A step-by-step course on how to guide your students through the process of writing outstanding college essays.
Part 1 of the Counselor Training Program
How to write a personal statement
This online video course provides counselors with everything they need to help their student write an amazing personal statement for college. With over 10 hours of content, including Q&A sessions with me (College Essay Guy), it's the most comprehensive course of its kind.
This course includes content geared specifically to counselors that answers frequently asked questions and provides solutions to common struggles that counselors face.
Recorded video MODULES:
Each session is 90 minutes in length:
Module 1 - Brainstorming
Module 2 - Outlining and Writing
Module 3 - Editing
Module 4 - Refining & Up-Leveling
You’ll also work through my Choose Your Own Adventure Essay Revising Tool to accompany the course content (learn more below).
While the course contains dozens of hours worth of content, the minimum commitment I’m requesting is 90 minutes per week over four weeks.
Here’s how it works:
Each week, you’ll watch video lessons that cover everything I’ve learned from years of guiding students through this process.
You’ll complete a few coaching exercises (AKA homework) in between sessions.
Then, you’ll watch a pre-recorded group session with me to synthesize and answer questions on what you’ve learned.
You’ll Learn how to:
Help students discover what matters most, brainstorm essay topics, and get them inspired to write.
Help students outline and write their personal statement using step-by-step guides.
Grow student's ideas into a unique and powerful story of who they are.
Teach students to tell compelling stories that bring their essays to life.
Help students navigate the essay writing process in less time and with less stress.
Show students that they can write a personal statement that hits the mark.
Which is right for you?
Best for counselors who have not taken these courses before or have fewer than 5 years experience
More time focusing on essential essay-focused skills (i.e., How Ethan brainstorms topics with actual students, Why outlining is important, A step-by-step guide to creating an outline, Helping students get started on a first draft, How to write a great opening, Tips for revising, etc.)
More time spent walking through the Choose Your Own Adventure Tool resources
Less time spent in group conversation; more time spent presenting content
Less time addressing higher-level concerns (e.g., What impact will AI have on essays? What is “voice”?)
Best for counselors who have taken these courses before, or have 5+ years experience
More time spent in group conversation; a bit less time presenting content
More time addressing higher-level concerns (e.g., What impact will AI have on essays? What is “voice”?)
Less time spent on the basics
Less time walking through the Choose Your Own Adventure Tool
Lots of brand new content
If you’ve taken my personal statement course before, I designed the new Advanced Track specifically for you, with recorded video sessions that cover:
Helping Students Navigate Mental Health Disclosures—What Questions Can Counselors Ask to Help Students Decide If, What, and How to Share
What is “voice”? Can it be taught? If so, how?
Where’s the line when it comes to essay help?
The Power of the Logline—and Knowing When to Use it
Surprise Special Guest (with 20+ yrs experience): On the Craft of Storytelling
Personal Statements That Are Too Good to Share (And Why I Don’t Share Them)
Challenges related to your particular work with your students (your questions/topics submitted ahead of time)
Both Foundational and Advanced Tracks will get access to additional modules, with content not found in either of my books:
New, More Effective Brainstorming Exercises
Guidance on How to Choose a Topic
Comprehensive Guidance on How to Create a Solid Outline
Guidance on How to Provide Feedback on a First Draft
10 Ways to Start a Personal Statement
Specific Advice on How to Revise a Montage Essay, Including How to Up-level a Paragraph
5 Ways to “Raise the Stakes” in the Essay (and Make the Challenges + Effects More Compelling)
11 Ideas for Improving the "What I Did About It" Part of the Essay
10 Ways to Bring More Insight Into a Personal Statement
9 Ways to Write a Great Transition Sentence
10 Ways to End a Personal Statement
The Personal Statement Course Also Contains:
VIDEO LESSONS
And hours of video content. Watch them wherever and whenever you want.
Sample essays
Read inspiring sample essays and learn why they work so well.
Member Counselor Community
You’ll get 2 months of access to our private online community to collaborate and grow with like-minded professionals
GUARANTEED
If you're not completely satisfied with the course, get a full refund within 30 days.
