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

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)

Mar 12, 2024
50:53

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

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode