The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions - 505: What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

505: What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

03/12/24 • 50 min

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

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 great Activities List?
How can you find out what colleges are looking for in the supplemental essays?
And what even is the additional information section?
What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how might it be useful?
How does a student know when their application is complete?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Play-by-Play

1:09 - What are the other writing components of a college application?
5:26 - How can students write a great Activities List?
9:33 - Does the order of the activities matter?
11:41 - Are activities from 9th and 10th grade worth putting in the Activities List?
13:37 - When should students elaborate on Activities in their Additional Info section?
17:05 - What else can go into the Additional Info section?
23:14 - What are some things to avoid putting in the Additional Info section?
24:41 - How should students format the Additional Info section?
26:19 - Why do some colleges have supplemental essays?
27:31 - What are some of the most common supplemental essays prompts?
34:11 - How might institutional priorities impact an individual applicant?
44:14 - What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how is it used?
49:12 - How does a student know when their application is complete?

Resources

How can students write a great Activities List?
How can you find out what colleges are looking for in the supplemental essays?
And what even is the additional information section?
What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how might it be useful?
How does a student know when their application is complete?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Play-by-Play

1:09 - What are the other writing components of a college application?
5:26 - How can students write a great Activities List?
9:33 - Does the order of the activities matter?
11:41 - Are activities from 9th and 10th grade worth putting in the Activities List?
13:37 - When should students elaborate on Activities in their Additional Info section?
17:05 - What else can go into the Additional Info section?
23:14 - What are some things to avoid putting in the Additional Info section?
24:41 - How should students format the Additional Info section?
26:19 - Why do some colleges have supplemental essays?
27:31 - What are some of the most common supplemental essays prompts?
34:11 - How might institutional priorities impact an individual applicant?
44:14 - What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how is it used?
49:12 - How does a student know when their application is complete?

Resources

Previous Episode

504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

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 essay is what colleges care about most. Tom and Ethan get into:

What is the purpose of the personal statement?
How do you find a topic, especially if you’re not writing about challenges?
Why do I recommend students NOT choose a common extracurricular activity as their main college essay topic?
How do you stand out?
And how do you know when you’re done?

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Play-by-Play

1:38 - What is the purpose of the personal statement in the college admission process?
2:53 - How might students use this statement for multiple schools?
3:48 - Should students talk about challenges they’ve faced in a personal statement?
6:47 - Should students talk about their major or career goals?
8:33 - Where is the best place to discuss extracurricular activities?
10:20 - Should students explain red flags in their personal statement?
11:26 - How can students brainstorm potential topics for their personal statement?
17:56 - What is the structure of a personal statement?
21:11 - How can students stand out?
28:57 - Case Study: What does the process look like from brainstorming to final draft?
35:39 - How does a student know when their essay is done?
38:27 - Is there a place for artificial intelligence in the college essay?
41:47 - have personal statements shifted since the Supreme Court ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions?
44:04 - Why does the personal statement process matter?
49:14 - Closing thoughts

Resources

Next Episode

undefined - 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

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

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 out if a particular school considers demonstrated interest in their admission review?
What are some practical ways you can demonstrate your interest to colleges?

Christine Bowman is the Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern, where she oversees the admission department to set enrollment and retention philosophies. She has a Masters in Higher Ed Administration from UT-Austin, was the Co-Chair for the 2007 NACAC National Conference in and has served two terms as the Chair of the Colleges that Change Lives Board of Directors (see last season’s episode with Ann Marano for more on CTCL’s work). She currently serves on the advisory board of ROCA-NM (Rural Opportunities for College Access) and, with almost 30 years of experience in the admission profession, Christine believes in guiding students to find the right college fit and regularly gives presentations encouraging a stress-free college search process.

We hope you enjoy the conversation!

Play-by-Play

2:15 - What is demonstrated interest?
5:00 - Why might demonstrated interest be important to colleges?
8:22 - What is yield?
11:24 - How can students demonstrate interest for a particular school?
15:17 - What can colleges track?
18:52 - For whom does demonstrated interest matter most?
23:47 - How to “break up” with a college
27:05 - What are some practical tips for students as they reach out to a college?
30:10 - How might an admissions officer use demonstrated interest?
32:58 - What ways can students demonstrate interest without visiting campus?
37:24 - What is the difference between early action, early decision, and regular decision?
40:25 - How important is the college interview?
48:10 - What can parents do to support their students during this process?
53:02 - Closing advice for parents, students, and counselors