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14 Best College Essay Services for 2024 (40 Services Reviewed)

Research conducted by Emily Kierkegaard , PhD, and expert-reviewed by Kevin Wong, PrepMaven Co-founder

Not sure which college application essay coaching and editing service is the best? We compared the top 40 services, created in-depth reviews for 14 of them, and narrowed it down to the 4 best that will help guide you through the process of writing amazing college application essays.

What is the Best College Essay Service?

• PrepMaven  – best college application essay service overall
• College Essay Mentor  – best for individual consultants
• The College Essay Guy  – best for unlimited essay assistance
• College Vine  – best of the big platforms

The best of the rest:

Individual essay consultants:

• College Essay Editor  – small editing team
• Allison Karpf  – former English teacher helping students
• Your College Vision  – former journalist with more affordable rates
• The College Guru  – good on paper but unresponsive
• Sofia Zapiola – budget-friendly application assistance

Mid-size teams:

• Lotus Learning  – focus on health sciences

Large platforms:

• Study Point  – larger platform with mystery editors
• Ivy Select  – larger platform with mystery editors
• Empowerly  – larger platform with mystery editors
• BeMo  – expensive and aggressive with wrong expertise

Schedule a college essay consultation

Best College Application Essay Services in 2024

#1 – prepmaven.

Our Verdict — Best College Essay Assistance Overall Price: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package) PrepMaven’s one-on-one college essay assistance is the best option overall. Founded by brothers and Princeton grads Greg and Kevin, almost all of PrepMaven’s essay coaches have Ivy-League experience, primarily from Princeton and Harvard. All essay coaches also undergo a thorough training program in PrepMaven’s methods, developed by professional writers with deep understanding of the college admissions process, for helping students to discover the most compelling stories for their essays. Unlike other services, PrepMaven offers college essay assistance at several different price points. At the most accessible rate, students can work with current Ivy-League undergraduates who specialize in writing and have recently aced the college application process. At higher rates, students can work with coaches who are both Ivy-League grads and professional writers (screenwriters, journalists, editors) with many years of experience helping students to craft compelling essays. Interested students can even work directly with founders Greg and Kevin, who have over 15 years of experience helping students through the entire essay-writing process. PrepMaven’s services combine many of the best features of other good options into one, and it’s hard to beat their experience.

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help now

Any student wanting college essay help, at any point in the process, with a range of budgets.

At a glance:

• Cost: $79–349/hour (minimum $510 package)
• Writing coach qualifications: Princeton graduates and professional writers (or current Princeton students); all trained

What we like:

• Ivy League experience —most of their writing coaches are Princeton grads or current students, with some from Harvard and other Ivies
• Different pricing options to meet different families’ circumstances
• More flexible and greater capacity to take on new students compared to individual consultants

Sign up for PrepMaven’s college essay help

#2 – College Essay Mentor

Our Verdict — Best of the Individual Consultants Price: unknown but high Some college essay consulting services consist of just one expert. Of these individual essay consultants, Chris Hunt at College Essay Mentor is our favorite. He combines writing experience as a journalist for the Economist and the Wall Street Journal with personal experience as a graduate of Dartmouth. However, he only works with a small number of students each year, and students need to apply to work with him — he only accepts students with top grades and test scores who are already strong applicants for top schools. Chris offers the option for one-time written feedback, but this only gives big-picture generalizations. (And written-only feedback is always limited.) In order for help with the essay process, students need to purchase a complete essay package.

Students with top grades and test scores who want to work with a one-person business, who have a sizable budget, and who are ready to get started early.

• Cost: $210 for a one-time written essay feedback (big picture only), then $110 per draft feedback; pricing for essay process packages unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: professional journalist, Dartmouth grad
• Professional writing experience as a journalist
• Extensive experience working with college applicants
• Partners with Debra Felix, former Director of Admissions at Columbia, for full application review

What we don’t like:

• One-on-one work is limited to very high-achieving students, who need to apply with a resume : “I limit my one-on-one work to students who I believe will be strong applicants to elite universities. As a rule, this means having high grades in challenging classes, a test score of ACT 34+ or SAT 1500+, and substantial activities outside of the classroom.”
• Works with a limited number of students (60 per year), so often no availability
• All-or-nothing packages don’t allow students to work with Chris for just a few hours or for part of the essay-writing process
• Secretive about pricing (he’ll only give pricing details once he’s reviewed the student’s resume and agreed to work with them), but we expect the minimum cost of working one-on-one to be several thousand dollars

#3 – The College Essay Guy

Our Verdict — Best for Unlimited Essay Assistance Price: $4900 for application to 3 schools, $8050 for application for 10 schools We’re fans of Ethan Sawyer, the original “college essay guy”— his book, College Essay Essentials , is a great guide to the essay-writing process. Ethan doesn’t work directly with many students these days, but he now has a team of consultants who help students follow his principles. Their assistance is really all-or-nothing — they prefer to work with students from the very beginning of the process, and their minimum package is $4900, which includes assistance with essays for three schools. If students are applying to ten schools (a more realistic number for students aiming at competitive colleges), the fee is a hefty $7400.

Students who want unlimited help through the entire process, who have a sizable budget.

• Cost: $4900 (supplemental essays for 3 schools) – $7400 (supplemental essays for 10 schools)
• Essay coach qualifications: mix of Ivy grads and former teachers, some writers/screenwriters; all trained
• Great free resources about the essay-writing process
• Their Matchlighters Scholars Program gives back to the community by providing admissions consulting for select qualifying students
• All-or-nothing packages have a high minimum fee and don’t work for students who want just a few hours of feedback or help with just part of the process

#4 – College Vine

Our Verdict — Best of the Big Platforms Price: $140–180/hour There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Of these big platforms, we think CollegeVine has the best offerings. Compared to other large companies, CollegeVine provides more information about their tutors, and students can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster. However, this model is really just a way of finding individual tutors to hire. Tutors don’t receive any training and don’t share a common approach, so it’s a mixed bag. Their rates are fairly high for part-time tutors who don’t have specific expertise and training in college essay consulting. Because CollegeVine is really just a marketplace where individual tutors can find students, the quality and price will vary widely.

Students who want to work with a big company, or those who want a quick session or two to go over their essays.

• Cost: Typically $140–180/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: no specific qualifications, but a few are Ivy League graduates
• Possible to select individual editors to work with from their roster.
• Easy to schedule ad-hoc sessions with a tutor through the website.
• No training or common approach for tutors
• Editors are part-time , with no option to work with full-time college admissions experts
• Relatively expensive for this level of expertise

College Essay Editing Alternatives (that Didn’t Make the Cut)

Individual essay consultants, #5 – college essay editor.

Our Verdict — Small Editing Team Price: Roughly $5,950 for applications to 10 schools College Essay Editor comprises two graduates of Stanford. This means that they have personal experience applying to highly competitive schools. One member of the team also has a college counseling certification, which is a good background for college essays. Based on their website, they appear to focus on the editing and proofreading phase of the essay-writing process. This can be helpful to students, but we recommend working with a service who can help students to uncover their values and brainstorm really great material that allows them to really shine—and if this doesn’t happen at the beginning of the process, it’s much harder to add in later on.

