In order to write great college essays, you'll need to understand what makes them great. In this module, I'll share the purpose of college essays, what all the best essays have in common, and how to write an essay that stands out.

Start here! Welcome and course overview, plus tips for getting the most out of this program.

Everything You Need to Know

A real story of how a student took their essays from good to great, and the results paid off.

Student Success Story

What's the purpose of your college essays? What are admissions officers looking for? And how much do they matter? I'll answer these questions.

What is the Purpose of College Essays?

I've read thousands of essays over the years. And the best essays all have these 4 key qualities in common. Learn the foundation of what makes outstanding college essays.

What Do Great Essays Have in Common?

Writing your essays is often the most time-consuming part of applying to college. I'll show you how to save tons of time in the essay process, while still writing your best essays possible.

4 Tips for Working Smarter, Not Harder

This one piece advice will unlock a new perspective that'll turn your essays from good to great. I'll answer the question: What should my essays be about?

What Should Your Essay Be About? (Important Advice)

🧠 Understanding

Learn how to brainstorm great essay topics for any prompt. I'll show you what makes a truly unique essay and how to find your story, as well as cliché topics to avoid and more.

Learn how to choose a great essay topic and what really makes a unique essay. I'll give you 7 pieces of advice for choosing an amazing essay topic.

How to Choose a Unique Topic

In this lesson I'll address the common misconception that you need a "tragedy" or "big accomplishments" in order to write a great essay. I'll share why you definitely don't need these things and what to do instead.

TED Talk: The Rise of the Trauma Essay

What If No Tragedy or Big Accomplishments?

Now I'll share a step-by-step brainstorming method for finding your essay topic, including my 10 favorite brainstorming questions and a foolproof brainstorming method.

Ultimate List of Brainstorming Questions

10 Best Brainstorming Questions (Step-by-Step)

I'll share a final key piece of advice about choosing great topics, which is that your topic must deal with change. You need conflict, challenge, or failure, of any size, and I'll share why this makes for successful essays and how to use it.

Why Failure Makes Successful Essays

Just as important as knowing what to write about, is knowing what not to write about. In this lesson, I'll share 7 categories of essay topics that are trickier to write about and help you avoid these common pitfalls when starting out.

7 Types of Essay Topics to Avoid

How should you structure your essay? While there's no one-size-fits-all, I'll share every type of essay structure possible (seriously!) and how to go about finding your best essay structure.

How to Structure Your Essay (Every Type of Structure)

💡 Brainstorming

Let's craft your story together. I'll show you how to write your first drafts, how to revise, and how to write each part of an amazing essay—from a powerful hook to a memorable ending.

Using stories is a crucial part of your essays, but students often use write stories completely wrong. I'll share the best way to craft powerful stories and avoid these common pitfalls.

How to Write Powerful Stories (The Right Way)

Now let's write your first drafts, from start to finish. I'll share a step-by-step method you can use to write first drafts, as well as a real example of what that process might look like.

How to Write Your First Drafts (Step-by-Step)

Once you've written your first draft, where do you go from here? I'll show you how to make each draft better than the last, starting with the most common pitfalls to avoid when revising, as well as a step-by-step revising method.

How to Revise & Improve Each Draft

Looking to boost your writing quality without much extra effort? I'll share 10 actionable tips that'll easily improve your writing for college essays.

10 Tips and Tricks to Easily Improve Your Writing

Mistakes are good, because they teach you what not to do. I'll share the most common writing mistakes I see students fall into, and how you can avoid them in your essays.

8 Common Writing Mistakes & Pitfalls to Avoid

Want to create those "wow" moments to impress admissions officers? I'll show you how to write "deep moments" in your essays that give you goosebumps when you read them.

Essay Library

How to Make Your Essay "Deep" (12 Techniques)

How do you show personality in your essay? Your voice is a key part of making a connection with admissions officers, and I'll show you 6 actionable tactics to show your personality authentically without being cliché, over-the-top, or gimmicky.

6 Ways to Show Personality & Create Voice

There's few writing tools more powerful than a unique metaphor. I'll show you a step-by-step method to come up with brilliant metaphors that impress admissions officers.

How to Use A Metaphor to Bring Your Essay To Life

How should you start your essay? Your hook is one of the most important parts, and I'll share 4 mistakes to avoid in your beginning, the secret to an amazing hook, plus 7 types of hooks you can try out.

How to Write a Powerful Hook (7 Strategies & 4 Mistakes to Avoid)

Want to leave a memorable impression with your essay? I'll show you how to craft an impactful, resonating ending that stays with the reader. I'll share 4 mistakes to avoid and 9 tips for an outstanding ending.

