Hey, it’s Elena! Scoir and College Essay Guy recently hosted an event: How to Stand Out on Your College Essays This Fall. In case you missed it, we're rounding up the 5 biggest tips from the event to help you write outstanding personal statements, supplemental essays, and more!
Want to hear all of College Essay Guy's advice? Watch the replay!
Or, want to find out how you can hang out with College Essay Guy for a month in September? Read to the end to sign up for his upcoming courses!
Here are the 5 biggest tips from the event:
You know that feeling when you're looking at a blank Google Doc...and you have no idea what to write? 😳 
Basically, it's that feeling^
At 12:20, Ethan (alias College Essay Guy) shares 7 different personal statement ideas; here's the YouTube video he mentions!
To find these ideas, College Essay Guy reviewed 250+ different personal statements of students who got into great colleges and showed the skills, qualities, values, and interests they'll bring with them in their essays. He'll also dispel the myth that students need to write about a challenge in their college essays!
At 9:50, College Essay Guy talks about an exercise that he feels is core to planning out your college essay. Exploring and identifying your core values can help you see how these values manifest themselves in what you do in your life, what you do for fun, and what you'll bring to a college campus.
You'll want to check out the full Values Exercise to follow along!
Each year, many colleges change the prompts for their supplemental essays, which are additional essays (aside from your personal statement) that some schools require with your application.
At 20:18, College Essay Guy shares his quick thoughts on the prompts!
At 24:02, College Essay Guy dives into one kind of essay that won't be going away anytime soon on college applications: the "Why Us?" essay.
If you've scrolled through different schools' essay prompts, you've definitely seen at least one of them ask: "Why do you want to attend XYZ college?" When you're applying to multiple colleges that ask that question, it can be hard to figure out how to be personal in your response for each school.
College Essay Guy shares how you can craft your responses in a way that's both honest and unique, and that targets specific aspects of the college that align with you and your goals.
Finally, the cherry on top of your college applications: your Activities List!
How can you best showcase the activities you're involved in on your college applications? Are there ways you can re-word what you've already written to ensure the hard work you've done is standing out?
Pop over to 36:26 in the replay to hear College Essay Guy's advice!
Want to hang out with College Essay Guy? He'll be hosting two courses where you can write your entire personal statement, supplemental essays, and more with personal support from the College Essay Guy Team!
Sign Up for the Summer Courses:
Sign Up for More Courses:
We know you'll write amazing college essays, just by being you! Good luck with brainstorming and starting your applications :) —Elena
The links included on this page are sponsored, and Scoir will receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.
This article was originally published on September 1, 2023. It was updated on July 3, 2024 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
8 min read
Abby deSilva: September 23, 2025
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), managed by the Department of Education, is the gateway to federal and state financial aid for...
5 min read
Peter Van Buskirk: September 19, 2025
College application season is upon us! Many high school seniors still have questions about where and how to apply as deadlines loom. Despite...
![How to Read a Financial Aid Award Letter [With 2 Examples]](https://www.scoir.com/hubfs/How%20to%20Read%20a%20Financial%20Aid%20Award%20Letter%20%5BWith%202%20Examples%5D.png)
12 min read
Julie Kampschroeder: September 18, 2025
You've narrowed down your list of colleges, sent in your applications, and filled out your FAFSA and/or CSS Profile form online. After you receive...