• Cost: $195/1000 words for proofreading, $495/1000 words for 3 rounds of editing and proofreading, or $595/1000 words for unlimited rounds of editing and proofreading; for the purposes of comparison, complete applications to 10 competitive colleges would be around 9,650 words, or $5950.
• Writing coach qualifications: Stanford graduates, one of whom has college counseling certification
• Editors are graduates of Stanford University , and one is a member of NACAC, the national association of college counselors
• They focus on editing and proofreading only , not on the crucial earlier steps of brainstorming and strategy
• Small team with very limited availability
• All asynchronous editing so you won’t be able to cultivate a real relationship with your essay coach.

#6 – Allison Karpf

Our Verdict — Former English Teacher Helping Students Price: $385/hour or $3850 package for application to one school Another option for students looking to hire an individual consultant is Allison Karpf. Allison is a former high school English teacher and a graduate of UC Berkeley who also holds a Masters of Education from Stanford. Her rates are definitely on the higher side, especially for someone who doesn’t have a professional writing background, but she does have extensive experience working with students to craft their essays.

• Cost:  $385/hour or $3850 unlimited counseling (includes supplemental essays for one college)
• Essay coach qualifications: former high school English teacher; Berkeley grad, Stanford MEd
• Lots of experience helping students improve their college essays
• Very quick to respond to client requests
• No professional writing experience or Ivy-Plus undergraduate experience
• High rates relative to other options
• Limited availability , since she works alone

#7 – Your College Vision

Our Verdict: Former Journalist with More Affordable Rates Price: $180/hour, or packages starting from $3500 Laurie Lande is another individual consultant who helps students through the essay-writing process. She comes recommended by other consultants like Chris from College Essay Mentor . Laurie did not herself attend a highly competitive school, so she doesn’t have that personal experience of going through the selective admissions process, but she does have a professional writing background as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.

• Cost: $180/hour or packages starting at $3500
• Essay coach qualifications: journalism background
• Affordable pricing , relative to other options
• Not a graduate of a highly selective school

#8 – The College Guru

Our Verdict — Good on Paper but Unresponsive Price: unknown Yet another individual essay consultant is Geanine Thompson from The College Guru. Geanine attended Dartmouth as an undergraduate and also holds an MBA from Duke. She also has a professional writing background as an assistant book editor at Berkley Publishing Group. Like Greg and Kevin at PrepMaven , she combines experience in the business world and at Wall Street firms with experience in education.

• Cost: unknown
• Essay coach qualifications: former assistant book editor; Dartmouth grad, Duke MBA
• Dartmouth graduate and former book editor
• Not responsive to emails and client requests

#9 – Sofia Zapiola

Our Verdict — A budget-friendly, personal essay editor. Price: $80/hour Yet another individual essay consultant is Sofia Zapiola, who offers a mix of essay editing and college application counseling services.

• Cost: $80/hour
• Essay coach qualifications: M.A. from Harvard; certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego.
• Individual approach, budget-friendly rates, commitment to working within families’ budgets.
• Very few testimonials, so it’s difficult to evaluate how effective she is.

Mid-size Teams

#10 – lotus learning.

Our Verdict — Expensive for Tutor Background Price: $165/hour Founded by a Harvard grad who is a former teacher and veteran of the publishing industry, Lotus learning offers college essay help in the Boston area. They have a small team of tutors, mostly recent grads from good but not Ivy-Plus colleges, and mostly with focus in health sciences.

• Cost: $165/hour (minimum 8 hours)
• Essay coach qualifications: tutors are recent grads, but not Ivy-Plus schools
• Reasonable pricing with flexible packages
• Essay editors aren’t graduates of Ivy-Plus schools and don’t have professional writing experience

Large platforms

#11 – study point.

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: Rates Between $60 and $120/hr Study Point is a larger essay editing service. They claim to have several decades of experience helping students to craft their college essays, but they do not give information about who their essay coaches are and what qualifications they might have.

• Cost: $60-120/hr, depending on tutor experience
• Essay coach qualifications: unknown
• Larger company with several decades of experience
• Unclear who the essay coaches are
• Lack of statistics about their results

#12 – Ivy Select

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: unknown Ivy Select makes a lot of big promises on their website about having the best college essay consultants in the business, but they offer no information on who these consultants are, or on their backgrounds. They also brag that each consultant “only” works 20 students in one application cycle, but in our experience, that’s quite high.

• Long list of impressive (but anonymous) testimonials
• Only work with “top students”
• No information on their website about who the editors are
• Each essay coach works with up to 20 students at one time

#13 – Empowerly

Our Verdict — Larger Platform with Mystery Editors Price: High, from $6000/year Empowerly has over 60 college counselors who each work with an average of 5 students per year, in order to have more time to devote to each student. Their counselors come from “different educational backgrounds,” and while they do not provide specific biographical details we can assume that most of their essay coaches did not attend highly selective schools.

• Cost: typically from $6000/year
• Essay coach qualifications: college counselors
• Counselors work with just a few students per year
• You have to upgrade to “Empowerly Elite” to guarantee a counselor with a more selective educational background
• No professional writing experience

#14 – Prepory

Our Verdict — Expensive but with Good Expertise Price: $325/hr Prepory is a college application and career counseling service that offers a comprehensive program for college applications at any stage of the process (including as early as 9th grade). They make a lot of impressive claims about the expertise of their coaches, but it’s quite difficult to actual find much information about their essay coach qualifications.

• Cost: $325/hr
• They have a comprehensive college application program that begins as early as 9th grade.
• Limited information about essay coaches
• High prices

Top 40 College Essay Services Considered

• College Essay Editor
• The College Essay Guy
• College Vine
• College Essay Mentor
• Study Point
• Allison Karpf
• The College Guru
• Lotus Learning
• Summit Prep
• Sofia Zapiola
• Ivy Global / New Summits
• College Essay Solutions
• Your College Vision
• Essay Edge*
• ServicEscape*
• PapersForge*
• QuickWriter*
• JustEditMyEssay*
• JustDoMyEsssay*
• ExpertWriting*
• SpeedyPaper*
• GradeMiners*

* A number of services will edit essays directly for students, or even write portions of the essay for students. We do not condone this. Admissions officers can tell when essays have been written or edited by adults and this can have severe consequences. We have excluded these services from our reviews.

Why are college application essays important?

Can a great college essay alone get you into Harvard?

No. You’ll need your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities (as well as letters of recommendation and interview) to be outstanding.

But can a mediocre essay be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard?

Yes. There are thousands of amazingly-qualified students who graduate from high school each year. Great grades and test scores might be a prerequisite for admission to a competitive college, but they alone aren’t enough.

College essays are a key component of a student’s application . When done well, they transform a collection of numbers—GPA, class rank, SAT or ACT scores , number of AP classes taken, AP scores—into a glimpse of a real, individual person.

Essays do many things. Good college essays can highlight extracurricular achievements which otherwise would be overlooked in a sterile list. Strong essays often indicate the student’s future plans —how they plan to leave a mark on their college campus and on the world. They can shine a light on unique challenges that a student may have had to face on their journey.

College admissions officers only have a few minutes to spend on each application. College essays need to be original, interesting, and memorable . They need to grab the attention of the admissions officer and persuade them that this is the student out of hundreds or thousands of other similarly-qualified applicants who should be admitted.

College admissions essays are usually unlike any other kind of writing that students have done before. They’re a combination of memoir and marketing pitch, and they need to be creative but also highly strategic. That’s a tough assignment!

What’s more, students are left to figure this assignment out on their own. A thoughtful and generous high school English teacher may provide guidance or offer to read essays and give feedback, but these teachers are responsible for many students, and they’re (usually) not experts in admissions strategies.

There’s another reason college essays are especially important from 2024 on. After the recent Supreme Court decision, the application essay has become one of the main ways that you can communicate how your racial identity has affected your life.

In fact, the New York Times published an article about how important it can be for students to discuss race in their college application essays!

Why work with a college essay service?

You may want to consider a college essay service if:

• You have no idea where to start in order to write your college application essays
• You feel overwhelmed by all of the different ideas you have and don’t know what would be the most strategic for college admissions—and what topics to definitely avoid for college essays
• You don’t know how to craft a compelling stor y
• You’re not sure how to edit and refine what you’ve written
• You have a hard time keeping yourself on track and want an external structure to hold you accountable
• You’re tired of conflict between students and parents about college essays
• You’re aiming at a competitive college (not just the Ivy League!) and know that you need your essays to be outstanding
• Your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars aren’t exceptional, so you need your essay to make your essay stand out from the pack
• You’re unfamiliar with the US college admissions process (a common situation for international students and first-generation families in the US)

Any of these are strong reasons to consider working with a college essay service!

It’s also worth remembering that a lot of the free advice on college’s website isn’t always very clear. For example, NYU’s admissions Senior Assistant Director of Admissions says that “There is no right or wrong way to answer as long as your answer is genuine to you.”

While that’s true, that doesn’t offer much guidance on how to actually write the essay!

Though many college applicants might not mention it, more and more students are using professional college application consultants. Research at the University of Chicago has shown that over a quarter of high-achieving seniors employed private specialists to help with the college application process.

In fact, according to NPR , some companies are even offering college admissions counseling to their top employees as an incentive–that’s just how important professional help can be in the current landscape of college admissions.

It’s important to note that a good college essay service will not write your college application essays for you . This is unethical and illegal. That’s not just coming from us: take it from a school like Princeton, whose website insists on the importance of writing your own application essays.

A good college essay service will guide you through each step of the process , teaching you how to self-reflect and write well while sharing insider insight about admissions strategy .

What makes a good college essay service?

We strongly believe that students need to write their own college essays , and we do not condone plagiarism or “buying” a college essay.

However, writing college application essays requires a completely new set of skills that is rarely taught in high school!

Writing a personal essay is much more creative than simply writing a good paper for English class. It requires a compelling narrative and a great deal of writing craft . A good essay service will teach how to do this kind of writing.

There are many college essay services that will provide only written feedback to students, usually in the form of comments added to an essay draft. (Remember, it’s important that students write their own essays, so avoid any college essay service that will make edits directly to an essay document .)

Written comments can be an effective component of good essay coaching. However, writing college essays is a deeply personal process , and it’s incredibly difficult to guide a student through the process of self-reflection, brainstorming, and planning purely through written comments.

In addition, a great college essay coach will teach students how to do this entire process of brainstorming, planning, outlining, writing, and revising . It’s difficult to learn why an essay coach is advising certain changes through written comments alone.

For these reasons, look for a college essay service with live, one-on-one services , not just written feedback. These days, it’s easy to work with the best college essay consultants in the country over Zoom!

Students need to reflect on their goals, their passions, and what drives them to be the person they are. This requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-analysis . An experienced college essay coach can help draw these ideas out of students through tested introspection techniques and brainstorming exercises .

On top of all of that, students need to be cognizant of which traits and accomplishments will be most appealing to colleges , and which stories will be cliche and boring. Personal statements and supplementary essays need to fit together to tell a cohesive story, and they need to work together with the rest of the student’s application (extracurriculars, grades, and other accomplishments).

In other words, there’s a great deal of strategy here! An experienced college essay service can help students decide how to present themselves in the best possible light .

Furthermore, most students don’t know how to edit effectively . A really top-notch college essay service will also teach students how to edit their own writing —how to reorder sections for better flow, cut unnecessary words to meet a word count, eliminate passive verbs, and make their writing vivid and exciting. Our students are routinely amazed by how transformative this step can be, and how much they learn by doing it together with the essay coach.

Finally, the best college essay services can also help students to make a writing plan and keep them on track , so that parents don’t have to be involved directly.

Ready to work on your college essays? Schedule a free 15- to 30-minute consultation with Jessica or one of our founders.

Best overall: PrepMaven’s tutors offer the highest quality at the best price. With three tiers of tutors, they make it easy to work with an Ivy League undergraduate for as little as $79/hr. Or, families can work with education professionals or Ivy League graduates from $150/hr. PrepMaven’s track record means that you can be sure every hour is being spent productively, so that you can expect real results from the work.

Best for individual consultants: College Essay Mentor. In theory, College Essay Mentor would offer an unparalleled level of individual attention and guidance: his website boasts of some very impressive results. You might find it hard to actually schedule with him, however, since he’s very selective about his clients.

Best for unlimited essay assistance: The College Essay Guy might not offer that personalized attention you get from live, face to face essay coaching, but they do offer unlimited essay editing for up to 10 schools (if you’re comfortable paying a hefty package price).

Best of the big platforms: College Vine will always be a bit of a gamble. Because it’s a tutor marketplace, your results (and costs) will really depend on how lucky you get with your consultant. From our research, however, many of their essay coaches look to have solid track records.

Ready to work on college essays with one of our experienced writing coaches? Schedule a free test prep consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

It’s always best to start early and not wait until the last minute to write your college essays! Remember that essays can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of writing now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later. 

We work with students at all stages of the writing process, from I-have-no-idea-what-to-write to final edits. To start working with an Ivy-League writing coach today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

Schedule a free college essay consultation

Top College Essay Posts

• 14 Best College Essay Services for 2023 (40 Services Reviewed)
• Qualities of a Successful College Essay
• 11 College Essays That Worked
• How to Answer the UC Personal Insight Questions
• How Colleges Read your College Applications (A 4-Step Process)
• How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essays
• The Diamond Strategy: How We Help Students Write College Essays that Get Them Into Princeton (And Other Ivy League Schools)
• What is the College Essay? Your Complete Guide for 202 4
• College Essay Brainstorming: Where to Start
• How to Write the Harvard Supplemental Essays
• How to Format Your College Essay

Emily graduated  summa cum laude  from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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• Detailed feedback on your entire college application from one of our experienced college essay specialists
• Comprehensive reviews of your personal statement, supplemental essays, and activities list and how they work together to tell your story
• A detailed video summary from your reviewer 

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We've received hundreds of happy reviews from students who have crafted great essays for top colleges around the us., your story is more than just your personal statement..

Our team will review your essays and application in the same holistic way that colleges will be reviewing your essays during the application process.

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• Your main personal statement
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"Oh my gosh thank you for the feedback!!! I really appreciate that we relate a lot, humor wise and the fact that we have difficult last names!! I really was in a bitter mood because of the bitter feedback from the teacher, but this helped me out in a million ways. Cannot express my gratitude enough." Christine C.

“great feedback  very happy with the review result. thank you so much. ", “thank you so much for the review i've had a lot of confusion in deciding how to revise my essay going forward and if my current essay works. i'm currently using the cyoa essay tool to revise my essay and get on the right track. thanks you so much again.", meet some of our essay specialists.

