covered. Or, if you can't find the answer there, shoot an email to my team: help@collegeessayguy.com.