GOAL
Help your students craft an outstanding personal statement.
You and your students will get answers to questions like:
What makes a great personal statement?
What’s the purpose of the personal statement?
How is it different from an English essay?
What are the keys to a great personal statement?
Yes, but how do I actually do this in my personal statement?
What are some of the most effective exercises for brainstorming a topic?
how do I choose my “best”topic?
What if I can’t decide if my topic will make a “good” essay?
Are there any situations where I may not want to write about life struggles?
Should I write about mental health challenges?
Are there any "don'ts" or things I should be wary of when choosing a topic?
Tips for Writing about COVID-19.
how should I structure my essay?
Montage Outlines (Not Challenges-Based)
I Love/I Know
Essence Objects/Stuff in My Room
Skill/Superpower
Career
Identity
Home
Uncommon
Extracurricular Activity
Narrative Structure (Challenges-Based)
Part 1: Challenges & Effects
Part 2: What I Did About it
Part 3: What I Learned (aka Insights)
how do I revise my essay?
How can I bring more insight into my essay?
What are some ways that I can write a great hook/intro?
How can I improve the “flow” of my essay?
What if the challenges aren’t all that compelling—how can I make my challenge more interesting? How can I draw the reader in more?
How can I more effectively communicate how I overcame and grew from my challenge(s)?
AS WELL AS:
3 Ideas for Starting Your Challenges-Based Essay
7 More Ideas for Starting Your Montage Essay
How do I make sure the essay is doing its job? And what is its job, anyway?
Where can I find great example essays?
Where can I find resources for other parts of the college application process?
Wow, this sounds like a lot! What’s the time commitment?
Good news: While the content is comprehensive, the minimum commitment I’m requesting is 90 minutes per week over four weeks.
This Course is a part of
THE COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAM
Looking to spend the year with College Essay Guy? Consider joining the CTP.
Along with the Personal Statement Course, the Counselor Training Program also comes with:
Access to a private member community through the end of 2023
Access to 12 workshops led inside the community
Enrollment in our 4-Week How to Write the College Application + Supplemental Essays Course
Accountability Partners and Mastermind Groups
At Least 2 Two-hour Trouble-Shooting Sessions with Me (Ethan) and the CEG Team
Plus more
What folks Are saying about the PS course
“For the first time in my eight years of college counseling, I am beginning to get a handle on how to assist my students with the essay writing process. I am extremely grateful to be given tools that I can both relate to and apply with my students. I will listen to Ethan present every time I am given the opportunity — he is that good!!!”
“Ethan you are so approachable and fun to listen to. You care deeply about your work and the students. You are an inspiration. ”
“ My favourite part [of the workshop] was outlining the essay. I also liked all the PDF’s and recorded sessions so I could listen on my own and repeat parts as needed.
”
“Ethan Sawyer’s Personal Statement Course is proof positive that we all have something to learn — as long as we find the right teacher. I have been a college counselor for almost 25 years and have worked with many students on many essays. Taking Ethan’s course added to my toolbox and will make me a better resource for my students and a more insightful and effective counselor overall.”
-Lisa S. Independent Consultant
THANK YOU! You are a wonderful teacher and your love for college essay writing is so apparent. You helped many of us connect with & write our deepest stories and for that I am very grateful.
- Bekkah, High School Counselor
I signed up to take Ethan's course to learn some specific strategies in helping my students write better essays and hopefully, enjoy the process along the way. I learned amazing strategies PLUS so much more! The questions that Ethan asked us, as his students writing essays for our college applications, were invaluable in looking deep within ourselves and putting ourselves "out there" on paper, to speak from our truest selves and share our deepest stories. Ethan has a very special talent in teaching from his heart and it was apparent in every step of his class. I am grateful I had the opportunity to participate!
-Heidi, Counselor
Who is College Essay Guy?