Rula Zaru  is an experienced essay specialist who has led community-based college access program in Maryland and has guided hundreds of students through the complexities of the college application and financial aid process.  Rula leads workshops on the college application essay and coaches students individually on the essay writing process.  Rula is also a PhD candidate in Human Development and Family Sciences and has a Masters Degree in Education and Human Development in Organizational Leadership from George Washington University. She also works as a researcher and analyst at multiple competitive research organizations, where she produces written reports and grants. However, Rula’s commitment to research does not exceed her passion for working directly with students. She speaks Arabic and Spanish and loves learning about students’ unique personalities and life experiences, understanding their background as a path to crafting compelling writing.

Tom Campbell  has reviewed thousands of college essays and applications as an admissions officer at Pomona College and the College of the Holy Cross, and works as an essay specialist at College Essay Guy. He also works on CEG's internal college essay review committee where he provides insight and practical feedback on college essays and applications. He has also worked as a college counselor at a selective independent high school and understands how challenging writing about oneself can be and how high stakes it can feel — you’ll find nothing but empathy and solidarity from him as you craft your narrative. He looks forward to reading your story.

Ali Pineo  is a writing coach and college admissions essay specialist with a BA in English from Stanford University and MFA from UC Irvine. She is passionate about building her students’ confidence in the writing process and developing them into strong self-advocates for their individual learning needs. With thousands of hours of experience coaching admissions essay writing and tutoring AP English and US History, she has had the honor of helping her students attend their dream schools, including Stanford, Duke, Dartmouth, the UCs, and dozens of other great institutions. The highlights of her career center around her mentorship of bright students with learning differences. In addition to teaching, she is an arts entrepreneur, former professional ballet dancer, and mama to a busy toddler.

Andrew  is Editorial Director and an essay specialist at College Essay Guy. He attended Stanford and Oxford, earning degrees in Political Science and Drama. He has taught college classes in Los Angeles in Critical Thinking, Sociology, Anthropology of Media, English Composition, and Public Speaking, has helped students gain entrance to Stanford, the Ivies, U Chicago, Northwestern, and dozens of other great colleges every year for the past decade, and is particularly interested in working to address issues of equity and access in higher education. He has worked with hundreds of students over his career and has spent time living in California, England, Montana, and briefly New Zealand.

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Applications for both colleges must be submitted for review at the same time.

3 schools review.

Review of your Common App + Supplemental Essays for Three Schools

• Supplemental essays for  three  colleges/universities

  Applications for all 3 colleges must be submitted for review at the same time.

Frequently asked questions, what is included in the complete application review.

You'll have the chance to submit:

• Your 650-word Common App essay or personal statement
• Supplemental essays for the number of colleges you choose above , up to 1,500 words total per school of supplemental essays or short answer questions
• Your Common App, UC, UT, or (insert application system) Activities List
• Your Additional Information section (Up to 650 words)

We do accept applications for schools not listed on the Common Application (MIT, Georgetown, University of California, etc.). 

How long does the review take?

Like all good things that take time, we want to spend good time reviewing your essays and sharing practical feedback, so we commit to getting your essays and application back to you within 4 business days , but likely much sooner.

(Note that this means Monday - Friday, plus our team will be out of office for November 23rd and 24th, as well as December 24th and 25th.)

Should I wait to submit my essays the week before deadlines?

We're a small team, and only able to offer just a handful of these reviews this year. We also want you to have plenty of time to incorporate our feedback into your writing, so we recommend submitting your essays as soon as possible. Once our team is full, we won't be able to accept more reviews. (Note that if you are able to check out and submit a review, we're still accepting reviews.) We will also not accept reviews 2-4 days before major deadlines (November 30th, January 1st), and possibly earlier if we get full.

I received my review and I have more questions or want another review!

After receiving your review, our hope is you'll have lots of ideas for improvement and writing to do.  If you'd like more support, you're welcome to submit your revised applications and essays for another review. If you'd like to work directly with our team 1:1 over the coming weeks, reach out to us here.

Bonus: You can apply the cost of one complete app review review to any 1:1 package. If we have spots available, we'll reach out to schedule a call to share more.

Do you offer Pay What You Can for this?

Unfortunately we aren't able to offer pay-what-you-can for this service.

We've got an epic suite of pay-what-you-can courses here.

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Reviews 4.8.

Most relevant

CEG was always available

CEG was always available. I mean, always. And beyond being a fun guy to talk to, he really knows how to access the core of a person and show you how to put it on paper. I could not have asked for a better person to help me!

Date of experience : March 21, 2023

Hi Ethan, I work in an urban high school AVID program. We have used many of your resources in class such as the Wants and Needs exercise (we played your video too!). We also use the Values Exercise. Thank you for making these amazing resources available to the public.

Date of experience : March 24, 2020

Wonderful College Essay Help

Working with CEG was truly amazing! Their unique approach ensured that my essays reflected my authentic voice and passions. CEG's expertise and commitment to helping me craft beautiful essays shone through their insightful feedback and wise tips. CEG made the daunting task of college essay writing a seamless and rewarding experience. I highly recommend CEG to anyone seeking expert guidance in crafting compelling college essays.

Date of experience : March 18, 2024

More than just how to write an essay

My daughter was accepted for what we could pay. We are from a low socio-economic area and have moved several times during her school years. The advice and information she received was priceless. She won the Presidential Scholarship at her chosen college and will be going tuition free. Something that made her not as open to participate in the on-line sessions was that there were others writing about how they started their own companies, traveled the world, etc. and she felt what she had to offer/write about was not good enough or as good. That started a conversation. Thank you for this program, for your willingness to help our children and for offering the type of advice I would offer myself (it is received much better from you). There are a multitude of benefits other than just how to write an essay.

Helpful Resources, Great Feedback, Amazing Results

I felt the access to the resources alone were worth the cost of the course. However, having the added bonus of discussing my thoughts and ideas with Ethan and other professionals in the course on a weekly business made this all worthwhile. If you've ever worked with a student that is academically talented, but just doesn't have confidence in their writing techniques, this course and the guidebook will help you immeasurably. I had the chance to use many of the approaches with my students in both small group and one-on-one settings and the results speak for themselves. As Ethan would tell you, there is no "one way" to write an essay, but these resources will help you get students writing, and that's the most important part of this process!

Date of experience : March 30, 2020

Super helpful, tangible resources that absolutely add value to students.

I always find something useful from Ethan's resources and continue to add his tips to my toolbox. It is so helpful to have frameworks to use to work with students that I can then tweak as needed. Thank you so much!

College Essay Guy Review

The lessons were all really helpful, especially the ones related to brainstorming. It was great to get feedback on our ideas during live-streams. Overall, I’m really glad I had this as a resource!!

Date of experience : March 25, 2020

CEG was super helpful with my essays

CEG was super helpful with my essays. The mentors were super friendly and they were really good at helping me to brainstorm.

Date of experience : June 12, 2023

Helpful course

Helpful course, if you’re getting started with you essays! It definitely helped me brainstorm and get started with mine.

