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

Friends, welcome back to the podcast. This is part two of my conversation with Angel Pérez, the CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

The theme of our conversation was navigating ambiguity.

In case you missed part one, Angel and I talked about where our own relationships with uncertainty began, what it has looked like for him to lead NACAC through some extraordinarily difficult moments, and some of the lessons he's learned along the way.

In this second part, we get much more practical. Angel and I wanted to explore a simple question: What can we actually do when we don't know what to do? So we try out a few tools together.

We start with what it means to stay with uncertainty for a moment instead of immediately trying to solve it. Then we experiment with something called Q-storming, using AI and the future of college admissions as our test case. From there, Angel helps me pressure-test a project I'm considering using a pre-mortem exercise called "Murphyjitsu."

The basic arc is pretty simple:

• How (and why) to stay with the feelings.
• How to ask better questions.
• How to make better plans.

I hope you enjoy part two of my conversation with Angel Pérez.

Play-by-Play:

• 02:04 – How does Angel orient to practical tools when navigating ambiguity?
• 02:40 – What does Angel notice emotionally and physically when sitting with a current leadership challenge?
• 6:07 – What does Angel do to bring the temperature down in a moment of tension?
• 08:02 – How do leaders orient to reversible and irreversible decisions?
• 11:15 – How can Q-Storming help generate better questions before rushing to answers?
• 15:43 – What is the value of sitting with questions before rushing to answers?
• 16:42 – How can managing a polarity help when a challenge isn't a problem to solve?
• 20:45 – What was the leadership challenge Angel was working through during the first exercise?
• 21:50 – How can Murphy Jitsu help pressure test a plan before putting it into action?
• 29:27 – What small next steps can Ethan take towards his plan?
• 33:32 – Why did Angel create the Leaders Are Human podcast?
• 34:24 – What does Angel want listeners to leave with?

Resources:

• Leaders are Human Podcast - National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
• The Hottest Seat on Campus: A Roadmap for Mastering Leadership in College Admission by Angel B. Pérez
• The 5-Minute Nervous System Reset: Simple Regulation Tools You Can Use Anywhere
• The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes
• Vagus Nerve Deck (75 ways to calm your system) and you can learn much more about the vagus nerve here
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi, friends, and welcome back to the College Essay Guy podcast. This episode is a fireside chat with Angel Pérez, the CEO of NACAC (the National Association for College Admission Counseling), someone who was named by Forbes as the most influential voice in college admissions.

Not long ago, Angel was discussing in an interview his book The Hottest Seat on Campus: A Roadmap for Mastering Leadership in College Admission, and he mentioned that if he could add one more chapter to his book, he'd write it on navigating ambiguity. This is a topic that has interested me for the last couple years as well, so asked Angel if we could just write that chapter aloud, together, on the podcast. And he agreed.

In part one we start in a more personal place, starting from how navigating ambiguity is something we've each been doing since we were very young. Then we chat about what it's been like for Angel leading a non-profit during times of great uncertainty, how crucial it is to make the decision that allows you to sleep at night, and the importance of developing the capacity to sit with discomfort.

Then in part two we get into practical tips and resources — from slowing down when things speed up — to conducting "pre-mortems" when planning. We hope these are tools you can make use of, whether that's in your office, at home, or wherever you are being called to lead.

If you haven't met Angel Pérez, he is CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In this role, he represents more than 25,000 admission and counseling professionals worldwide committed to postsecondary access and success. Angel strives to build an educational ecosystem that better represents today's society. Prior to joining NACAC in July of 2020, Dr. Pérez served in secondary and higher education leadership positions across America, most recently, as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success at Trinity College in Connecticut. Angel is a self-described recovered over-achiever, an advocate for counselors everywhere, and a dear friend.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Play-by-Play:

• 02:27 – What memories does Angel have around uncertainty and navigating ambiguity?
• 04:52 – What were some of Angel's anchors growing up, and what did Angel orient around when there was so much uncertainty?
• 07:41 – How did caretaking show up in Angel's world growing up?
• 11:07 – How does Angel's childhood caretaker role show up in his work today?
• 13:44 – What have been the gifts of Angel's ability to read a room?
• 17:33 – Who were the early influences that put Angel on the path to becoming CEO of NACAC?
• 21:30 – What was going on behind the scenes for Angel during a moment of great uncertainty in the profession, and what did that experience teach?
• 26:26 – What helped Angel get through that time of uncertainty?
• 28:41 – What would Angel have done differently during the first year as CEO of NACAC?
• 33:56 – How does Angel decide how much to share with a team, and how transparent should a leader be?
• 36:40 – How does Angel relate to being liked when making big decisions as a leader?
• 42:06 – How does a leader's identity change as organizations and circumstances evolve?
• 44:40 – How has Ethan's role evolved as College Essay Guy grew from a team of one to a team of twenty?
• 50:10 – How does knowing an institution will outlast its leader change what it means to lead?
• 52:50 – What does Angel hope persists in the organization and the profession long after his tenure?
• 54:39 – What message does Angel want to leave for leaders?

