How to Write an OUTSTANDING Personal Statement for College: A Crash Course

Thank you so much!

This is the best guide i've seen so far, Thanks for that. Can you post links with examples on the montage essay? Appreciate it.

are you british or american i'm really bad at telling accents sorry 😭😭

Thank you.

Also, do you think it is advisable to combine different "paths" for a montage essay? For instance, I want to talk about what I love and about my career aspirations.

Is it overly common for my topic to be about the books I've read and how they have shaped me?

May I meet you in person, may be through email, am really stranded where to start 😢

Helllo, I love your videos and I just wanted to say this this one in particular helped me write the personal statement that helped get me into my dream college!!!! Thank you so much🤗🫶🏽!

Thanks a lot for the information given. I was just wondering what if I do not have any experience in the field or program I am choosing? Can I still say I am passionate about it and have academic achievements?

are they values that we have or values that we like??

Lol my therapist had me do this value thing and it is SO IMPORTANT. Don’t skip through it. I also think it’s good to re do the exercise every 6 months or so especially if you are going through a lot of growth or are young.

all the college application process has done is made me realize there is nothing special about me

i can actually feel confident in writing my essay now
ur literally the best

Best video I’ve watched so far about the personal statement

Can you check my essay, not college one but a summer program?

I don't how much I can thank you for this video, but you really did help me out with so many questions that I had about my personal essay. I hope with this I will be able to write a fantastic one to get me into Duke.

Have you made a video discussing how to approach each prompt in a personal statement?

Ethan probably does not realize what a positive impact he has made on so many people's lives.

I'm applying this year, and I'm thinking of writing a montage about my love for the tech and cyber spaces. How watching anime on my laptop fueled my interest in them. Not sure if that would fit into the elasticity-common montage graph.

I’m trying to write an essay where I list my 5 siblings and how they represent different parts/values/characteristics of myself. Do you think that’s a good topic?

Thank you for such an amazing session !!! Nicely put and well organized !!!

best content!

Very Good video! I'm from Guatemala, and as an International student, this is amazing for me!

Hi! Coming from the 8/4 webinar! I just subscribed!!! My mom made me join and I’m glad I did 🤭

Thanks for all the wonderful advice! I'm applying this year and couldn't be more excited!

coming from webinar LETS GOOO

So grateful for your videos, expertise and opening up yourself to us so we have real examples to help spark thought.

I wrote my Common App essay as a montage on how three parts of my marching band uniform represented my values and I got into my dream school (the University of Notre Dame) so thank you so much!
I have a quick question: How could I adapt your advice here into a personal statement for a scholarship? I'm applying to scholarships that just want a personal statement and have no prompt on what the personal statement should be about. How should I go about that?

Hi where is that video where you read an essay where the guy was like “I’m Chinese’s. I’m Mexican. I’m gay.” I love that one and I wanted to show someone but I can’t find it in your video.

I'm stuck 🥲😭

Hi Ethan. I already asked you a question yesterday, but Ive just finished watching this video and now I really need to ask something else, again, (Sorry!) As someone who took some time off after school, should I write about that in my personal statement? Or just in the specific section of the Common App? I faced challenges and I did some useful things during that time, like working with children and learning web design. However, I want to write about how drawing mandalas is meaningful for me, you know, with the Montage structure. I have read that it is better to explain why I didnt started college right after school. Can you please clarify that? I am a bit confused. Thank you!

Great video! I will write a few essays and hopefully share in the end, especially if they help me get accepted somewhere. Thanks for the help!

Hey Ethan, I was wondering if writing the common app essay on yoga would be nice or not ?

this vide is so awesome man thanks

Thank you so much for this videos😞😞

so if I heard that talking about the same topic in two essays is not good, like if I talk about environmental science in my why us essay, can I still make my personal statement about that?

Hey, can we write a combining of montage and narrative? If yes, then how?

Thank you for this I followed all the steps and the words just flowed out of me as I received a spark of inspiration.. eternally grateful.

Can you write about a challenge you are currently experiencing, for example I wanted to write about how I struggle to balance school and family and am scared that I will regret my childhood

Ping pong player! That's so cool.

Great job!

You are so sweet! Thank you so much for making this videos!

Can teachers be like him?

Before your essay sounds good, it has to sound honest. Authenticity should always be your starting point. Over the years, I've helped hundreds of students write their personal statements and I can tell you that the most successful essays are always written by the heart before the hand. Why? Because at the end of the day, the value of any personal statement lies in connection. It's more than just showing the reader who you are; it's about using your essence to reflect theirs. Think of any film or song that resonates with you. This is precisely the bond that you want to create with your reader.

The irony of the college essay is that you have to start writing for yourself, not for the school. This is the only way you'll ever touch upon your truth. Of course, you will need to tailor it into a mature and professionally sounding piece while following certain rules; however, do not make the mistake of starting with a "radio edit." This is why I strongly suggest journaling your first draft. In other words, forget the fact that you are writing an admissions essay and simply speak your heart and mind for as long as you want on paper. This strategy is particularly helpful for students who are struggling to find a meaningful topic. Most importantly, don't be discouraged by a lack of direction; I promise that you will strike gold so long as you keep digging. In my five years of work, I have not encountered a single student who did not have something unique and interesting to write about, regardless of how lost and hopeless they seemed at the start.

Yes, you should avoid sob stories and cliches; however, this ultimately doesn't boil down to the topic but the context in which you use it. There is not a single generic topic that is off limits so long as you talk about it in a non-generic way. In other words, it's not just what you say but how you say it. The number of themes available to you are ultimately limited; however, the methods of framing and packaging it are endless.

Lastly, do not be dogmatic (or lazy) with your approach. Oftentimes, when I'm working with a student, we touch upon a side-theme in the final draft that paints the essay in a much more impactful and more authentic light. When this occurs, I always encourage students to restructure the entire piece to fit that theme, working on the essay three-dimensionally. You may find this happens more than once. Be happy if it does, because the more gems you discover that outshine your previous ones, the more polished your essay will be.

Hope this helps! Happy writing everyone.