I am a new IEC

I am a new IEC, having recently completed the UC Irvine certificate program. I've been working with students and felt that I needed a little extra instruction on college essay editing. I registered for Ethan's seminar "How to Write the College Application and Supplemental Essays" and it did the trick! The course reinforced what I already knew and enhanced my confidence to edit activity lists and application essays.

Very impressed

We are very impressed with the material. The material and the guidance truly helped my son in coming up with very good essays for this college application. Much appreciated for all the guidance, support and the material. You guys have reduced our stress and anxiety drastically.

Amazing!! 10/10 recommend!😊

I’m currently in my second semester of senior year and personally wasn’t able to afford a private college admission counselor, but Ethan’s videos definitely equated in quality!! Though he’s not there with you in person and dissecting your essays line by line, it’s almost as if he is. His videos make you seem as though you’re right next to him and the way he has curated his programs is absolutely seamless! From the worksheets to the step by step breakdown, he really pushed me through my every mental block. Even more, there is a Facebook group with other students following his videos in which you can find essay writing partners to look over each other’s essays and just keep each other on track and I loved that!! Ethan and his team really just truly care about you and you can tell from every email, every video, and every guide. They are there for you from start to finish, his team is so quick to respond to emails, and he really just made this whole process a lot less stressful for me. I would recommend him to anybody and everybody and don’t have one bad thing to say. He is simply and truly AMAZING.

Activites, Access & Appreciation

Before addressing the essay, I have students compose their activity and honors lists. When I ask a students if there is another way they may describe an activity, they immediately go to the CEG's Epic List of Activities List Verbs. A great resource to enable students in adding interest and strength to their Common App and scholarship applications. With "The List of Activities You May Not Have Considered..."students brainstorm and expanded their lists with unique entries, including welcoming an adoptive sister into the family and shadowing/interviewing/interning in legal and medical fields to explore career interests. After completing the lists it is on to the Essay Workshop in a Box! Ethan, thank you for the Pay What You Can option. I provide access to college prep to a small group of low-income/first-gen students and you provides me with the tools to be an effective mentor!

The guidance and collaboration helped…

The guidance and collaboration helped Kai feel confident in her achievements and in reaching her goals. Great experience! Wendy was a perfect fit, positive, patient, and encouraging.

Date of experience : September 01, 2023

It's been wonderful and I surely can…

It's been wonderful and I surely can work with a student much better now. I'm also much more confident, though I just completed my College Counseling Certificate Program with UCLA Extension.

The resources that are provided are enormously informative and useful. I am grateful that Ethan allows us to use them with our students. Thank you for all of your help.

CEG is absolutely worth the investment

Collaborating with CEG's counselor and essay coach was incredibly valuable; they transformed what can often be a daunting and tense process into a seamlessly smooth experience. Working with CEG's counselor took so much of the stress out of the process. Our counselor, Morgan, was always there to offer sound, experienced advice and really walked us through a pretty intense process of applying to several highly competitive schools. Morgan met with us regularly and patiently answered our many questions and gave the best advice. She always responded to our questions with numerous resources and suggestions. We are incredibly grateful for her partnership. My daughter's essay coach was a wonderful coach, who really helped her refine her voice and make her essays stand out in a way that was unique to her. She pushed my daughter when she needed to be pushed, and for that, I am very grateful as it took some of the stress off of our relationship. Ultimately, her coach, Shira, really helped my daughter craft some fantastic essays that (I believe) led her to gain acceptance to a number of fantastic schools. Overall, we are incredibly grateful and wholeheartedly recommend CEG. I'll conclude by saying that their approach, while at first seemed arduous, was absolutely worth the time and effort. Ethan and his team have created a program that's designed to deliver what I believe colleges genuinely want: an essay that is authentic and original; one that distills the essence of the student's experiences and perspectives into a compelling narrative, showcasing their unique voice and insights.

Date of experience : April 16, 2024

The best essay coach in the world!

The best essay coach in the world! Our CEG coach is incredibly professional and dedicated to assisting my daughter with her college essay. When my daughter found herself influenced by external opinions while writing her first draft Personal Statement, it was our CEG coach who provided her with a steadfast voice, encouraging her to stay true to her inner voice. When my daughter felt overwhelmed by the pressure of looming essay deadlines, our CEG coach stayed up late, working alongside her. When my daughter struggled to begin her essay, it was our CEG coach who led brainstorming sessions, helping her to discover herself and choose the right topics to write about. As international students, our CEG coach supported us with guidance on the application process, cultural aspects of college education, and English essay writing for American universities. Additionally, his expertise in coaching English essay writing and the clarity of our essay themes were impeccable, allowing us the flexibility to maintain the uniqueness of our cultural backgrounds.

Date of experience : April 05, 2024

Super helpful and informative course

Super helpful and informative course! I not only received personal advice, but the resources Ethan provides are invaluable. I have more confidence given the essential tools Nathan has provided to help my students with their personal statements.

The College Essay Guy provides High Quality, Essential Information

The College Essay Guy offers a wide variety of resources for students, families, and counselors, and not only about essay writing! Among the various resources are handouts, emails, webinars, courses, podcasts, and more, covering topics that essential to the college search, application, and selection process. Additionally, the College Essay Guy includes college counselors and admissions experts in his work, so that his resources can be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. I learned about the College Essay Guy as a resource about six months ago, and I am truly grateful for the high quality and breadth of information he provides!

College Essay Guy is proud to operate on a one-for-one model, which means that for every student who pays, we provide free support to a low-income student.

Get the essay help you need

"Thanks to this platform, I was able to write deeply personal and finely-crafted essays." - Andie B.

"There is no way my essays would have been the same caliber without this platform." - Nick E.

Our essay review platform offers you immediate and free access to the editing tools you need to create an essay that:

• Makes the reader want to know more about you
• Demonstrates how you’ll contribute to campus life
• Hypes your creativity, originality, and all-round awesomeness

Scroll down to get started with the free version.

What types of essays are OK to submit?

We’ll happily review any essay used in the college application process. Examples include:

• The 650-word personal statement for the Common Application
• The 550-word main essay for the Coalition Application
• Any of the 350-word University of California Personal Insight Questions (UC PIQs)
• Any additional or supplemental essays that are a part of the application for specific universities (ex: MIT / Brown / Stanford / UVA / USC)
• Essays for the Apply Texas, New York, or other state school systems
• Essays for the UCAS application in the UK

If your submission contains multiple essays, we’ll review the first one listed.

Essay help in just a few minutes

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If you're looking for even more personalized essay support, we offer several one-on-one essay counseling services via Zoom. If that sounds like a good fit, you can get started with a free chat with a member of our team.

Bring-Your-Own-Essay: College Essay Guy’s Live Essay Review Extravaganza

Tuesday, September 17th - 2024

4-5pm PT (7-8pm ET)

Can't make it live? Recording of these sessions will be emailed to all registrants after each event. We'll also upload them to our Webinar & Live Events page .

In this session, we'll cover:

Our Facilitator

Tom Campbell

Community Manager

College Essay Guy

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How to End a College Essay: Six Strategies

Gina twardosz.

• Last Updated on August 22, 2024

Table of Contents

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of your Common App personal statement…or you’re thinking about the end of your personal statement, and that’s still a cause for celebration. 

Consider your favorite show, film, or book—how did you feel when it ended? Perhaps you were sad because you had spent so much time with the characters that they felt like close friends, or maybe you were angry at a disappointing conclusion that left more questions than answers. 