Resources:

• The Hottest Seat on Campus: A Roadmap for Mastering Leadership in College Admission by Angel B. Pérez
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. Ten years ago, a group at Harvard released a report called Turning the Tide, and it attempted something audacious: getting college admission (of all things) to make caring count. This June, the fourth report in that series came out, written with NACAC's Center for Innovation in College Admission, and my sense is it's the most urgent one yet. Here's a stat that struck me: 34 percent of teens say they have little or no meaning or purpose in their lives. For young people 19 to 25, it's 51 percent.

My guests today wrote the report: Dr. Rick Weissbourd, psychologist and faculty director of the Making Caring Common project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Trisha Ross Anderson, MCC's Senior Director of Higher Education and College Admission Initiatives, who some of you will remember from episode 503 of the podcast.

In today's episode we talk about what admission officers, counselors, and parents can each do; why your teen doesn't necessarily need one big passion; and what ten years of trying to turn this tide has taught them. One more thing: the report asks adults to stop demanding a passion from teens and to start asking what they find meaningful.

Rick Weissbourd is a psychologist and senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School, where he serves as faculty director of Making Caring Common, HGSE's national project on raising kids who care about others and the common good. He leads the Turning the Tide college admission initiative, which has engaged more than 300 admission offices in elevating ethical character, easing achievement pressure, and expanding access and equity. He is the author of The Vulnerable Child (named one of the top ten education books of all time by the American School Board Journal) and The Parents We Mean to Be (named one of the top books of 2009 by The New Yorker), and a founder of ReadBoston, WriteBoston, and the Lee Academy pilot school in Boston. His research spans moral development, loneliness, young adult mental health, and how adults can help young people build caring relationships.

Trisha Ross Anderson is Senior Director of Higher Education and College Admission Initiatives at Making Caring Common. She has served in leadership at MCC since it was founded in 2013. A former classroom teacher with an Ed.M. from HGSE, she has helped research and write many of MCC's reports, including the Turning the Tide series. With Rick, she piloted the Common App checklist that lets students report family responsibilities, like caring for a sibling or working a paid job, so those commitments count in admissions. She previously joined the podcast for episode 503, "What Colleges Want (Part 3)."

We hope you enjoy.

• Play-by-Play:
• 02:07 – What's something meaningful in Trisha and Rick's lives right now, outside of work?
• 04:50 – What does Rick mean by a "moral freefall," and when did he first sense it?
• 06:02 – What is Making Caring Common, and how did a project about raising kind kids end up shaping college admissions?
• 07:39 – What's changed (and what hasn't) in the ten years since the first Turning the Tide report?
• 9:46 – What's behind the striking numbers on teens and young adults lacking purpose?
• 13:27 – Why has MCC focused specifically on college admissions?
• 15:38 – What are the six capacities at the heart of the new report?
• 18:01 – What does caring across differences actually look like for a teenager?
• 19:36 – How do we keep values like humility and curiosity from becoming one more thing to game?
• 22:15 – Where does AI help, and where does it get in the way, in the essay and admissions process?
• 24:15 – Why shouldn't teens be expected to have one single passion?
• 28:06 – What can parents say instead of "find the one thing"?
• 31:01 – What's the difference between healthy striving and achievement pressure?
• 35:04 – How can parents help kids hold onto self-worth, wherever they land?
• 38:56 – What's the story behind the Common App's new question crediting students who care for siblings or family?
• 40:38 – After ten years, what has actually turned, and what hasn't?
• 43:37 – What's next for Making Caring Common?
• 45:45 – What do Rick and Trisha hope counselors and educators take away?
• 46:30 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• Turning the Tide in 2026: Preparing Students for Lives of Caring and Purpose
• Making Caring Common
• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
• 503: What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi there and welcome back to the podcast! I'm Tillie Gottlieb, a senior college counselor and content specialist here at CEG. I am delighted to be a guest host today as part of our series interviewing admission officers. We're getting to know more about this hardworking, thoughtful group of professionals whose job it is to build college communities and shape the culture of our higher education institutions - talk about high pressure!