How to Write a Memorable Ending (9 Tips & 4 Mistakes to Avoid)

✍️ Writing & Revising

Learn how to edit your essays to perfection. I'll share tons of editing tips, tricks, and strategies for improving your writing, plus a huge list of common essay mistakes to avoid. 

Learn how to edit any essay to perfection. I'll share a step-by-step editing method so you can edit like a pro and improve your writing.

How to Edit Your Essay to Perfection (Step-by-Step)

Trouble meeting the word count? I'll show you easy ways to cut down words or add more words to meet the word count. I'll share tons of actionable tips and phrases you can cut out.

How to Cut Down Words (Or Add More)

Making your essay "flow" will help it read more better and show yourself as a strong writer. I'll share 7 actionable tips for improving your essay's flow without much extra work.

7 Ways to Make Your Essay "Flow" Better

Here's a huge list of common mistakes you should edit out of your essay. This is my ultimate list of essay mistakes to avoid when editing and how to fix these common problems.

27 Essay Mistakes to Edit Out

Wondering what you're allowed to do grammar-wise? And what you should do? This is my complete grammar guide for college essays with simple, actionable rules to follow.

Get Grammarly for Free

17 Grammar Do's and Don'ts

How should you ask for feedback? How many people should you ask? And how should you ask? I'll answer these questions and provide you with a system to get the most helpful feedback from anyone you ask.

Essay Feedback Services

How to Get Feedback On Your Essay (The Right Way)

This lesson has my huge 150+ point checklist that you can review before you submit your essay. Plus, I'll show you step-by-step how to evaluate your essays from an admissions officers perspective.

Send Me an Email!

How to Test Your Essays (The Ultimate Checklist)

📝 Editing

Just as important as your personal statement is your supplemental essays. I'll show you how to write stand-out supplements that make a strong case for yourself, including guides to 4 of the most common supplemental prompts, short answers, and the UC Personal Insight Questions.

Want to make a strong case for yourself with your supplements? I'll share my 12 favorite tips for writing outstanding supplemental essays for any prompt.

12 Tips for Writing Outstanding Supplements

Why us? essays are one of the trickiest to get right. I'll share a step-by-step guide for writing these types of supplements, as well as the secret to writing an outstanding answer (with real examples).'

How to Write "Why This College?" Supplements

Writing Why this Major? essays doesn't need to be hard. I'll share tips and strategies for approaching this prompt, plus a step-by-step guide you can follow.

How to Write "Why This Major?" Supplements

The next most common supplement is the "Diversity" essay. Even if you don't think you have a "unique identity", I'll show you how to answer this supplement in a strong way that makes a case for yourself.

How to Write "Diversity" Supplements

The final most common supplement is the \"Community\" essay. I'll show you exactly how to answer this prompt in a way that makes a strong case for why you'll be a great addition to their community.

How to Write "Community" Supplements

Short answers are often the most fun to write. I'll share some tips for writing your short answers and mistakes to avoid, plus some examples of my favorite short answers.

How to Write Your Short Answer Supplements

Applying to the UCs? I'll share general tips for writing your UC Personal Insight Questions, what the UCs are really looking for, and a step-by-step guide to writing your PIQs.

How to Write Amazing UC Personal Insight Questions

Now, I'll dive into each UC PIQ prompt and give specific advice for answering each one. I'll cover each prompt 1-8 and help you decide which ones to answer and how to answer them.

How to Write Each of the 8 UC PIQs (Step-by-Step)

🏫 Supplements

My favorite college application resources and goodies. Here you'll get access to The Ultimate College Application Planner, tons of brainstorming exercises, non-essay tips, and more student favorites.

Here's all your essay questions answered in one place. I'll summarize the advice I've shared in this course and give you a comprehensive FAQ for college essays.

Essay FAQs (All Your Questions Answered!)

My ultimate list of brainstorming questions, "Dig Deeper" questions, "Values List", and "Obsessions List" to help you brainstorm. This has everything you need to brainstorm amazing essay topics and push your reflections deeper.

The Ultimate List of Brainstorming Questions

Looking for an essay formula? Here's a step-by-step guide you can follow to write a solid personal statement as quickly as possible. While it won't produce your best essay, it will produce a solid essay quickly.

How to Write Your College Essay Overnight

Want to stay organized in the college process? This planner is your ultimate solution and will let you easily track and see every step of the process all in one convenient place. You get free access to this premium product! 

Go to the College Application Planner

The Ultimate College Application Planner

Applying to highly selective colleges? I have several non-essay tips for improving your chances of admission and making the process less stressful and more enjoyable.

Free Scholarship Search Tool

College Discover

7 Non-Essay Tips for Applying to Top Schools

🎁 Bonuses

Learn how to write college admissions essays that stand out with our free, step-by-step courses.

Free College Essay Courses

🧠 Understanding College Essays

Why College Essays Matter: What Admissions Officers Really Look For