Ethan Sawyer is a nationally recognized college essay expert and sought-after speaker. Each year he and his team of essay and application coaches help thousands of students and counselors through online courses, workshops, articles, products, and books, and working privately with a small number of students one-on-one.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Ethan holds an MFA from UC Irvine, two counseling certificates, is certified in Myers-Briggs and hypnotherapy. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife, Veronica, and their amazing daughter, Zola.
In this online course, I distill the best and most effective resources I have ever found. I’ll personally walk you through how I guide students from "I feel totally lost" to "Wow. I love these essays."
Access is really important to me. In fact, it’s at the heart of most everything I do and is why so many resources on my site are free.
It’s why this course is available at Pay-What-You-Can for high school college counselors in schools, CBOs, or non-profits with small budgets and few resources for professional development.
“Wait, so if our counseling department doesn’t have a budget, we can still join?”
Yep. If that’s you, click on one of the orange buttons below to request a Pay-What-You-Can spot. Don’t be shy; I’d love to have you.
What Others are Saying about the Counselor Training Program:
“Ethan Sawyer, "The College Essay Guy," has everything you need to learn to be a dynamic, innovative and skilled essay coach. His approach puts students at ease, during what is a really stressful time, by allowing them to relax and open their minds to what matters the most to them. This ultimately provides insights that will help the student discover a compelling topic for their personal statement. He provides concepts clearly and gives coaches the tools needed to take a student from idea to execution. It was a game changer for me.”
- Betsy C. Writing Coach
This course gave me a fresh approach for how to structure student sessions. From brainstorming to revising a first draft, the tools and resources made available during this course were invaluable to me! It's exciting to be able to put these new techniques in action in order to help my students write the best personal statements possible. In addition, the opportunity to write my own personal statement was not only wonderfully cathartic, but it helped me connect more to the struggles my students often experience while writing. Thank you so much for a fabulous course!-Chelsea, Independent Counselor
As a counselor I appreciate how I can replicate (or try really hard to replicate) your sessions because you’ve outlined and scripted it all. We need scripts until we embed practices and make them our own.
Ethan, you are so completely thorough; I love that!-Sunita Takhar, Counselor
“I love that Ethan approaches college essays from the perspective of a screenwriter, helping students to craft a compelling narrative based on their own life experiences. His brainstorming exercises are extremely helpful for students to find their unique stories and a specific focusing lens. He has made essay help available and affordable through his book and website so that all students can be guided through the process.”
- Amanda S. Independent Consultant
“I'm really excited about the new tools I have to help my students write their essays. I loved this course so so much! :)”
-Bekkah, High School Counselor
Want to help your students finish the entire Common Application?
Take Part II of my counselor training program: How to Write your college application + supplemental essays.
Learn how to help students write stand-out supplemental essays, craft an awesome activities list, and create a compelling application. Read sample essays activities lists and successful college applications.
Module 1 - How Inspired Brainstorming Can Lead to an Inspired Application
Module 2- How to Create an Inspired Application in Half the Time
Module 3 - The Activities List, Additional Info, and 'Why Us?' Essay
Module 4 - The Extracurricular Essay
Module 5 - Specific Supplemental Essays
Module 6 - Short Answers + More Specific Supplemental Essays
Module 7 - How to Make Sure an Application Is Doing Its Job
Bonus Module - The Rest of the College Application (7+ Bonus Lessons)
YOU MAY BE WONDERING (FAQ)
+What if I Still can’t afford it?
As with all my courses and resources, I have pay-what-you-can spots available for high school counselors that work with low-income students or have little to no budget for professional development resources at their school. Just click the orange button above.
+Can I use your materials with my students?
Absolutely! All I ask is that you leave the logo and website on the materials. You can find more on that here.
Sharing direct access to the Choose Your Own Adventure Tool is reserved for counselors working in high schools, CBO's, and non-profits in the Groups Cohort.
+What if I hate the course? Can I get a refund?
Sure! If you purchased a course, e-book, product, or service within 30 days and feel it did not help you, you can get a 100% guaranteed, no-questions-asked refund.
+What if I have another question?
My FAQ page has you covered. Or, if you can't find the answer there, shoot an email to my team: **help@collegeessayguy.com**.