Whether we like it or not, a conclusion, good or bad, can change how we feel about a piece of media. It’s just as important as your introduction, and maybe even more important since it’s the last thing your reader will read. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to end a college essay to make a lasting impression.

Why Is the Ending Important?

When friends ask me for book or movie recommendations, I always start with the ending. “You have to watch it, the ending was so heartwarming!” I say, or, more often than not, “Don’t watch it—the ending didn’t make any sense.” 

Endings have huge cultural staying power and can even change the audience’s perception of the entire work. You don’t want to unravel your tightly wound story with a loose ending! 

And they lived happily ever after. 

This ending may be unforgettable but for the wrong reasons. Your life is not a fairy tale, so your essay can’t have such a boring, basic conclusion. The ending to your college essay should be rich with nuance and insight. 

To make a lasting impression on the reader, your conclusion should push boundaries, following the reader long after they finish reading your college essay. The end of your college essay should satisfy the reader, tying up loose ends, but a good conclusion is also active, not passive. A good ending to your college essay asks and answers the question, “What’s the point?” Why did the reader just read a 650-word story about you?

Your conclusion is, in many ways, a gift to the reader. It’s the dessert after a long meal—it completes their reading experience and makes everything that came before it worth it. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Before we explore the different ways to end a college essay, let’s discuss what not to do. 

The biggest mistake students make when crafting an end to their college essay is not taking the conclusion seriously. 

In essays you’ve written for class, you may have been encouraged to restate your thesis in the conclusion. While that’s a good strategy for an informative essay, a college personal essay is very different. Your college essay may not even have a clear thesis statement, and that’s okay. 

You should not summarize your essay in your conclusion either. A pointed summary of all the main points of your college essay may seem memorable, but it lacks creativity and can seem as though you’re talking down to the reader. A good ending introduces a new part of the essay, so it should stand out while remaining cohesive. 

How to End a College Essay

If you want your essay to capture attention and resonate with the reader, follow these six strategies for ending a college essay. 

Reflect 

While you should be reflecting throughout your essay, a great way to tie together any themes or lessons learned is by reflecting on your values or beliefs at the end of the essay. Have they changed since the beginning of the story by growing stronger, maybe even weaker as you’ve gained more knowledge? 

It’s important to note that reflection is not summary—you’re introducing a new way of looking at your story in the conclusion. In a way, reflection is the analysis of your story.

Reflection is a great way to show maturity and growth. While you’ll likely grow and mature even more throughout college, reflecting on your experiences shows a thoughtfulness conducive to a college education. 

If you’ve ever seen a stand-up comedian perform, then you know that sometimes they reference earlier jokes later in the set. A “callback” can seem like an inside joke between the comedian and audience, creating familiarity between performer and spectator. 

Let’s look at the essay introduction imagined in the article, “ How to Write a Good Essay Hook. ”

“Yuck!” I yelled as the pigeon pooped on my head. 

It’s safe to assume this essay will be, in part, about overcoming challenges or adversity. So, how should it end? To match the humor of the introduction, a callback can be utilized to end this college essay. 

The best advice I ever received was to stay positive. Keep looking up, because if anything, you’ll see the pigeon before it poops! 

While this essay is very humorous, your essay doesn’t have to be funny to use a callback.

Rescue Your Cliffhanger

It may be self explanatory, but if you started your essay with a cliffhanger, you’ll have to return to it at the end, saving whatever you left dangling in a move that will leave the reader both relieved, satisfied, and maybe even a little surprised. 

Ending your essay in a scene is also an active way to leave a memorable impression on the reader.

You’ve experienced a lot so far, but there is still so much for you to discover. Readers of your essay know that your big journey is just beginning, so don’t be afraid to end your essay looking toward the future. Especially if your essay is about overcoming a challenge, you’ll want to end on a positive note as you look out toward your potential. 

Just as you’re reflecting inward, look outward at the world around you. What’s next for you? Show the reader that your story is only ending on paper. 

When writing the perfect college essay, the stakes can feel overwhelming. Applying to colleges is a serious undertaking, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t allow yourself to feel excited! You’re going to college, and you’re going to do big things when you’re there, and beyond.

While you’ll likely have a chance to write about your career aspirations in one of the many short answer supplemental essays colleges require, your college essay can be a great way for you to write about your hopes and dreams. Especially if you’re writing about your identity, background, or talents, ending on your dreams can leave the reader with a memorable and heartwarming message.  

Surprise Twist! 

M. Night Shyamalan: You either love his twist endings…or you loathe them. I won’t tell you how to watch movies, but when it comes to writing, I can assure you that a surprise twist can make your college essay impossible to forget. 

It should be said that this can be one of the hardest endings to get right, and it definitely depends upon the way you’ve structured your essay. But if your essay is pretty conventional, a surprise twist can take your college essay to the next level. 

Think of your twist ending as more of a pivot into a new direction. It’s important not to stray too far from the topic of the essay—you don’t want a disjointed essay—but surprise twists can be a great way to ensure your essay doesn’t fall victim to trope. 

For example, maybe your essay is about becoming a more adventurous cook, but in the end, you end up burning Thanksgiving dinner! Things didn’t go as expected, but through this journey, you learned what truly matters is family…and takeout food. 

Life is full of twists and turns, and if you can work one into your essay, you may just take the right path toward your dream school. 

While the end of a college essay is only one part of it, it has the ability to the define the essay, so it’s important to take it seriously and write a creative ending that satisfies the reader while leaving a lasting impression. It’s not enough to simply start the race, you have to finish strong to secure your victory. One of these six strategies can help you end your college essay, ensuring that your college essay is unforgettable.

How to Write the UPenn Supplemental Essays

If you aim to join the ranks of UPenn’s elite students, you’ll need more than good grades and

How to Write a Good Hook for a College Essay

Think about your favorite book or movie: How does it start? Is there action or mystery? Does the

Writing the “Describe a Place Where You Are Perfectly Content” Essay

Filling out your college application will take time and patience. You’ll have to gather a range of documents,

Upcoming College Admissions workshops:

Your Standout Factor: The Key to Admissions Success

Crack the code on getting into highly selective schools.

A Common App Personal Statement and Supplemental Essays that Impress

The Common App personal statement is a student’s chance to make their application stand out. And your supplemental essays can help you tell a compelling and memorable story.

College 101: Get Accepted!

We will cover important topics for high school freshmen and sophomores to set them up for later success in college planning. Learn the basic fundamentals of college planning that set the stage come junior & senior year.

We are dedicated to helping students and parents successfully navigate the college admissions process, providing a personalized experience based on your unique needs and goals.

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Reviews 4.8.

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they are good for average university…

they are good for average university but if you want to get into top university they are just not at that level, we did spend 1 on 1 service , lots of money I must say and my son did not get into any top universities of his choices - they tried to point that maybe it it because of the grade average but his grade average was very high and it was up to his essays to pass or fail and they just did not deliver the level of service or knowledge, we were very disappointed indeed.

Date of experience : 02 November 2023

Best resource of college application

Their courses are amazing, they give you a step by step on how to brainstorm and write your essays. They free resource of previous college essays is a good source to learn what works and doesn't. They guide you from day 1 to acceptance and beyond, couldn't recommend them more.

