How to Write Amazing Supplemental Essays
An introduction to the supplemental essays that most highly selective schools require.
THE SIX-PART COURSE INCLUDES:
- (6) LIVE 1-hr Lessons taught by me, Ethan
- (6) LIVE 30-min. daily Q&A Session--so you can ask me your specific essay questions (that’s 7.5 hrs of live Ethan-time)
- PDF resource with:
- 40 sample Activities List descriptions
- Five Important Misuses of the Common App Additional Info section
- (10) Great “Why us” Essays
- (2) Great “Roommate” Essays
- (4) Great “Extracurricular” Essays
- (2) Great “Community” Essays
- (4) Great “U of Chicago” Essays
- (2) Great “Quotation” Essays
- (2) Great “Create Your Own Class” Essays
- (3) Great sets of short answers
- (3) Great “How I Spent My Summer” Examples
COURSE SYLLABUS
Session One: Preliminary Sort + The Super Essay
- Sample Application: How Doing a Thorough Job on the Brainstorming Activities Can Set You Up for a Great Application
- A Relatively Quick and Totally Free Way to Figure Out Which of Your Essay Topics Overlap
- The Overlapping Game (or) How Doubling--or Tripling, or Quadrupling!--Your Essays for Multiple Prompts Can Yield a “Super Essay”
- Sample Super Essay
- How You Can Write a Super Essay
Session Two: Activities & Awards List, Additional Info, The "Why Us" Essay
- 5 Tips for Your Activities & Awards List
- The Difference Between an Amazing Activities and Awards List and a Really Good One
- Activities You May Not Have Considered Including—But That Count!
- “Stretching the Truth” on your Activities List: A Cautionary Tale
- How to Up-Level Your Activities and Awards List in Three Steps
- What You Should (and Shouldn’t) Include in Your Add’l Info Section
- How an Add’l Info Section Could Make the Difference in the Application
- Quick Review of the Complete Guide to the "Why us" Essay
- 3 Great "Why Us" Essays You've Never Read
- Reviewing your "Why Us" Essays
Session Three: The Extracurricular Essay
- The Difference Between a Regular and a “Super” Extracurricular Essay
- Four Qualities of a Mediocre Extracurricular Essay
- Four Qualities of an Amazing Extracurricular Essay
- Eight Mistakes Students Make on Their Extracurricular Essays
- A Three-Step Process to Help You Avoid All Those Mistakes
- BEABIES: Are You on Board Yet or What?
- How to Write an Amazing Narrative Extracurricular Essay: The Elon Musk Exercise
- How to Write an Amazing Montage Extracurricular Essay: The UC Exercise
- Zooming Back and Re-Examine the Big Picture
- Upgrading Your Overlapping Game… Game
- How You Can Apply This Approach to Almost Any Supplemental Essay
- How to Write a Great "Community" Essay
- Three Great Sample “Community” Essays
Session Four: The Stanford, UChicago, Create a Class, and Quotation Essays
- How to Write the Stanford “Intellectual Idea” Essay
- Where to Find a Bazillion Intellectual Ideas
- The One Question the “Intellectual Idea” Essay Must (Must) Answer
- How to Write the Stanford “Roommate” Essay
- Finding the Right Balance Between Chaos and Order in 250 Words
- How to Write the Stanford “What Matters” Essay
- Three Ways to Increase the Impact of Your “What Matters” Essay
- How to Write the "Create Your Own Class" Essay
- Four Tips for the Quotation Essay
- Why This Essay Isn't Really About the Quote At All
- The U Chicago Extended Essay: How to pick a topic
- The three qualities that U of Chicago is looking for IMHO
Session Five: Short Extracurricular Essay, Short Answers, Optional Video
- Six Techniques for Writing the 150-Word Extracurricular Essay
- Three More 150-Word Extracurricular Essays I Love, and Why
- The High-Flyer Method: How to Write a Next-Level 150-Word Extracurricular Essay If You Have a Perfect GPA, Test Scores, Ridiculous Extracurriculars and Have Nothing to Prove
- How to Make Your Short Answers Awesome: 11 Dos and Don’ts
- A Stanford-Worthy Set of Short Answers And What Makes Them So
- A Creative Take on the “Where Have You Lived” Essay
- Quick Tips for Creating a Great (Optional) Video
- How to Make Sure Your Application Is Doing Its Job
Session Six: Ask-Me-Anything-You-Want Day
- How should I write the (insert any essay topic) essay?
- Can you give me some feedback on my essay?
- Do you always wear that bow tie? Like, even to sleep?
- (Insert your question here.)
FAQ
WAIT, WHY IS THIS GUIDE CALLED “INCOMPLETE”?
Because, with hundreds of essay prompts each year--many of which exist for a year and then disappear--no guide could be complete. (Well, I suppose it could, but can you imagine…?)
HAVING SAID THAT: this guide tackles the essays you’re most likely to encounter.
What if I can’t afford it?
As with all my courses, I have some pay-what-you-can spots available. Just fill out the pay-what-you-can form on the registration page.
