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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 th ...
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Join College Essay Advisors' Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, and Director of Advising, Becca Myers, for the inside scoop on all things college essay-related – from brainstorming tips to real time essay reviews. This is your chance to go behind the scenes at CEA and discover what admissions is really looking for!
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520: Storytelling & Identity w/Whit Anderson (Part 2 of 3): Beating Writer's Block, Writing RomComs and Space Operas, and Female Representation in Hollywood
1:11:54
1:11:54
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1:11:54
In this three-part series, Ethan sits down with his screenwriter friends to do a deep dive into the creative process, the power of storytelling, and how identity plays a role in both. In Episode 2, Ethan is joined by screenwriter Whit Anderson, known for her work on Daredevil, The Twilight Zone, and Ozark. Whit and Ethan talk about, among other thi…
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519: Storytelling & Identity with Dave Callaham (Part 1 of 3): What it’s Like Writing Marvel Movies, Asian-American Representation in Hollywood, and Advice on Finding Your Voice
1:53:12
1:53:12
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1:53:12
In this new three-part series, Ethan sits down with his screenwriter friends to do a deep dive into the creative process, the power of storytelling, and how identity plays a role in both. In Episode 1, Ethan is joined by screenwriter Dave Callaham, known best for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Wonder…
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518: Inside the Application (Part 4): How to Know if You’re “Almost Done” with Your College Application
1:15:14
1:15:14
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Today’s episode is part four of our series Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Cassidy’s application deadlines are coming up, so Ethan and Cassidy check out what she has so far through a process called the “Almost Done” review. They discu…
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517: Inside the Application (Part 3): Supplemental Essay Deep Dive + Developing the College List w/ Special Guest Renee Ferrerio
1:14:26
1:14:26
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1:14:26
Today’s episode is part three of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. This episode is a deep dive into the supplemental essays — specific essays that many selective colleges and universities require. In particular, Cassidy and …
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516: Inside the Application (Part 2): Developing the Personal Statement, Supplemental Essays, and College List with Cassidy, HS Senior
1:02:00
1:02:00
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1:02:00
Today’s episode is part two of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 2, they get into: How is Cass…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they offer listeners insight as to what applicants can expect upon signing up for an expert assessment of their college essay draft(s) and discuss their methods for constructively delivering feedback to young writers. Sign up for your college essay assessment: https://www.collegeessayadvisors.com/one-on-one-advising/assessm…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they walk you through one of their favorite ways of brainstorming for the personal statement: the object exercise! Take a look around your room and identify a few objects that are near and dear to you, then reflect on what they represent to you or remind you of. You may just identify a conduit to an impactful college essay …
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515: Inside the Application Part 1: Brainstorming, Outlining, and Drafting with Cassidy, HS Senior
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Today’s episode kicks off a new series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 1, they get into: How did Cassid…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss strategies for writing essays about hardship that emphasize positive qualities that will empower you to succeed in higher education, rather than relying on common platitudes. They also touch on the pressure many marginalized students feel to “sell their pain” by sharing traumatic stories in their college essays…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they review common Activity Essay prompts, discuss the purpose of the essay within the scope of the larger application, offer guidance on which of your activities to expand upon, and flag common pitfalls to sidestep. Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?…
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514: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Student Perspective
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Welcome to the final episode to our special three-part series on mental health disclosures in college applications. In Episode 3, Ethan’s guest is Emi Nietfeld, author of Acceptance (Penguin Press '22), a critically-acclaimed memoir of her high school journey through foster care, homelessness, and the troubled teen industry to attend college at Har…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they weigh the risks and benefits of writing about religion, faith, and politics in your college essay. Can applicants address potentially controversial topics without polarizing admissions? How should their school lists factor into the decision? Listen to get some expert advice from the people behind College Essay Advisors…
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513: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Admission Officer Perspective with Christina Lopez
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Welcome to the next episode to our special three-part series on mental health disclosures in college applications. In Episode 2, Ethan is joined by Christina Lopez, Dean of Enrollment Management at Barnard College. They cover, among other things: Why is this topic important—both generally, but also personally, for Christina? What advice would Chris…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the risks that accompany reading too many college essay examples and ways students and parents alike can best set themselves up for success before starting the college essay writing process. Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6VxiKDeqQc…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the dangers of writing about someone else in your college essay and what you can do to make sure the spotlight shines on you (your strengths, your character, your candidacy)! Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6VxiKDeqQc Work one-on-one…
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512: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Counselor Perspective
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Welcome to our special three-part series on mental health disclosures in college applications. To kick things off, Ethan interviews Chris Loo, Director of College Counseling at The Stony Brook School, where Chris has been working to help students navigate mental health disclosures in their applications for years. In this episode, they explore: Whic…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the challenges of writing about one of the most common college essay topics: summer camp. Is it possible to write about camp while still differentiating yourself from other applicants with similar stories? Learn how this common experience can be a featured player in your story without taking center stage. Watch…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the role of the Additional Information Essay in the college application. They cover the purpose of this text box and the kinds of circumstances that warrant an essay, as well as the dangers of submitting a superfluous essay. Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https://w…
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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 work for his own imagined college essay…
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Join Stacey and Becca as discuss whether to (and how to) write about mental illness in your college admissions essay. Read our Common App Prompt Guide: https://www.collegeessayadvisors.com/portfolio-items/2024-25-common-application-essay-prompts-guide/ Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https://www.youtube…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the pros and cons of writing about neurodiversity in your college admissions essays. Whether you’re considering writing about your Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, learning differences, or ADHD, Stacey and Becca are here to offer some advice on how to write about your lived experience. Watch some of our YouT…
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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 The Princeton Review Foundation) to talk ab…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they talk all things twins! Distinguishing yourself from similarly qualified applicants is hard enough as it is, let alone someone who shares your DNA; luckily, Stacey and Becca have tips for twins (and triplets) writing college admissions essays that shine. Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=…
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Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the infamous Diversity Essay. They cover creative approaches to writing about identity and whether there are any risks involved with writing about race, sexuality, gender, etc. in a post-affirmative action admissions landscape. Watch some of our YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MaLsIu1vdE https:…
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509: What Colleges Want (Part 8): Extracurricular Activities Deep Dive: How Getting Involved In and Out of School Can Boost Your Application
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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 on college applications. They get into, a…
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508: What Colleges Want (Part 7B): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Counselors and Teachers
1:08:56
1:08:56
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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, and hacks to help you write more efficie…
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507: What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families
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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 asking, and how do they ask? What c…
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506: What Colleges Want (Part 6): Demonstrated Interest: What Is it, Why Is it Important, and How Do You Show it? with Dean of Enrollment Christine Bowman
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On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Christine Bowman, Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern University. In part 6 in our series on What Colleges Want, Ethan and Christine get into: What is demonstrated interest and how do colleges track it? How important is demonstrated interest to a student’s chance of getting in? How might students find o…
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505: What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)
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On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 5 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about some of the other written parts of the application—the activities list, additional information section, and supplemental essays. Tom and Ethan get into: How can students write a gre…
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504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)
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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 es…
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503: What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?
1:02:26
1:02:26
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1:02:26
In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance. In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Bob Massa (former chief admissions/…
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502: What Colleges Want (Part 2): A Deep Dive into GPA, Course Selection, and Making the Most of the Academic Opportunities Available to You
1:01:20
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1:01:20
On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Nitzya Cuevas-Macias (Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep) cover: How do students decide which classes to take—and what questions should they ask when deciding? Key recommendations for selecting English, math, science, social studies, language, and elective courses The…
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