Date of experience : 11 June 2024

Set yourself apart

Ethan and the team at College Essay Guy made all of the difference in my applications. I strongly believe that the quality and substance of my essays are what helped me gain admittance to both Yale and Brown. I learned more about writing in his courses than I did in all of my previous schooling and I couldn't recommend his work more highly.

Date of experience : 21 May 2024

If I had missed the guidance of College…

If I had missed the guidance of College Essay Guy during my college application process, I can't imagine the turbulence I would have gone through. Their resources completely changed my perspective on college applications. I learned it's not so much about me, but more about what the admissions officers want to know about me. This mindset shift made a huge difference. College Essay Guy, you are amazing! Keep helping students out there navigate this daunting process. I am infinitely grateful for your support. You were an oasis in the desert of my college application journey, which I tackled from the other side of the planet. I'm writing this today as a college graduate, thanks to you.

Date of experience : 14 May 2024

Great Coaches

What stood out about the CEG college essay process the most was how they helped along every step of the way. My essay editor, Sarah Murphy, was amazing and was there to help me whenever I had any questions about anything related to the college process, no matter how simple or abstract the questions were. She made sure that I was comfortable with what I was writing, and her friendliness allowed me to be very open with her, up-leveling my essays. If you are looking for someone to look over your essays, I would definitely recommend College essay guy!

Date of experience : 01 January 2024

The CEG team helped my son reach his…

The CEG team helped my son reach his best performance without us managing the process, allowing him full ownership. He was admitted into the college of his choice. Money well spent!

Date of experience : 10 November 2023

Great experience

College Essay Guy was super helpful in our application process. Not only the coaches have a lot of first hand experiences, it also helps me avoiding potential tensions with my son in the process lol. Sophia was our essay coach and she was bright and also super dedicated. She accommodated a super difficult schedule to help my son in his last push of finishing his essays. Can't ask for more. Separately, for the parallel "college list" coaching service, it is much more than what I expected. The coach not only helped building a college list, he actually provided very detailed instructions, with follow ups, to my son regarding all the steps he needs to take to complete the applications - activity lists, recommendation letters, etc. Overall, enjoyed working with CEG!

Date of experience : 07 May 2024

Incredibly supportive and experienced team

I am immensely thankful to CEG for stepping in when my son found himself in a last-minute bind, realizing he needed external assistance. He felt completely stuck. When a friend suggested contacting CEG, which I did, Ethan responded promptly. He patiently listened to our concerns and efficiently guided us through the process. From that point on, things progressed swiftly. Jennifer worked diligently and patiently with my son. The highlight for me, as a mother, was the review process, where other advisers contributed their insights and recommendations. I couldn't have asked for more. My only regret is that I wish we had reached out to them earlier in the process to fully benefit from their expertise.

Date of experience : 31 October 2023

CEG made the college essay writing…

CEG made the college essay writing process enjoyable and engaging. It was an opportunity to reflect on my values and my life and what I want admissions to know about me through my writing. I couldn’t recommend CEG more — not only will they lead you to formulate ideas for essays but they will also teach you things about yourself. Thank you so much, CEG!

Date of experience : 01 September 2023

CEG is priceless…

CEG kept my son accountable with tasks to complete each week. The whole process was streamlined and professional. Helena helped with any questions and coach Natalie (so positive and encouraging) kept him on track and feeling able and accomplished. Thanks so much for considering.

Date of experience : 21 March 2024

Awesome Experience!!!

It made a HUGE difference to have an expert provide guidance, accountability, and support. Melissa was Maggie's essay coach and she was awesome! Very prepared and timely. It made the whole process a lot less stressful and less overwhelming.

Date of experience : 12 October 2023

Best Experience Possible

We highly recommend College Essay Guy. Our son's counselor was able to get him to open up in a way he would not have with us, they helped keep him on a timeline and we were done before Thanksgiving and there were no parent-kid battles! The best part is that our son was accepted to his first choice school! The College Essay Guy team was fabulous.

Date of experience : 15 November 2023

Every session with our counselor and essay coach was a joy and inspiration

One the most helpful things about having my daughter work with the essay coach was being able to bounce ideas, brainstorm out loud, and also the incredible in-depth feedback Lola got on everything she wrote! Every session was a joy and inspiration and truly helped propelled Lola's writing to another level! Working with our college counselor was immensely helpful! She was so knowledgeable and answered so many questions with a huge smile! She was a vast ocean of resources and information that really helped us navigate some confusing aspects of the application process, timing, and the applications themselves.

Date of experience : 22 November 2023

Working with CEG was the best thing I…

Working with CEG was the best thing I could've done! Starting out as someone who had absolutely no idea what they wanted to write about or how to even write a college essay, CEG was able to provide me with the support to write an outstanding personal statement and supplementals, all of which I never could've written without such incredible support. This truly made such a significant impact on my college application process and I am so grateful for the CEG team for all of their help!

Date of experience : 23 May 2023

Seamless Process for College Essays

This is been a great experience and it was stressful initially but you guys made it so easy. I really thank you for all the services and making this process helpful. It was really seamless process.

Date of experience : 08 May 2024

Empathetic and highly effective

The process is excellent and the team fantastic. Our son worked with Cat and her ability to connect deeply with him and to help him think through and articulate his passions were central to his journey. In a word - awesome.

Date of experience : 31 July 2023

We were so fortunate to work with Ethan Sawyer, Susan, and Andy

We were so fortunate to work with College Essay Guy for my second and third child. I happened upon College Essay Guys work while we were prepping our oldest child for his applications and working with a different "prestigious" college prep company. What really stands out about College Essay Guy is the level of depth and authenticity that they are able to excavate out of your child. The process that College Essay Guy uses to help the student really understand and examine themselves and their own values is profound and rich in meaning far beyond the college application process. I felt that everyone working with my children actually cared about my child and wanted to help them further evolve and develop into even more meaningful adults. I was honestly blown away with the care and compassion of College Essay Guys entire team and thrilled to have them as role models for my children. They are the real deal and admissions officers can feel the difference in the essays. Yes, both of my kids got into either their first choice or second choice (but with surprise of a full academic scholarship!), but this process meant so much more than even the acceptance letter.

Date of experience : 05 June 2023

Worth Every Penny But Intimidating

This course is amazing but very lengthy with a bunch of unnecessary information. Id prefer if you just went straight to the point and explained some parts of the essay on a dumber level. Other than that everything was perfect and this course will boost your acceptance chances through the roof!

Date of experience : 24 March 2020

The resources are great and very…

The resources are great and very helpful as a student looking for where to begin. The online class was a bit crowded which made it difficult for me to get my essay reviewed and wasn’t always the most helpful. Overall I think it is a great service thought there were definitely parts I liked better then others

Date of experience : 30 March 2020

Best program by far

My son’s coach showed exceptional patience, flexibility, responsiveness, and guidance throughout the entire application cycle. The process is highly structured and I appreciate the focus on keeping it between the student and coach. I think it’s best to keep parents out of the process in order to maintain the boundary and working dynamic between essay coach and student, as you intended. It really helped me put my faith in the coach without feeling I had to be involved. I was adjacent to the process which was better for everyone. My son’s essay topic was so unexpected and incredible in a way that could have only been derived from this extensive process. In addition, this program was more comprehensive and far more affordable than other resources. My son received admission to 16/18 schools including several full ride offers and Ivy League institutions. His writing improved so much and I even think it assisted in his selection as a Coca-Cola scholar. It made for some difficult decisions! Highly, highly recommend!

