5 Biggest Tips on How to Stand Out on Your College Essay This Fall

Hey, it’s Elena! Scoir and College Essay Guy just hosted our 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!

Here are the 5 Biggest Tips from the event:

1. How to Find Your Personal Statement Topic 🤔

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 essay!

2. Values Exercise 💛

At 9:50, College Essay Guy talks about an exercise that he feels is so 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!

3. Thoughts on this Year's New Supplemental Essays 💬

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 this year's new prompts!

4. Two Approaches to the "Why Us?" Essay 👀

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.

5. Ways to Improve Your Activities List 🎨

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 make sure the hard work you've done is standing out?  

Pop over to 36:26 in the replay to hear College Essay Guy's advice!

BONUS: Sign Up for Upcoming Courses with College Essay Guy!

Want to hang out with College Essay Guy for a month in September? He'll be hosting two courses where you'll have the chance to write your entire personal statement, supplemental essays, and more with personal support from the College Essay Guy Team!

Sign Up for September Courses:

• How to Write a Personal Statement

• How to Write the College Application and Supplemental Essays

Sign Up for More Courses:

• One-on-One College Essay and Application Coaching
• Matchlighters Scholars Program (free one-on-one counseling & essay coaching for high-achieving low-income students)

We know you're going to 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.