Date of experience : 07 April 2024

Improve your college essays through feedback

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What current seniors are saying

Differentiating yourself is more important than ever.

With more schools going test optional, college essays can help you stand out from the rest, and they can often make the difference between a rejection and acceptance.

Essays are 25% of your application

Grades alone won’t get you accepted to your dream school. The college essay is an extremely important piece of your college application. Essays help you stand out from the rest.

Show your personality

Admissions officers want to better understand who you are through your essays. Showcasing your unique view of the world and the experiences that have led you to where you are is pivotal.

Become memorable to admissions

Admissions officers only spend a few minutes on each application. Ensure your essay will be memorable by getting honest feedback from people who don’t already know your story well.

Write amazing college essays

Stop guessing what admissions officers will take away from your college essay. Our community of peer reviewers will let you know and provide feedback. You’ll build confidence and improve your own writing by reviewing peer essays, which help you learn to read essays just like an admissions officer.

Learn what admissions officers are looking for

Get exposed to how admissions officers read and evaluate your essays. Our essay guides provide students with clear, actionable ways to write an authentic essay. We analyze real essays from the past to see what works to get accepted.

Get your essay reviewed by experts

We've helped with 100,000+ college essays—we've seen it all and we know what works. Submit your own essay or watch our team of experts critique other student essays LIVE. All viewers can ask questions and get help from the expert team at no cost.

The free, all-in-one guidance platform to help you with every step of the college process

Your account unlocks all these free tools to help you apply to college with confidence

Advising livestreams

Join interactive livestreams about nearly every topic in the college process, hosted by college admissions experts.

Essays guidance and peer review

Submit your own essay for a review in less than 6 hours on the world’s first entirely free college essay review system.

Q&A with experts

Ask questions and get quick and helpful answers from CollegeVine experts and a community of supportive peers.

How is CollegeVine free?

We believe that every student deserves expert guidance. To make that possible, access to the CollegeVine platform is free for students. We partner with colleges that pay to join our ecosystem and interact with students via virtual events and 1-1 connections.

There are zero ads on our site and you can rest assured that you are always in control of your personal data. Connections with colleges are student-initiated, meaning your profile is only shared if and when you opt-in.

College Admissions & Application Courses for Students

Upcoming Live courses & programs

Each of our live courses comes with on demand content and a schedule of live sessions with Ethan or an industry expert. Click on the pages below to learn more.

My two-part college essay & application course series: Join us Live this Fall

1. How to Write an Outstanding Personal Statement

A video course for writing the 650-word main essay of the Common Application that nearly every college and university requires.

We provide step-by-step instructions from brainstorming your essay topic to polishing your final draft.

Part 1 of the How to Apply to College video course series for students.

Fall registration Is open! Live sessions run September - October 2024

2. How to Create a Compelling College Application + Supplemental Essays

This course covers the rest of the college application. Dozens of resources for developing a college list, finishing all the school-specific supplemental essays, polishing the activities list and more.

Part 2 of the How to Apply to College video course series for students.

Fall rRegistration Is open! Live sessions run September - October 2024

Applying to Highly Selective Colleges and Universities

A mini-video course with the College Essay Guy Team.

This course empowers and informs students with their sights set on selective schools, offering an “inside look” at how these admissions decisions are made and how to best advocate for themselves in the application process.

How to Stand Out With Common Personal Statement Topics

In this mini-course, we cover important factors to consider when picking a topic, why not all common topics are created equal, and how to know when it’s probably best to start from scratch with a new essay topic

Uncommon Applicant: Build a Self-Directed Project

An Online Course & Community for Building a Self-Directed Project.

We’ll answer questions like, what are your core values and how do they manifest in your life? How do you lead? Are you more comfortable out front (envisioning big ideas) or in a supporting role (helping others get things done)?

How To Write the UC Personal Insight Questions

8 Personal Insight Questions. 9 Schools. Let’s Do This.

5+ Hours of Video Lessons Covers All 9 University of California Schools 48-Page Workbook with Exercises and Sample Essays

How to Make College Affordable

This comprehensive, pay-what-you-can course — intended for 9th to 12th graders and their families — will guide you through pretty much all the things you need to know when it comes to paying for college. Learn how to navigate through the terrain of financially affording college for you and your family.

How to Build a Great College List

Join Ethan and Dr. Antonoff to discuss finding colleges that meet your academic goals, social goals, financial goals, and even more!

The Mission: Identifying colleges where you will both get in and fit in!

The Method: Four hours of expert list-building advice with a nationally-recognized expert.

The Advanced Personal Statement Course

Uplevel your college essay with 4 brand new techniques that go beyond our flagship personal statement course.

This course is the result of requests from students to share (even) more tools for digging deep and standing out on their college essays.

Other Resources for STudents

COLLEGE ESSAY ESSENTIALS

A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay

ETHAN SAWYER IS THE COLLEGE ESSAY GUY  |  ★★★★★ “That kind of says it all. While he may have named himself that, he has earned the title. His passion for writing essays that is conveyed in this book, will help any student get through the somewhat stressful and daunting process with fun and ease."  – gonzo14, Amazon Customer

The complete guide to the college interview

Everything you need to know about preparing for a successful college interview.

This 18-Page E-book includes:

an electronic interview workbook to follow along

principles and exercises for guiding the interview towards your best self without sounding forced

the "so what" game to help you take your interview one step deeper

Plus So Much More.

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE “WHY US” ESSAY

Everything you need to write an awesome "Why Us" essay for any school.

This 20-Page E-book includes:

Five Dos and Don'ts for your Why Us Essay

How NOT to write your “Why us” essay

What you SHOULD write in your “Why us” essay

All the resources you need to learn about a particular school

Six Great “Why us” Examples (And Why Each One Is Great)

Here’s what Students Are Saying About My Courses

I didn't know how to write an essay at all, but by taking this course now I really know how to write one. It encouraged me to think about the challenges I've faced in my life and their impact on me. The first exercise made me to go and look at my Scrapbook and photos and this really made me happy. This course helped me in writing an essay while bringing my memories back, which made me realize that I'm capable of reaching my goals and I'm strong. -Ana, Student 2017

"The past week, was more of a journey than a tutorial for my personal statement. Before the course, I was looking outwards for inspiration. My week with Ethan taught me to find inspiration within myself, but best of all, he provided me the tools to put it on paper." -Jonathan, Student (2017)

"I feel like I've learned how to crystallize my most important core values in a ridiculously small word limit, which is a unique skill I wouldn't have learned otherwise. In the process of taking this course and learning from Ethan, I really feel like I've learned so much about myself . I think you'll come away from this course with a new outlook on both the college process and yourself." - Sarah (2018)

" Before this course , I had one extracurricular activity that overlapped in all four of my personal insight question. Afterwards I was amazed how the beabies, feelings and needs exercise, and example essays helped me discover aspects of myself that I never thought I'd feel comfortable talking about. Now all four of my essays focus on different aspects of me which I'm proud of ." -Shazaib S, Student

ARE YOU A high-achieving student from a lower-income family who has solid grades, but you just need a little extra help on the college application & essay process?

Apply for the matchlighters program today ..