Hearing about their own journeys through the education system, their reasons for working with students all over the world, and the commitments they're making to bringing ease and clarity to this complex system can serve as a great reminder that admission officers are true advocates and real humans (and I also happen to know this because I was an admission officer!) Our hope is that by getting to know these folks on a personal level, we can pull back the curtain on the mystery of 'what college admission officers are looking for.'

In this episode I sit down with Marie Bury Loew, a very dear friend and an Associate Director of Admission at the University of Southern California (go Trojans!), as well as a Doctoral Candidate for Educational Leadership at USC. In this episode, we dig into:

• Marie's journey as rural, underserved student and tips for how to support those kinds of students today
• Insider insights into the current realities of the admission landscape
• The questions institutions like USC wishes more students would ask

Marie Bury Loew is a proud graduate of Mount Ida College, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees. With nearly 15+ years of experience in college admission, Marie has worked at a variety of institutions from small liberal arts colleges, to mid-sized and large research Universities. She has served in a number of leadership roles on the WACAC (Western Association for College Admission Counseling) board, and is known for her exceptional professionalism and mentorship in our field.

Play-by-Play:

• 3:19 – What was Marie's own college exploration and application process like, growing up in rural western Massachusetts?
• 7:52 – What advice does Marie give students navigating a system that isn't giving them the support they need?
• 11:45 – What does Marie wish counselors and admission officers understood about supporting rural students?
• 15:35 – What is the STARS College Network, and how is USC involved?
• 25:31 – What shifts or trends is Marie seeing in applicants and high schoolers over the last couple of admission cycles?
• 28:37 – What commitments or shifts is USC making, including its new early decision option?
• 31:48 – What does Marie wish students, parents, and counselors were asking to better understand what USC is looking for?
• 36:30 – What does Marie nerd out about as an admission officer?
• 40:05 – What might Marie explore for her doctoral dissertation?
• 42:05 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• CEG First Generation/Low Income Resource Center
• STARS College Network
• CEG Guide to STARS College Network
• How to Use the Common App Additional Information section and Challenges and Circumstances section: Guide + Examples
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Welcome back to the podcast! I'm Tillie Gottlieb, a senior college counselor and content specialist here at CEG. This season, we're sitting down with admission officers to hear their real stories. I spent years on that side of the desk myself, and one thing I want listeners to walk away with is this: these aren't gatekeepers deciding your fate. They're people trying to build a class and a community, often inside a system that feels chaotic from every angle. So over the next few weeks, we're getting to know some of them as people, hearing what actually drives them, and along the way, getting a clearer picture of what they're looking for.

Today's guest is someone I've known since my earliest days in admission. He's also doing something I wish more colleges would do: making the actual cost of college something a family can understand before they ever apply.

Let's get into it.

Adam Miller serves as Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid at Whitman College, located at the foot of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla, Washington. Over his 13 years at Whitman, Adam has led efforts to build a more equitable and transparent admission process, including removing unnecessary barriers in the application and developing financial aid practices that give families a clear understanding of the true cost of attendance. Adam is a frequent speaker for high school audiences, where he helps students and families navigate college admission and financial aid, and he's regularly cited in national media as an expert on these topics. Whitman's approach to paying for college has been featured in The New York Times, and Adam's recent work on the college's "10% Promise" has been covered all over the news. He's particularly interested in expanding access to selective colleges and demystifying the admission process for families. Before Whitman, Adam spent six years in the admission office at his alma mater, Claremont McKenna College, where he oversaw international admission, coordinated leadership scholarship selection, and served as the admissions liaison for athletic recruitment.

We hope you enjoy.

Play-by-Play

• 2:32 – How did Adam go from playing baseball in France to falling into admissions at Claremont McKenna?
• 6:07 – What makes Adam sit up and pay closer attention to an application?
• 7:28 – What's the one piece of advice Adam gives students most often about their essays?
• 8:41 – When did Adam first realize college cost was something he wanted to help fix?
• 11:17 – Why is the price of college so confusing, and why don't families find out the real cost until it's too late?
• 13:42 – What is the high tuition, high aid model, and why has it become a problem?
• 16:53 – What is Whitman's early financial aid guarantee, and what did Adam learn from launching it?
• 20:05 – What is the Whitman 10% Promise?
• 27:45 – How do merit and talent scholarships factor into the 10% Promise?
• 30:09 – How does the 10% Promise apply to undocumented and international students?
• 33:57 – Does Adam think transparent, fixed-cost pricing models will become the norm?
• 42:08 – What's Adam's advice for a family just starting to navigate college costs?
• 44:06 – What questions should families be asking colleges about financial aid?
• 45:50 – What does Adam want families to keep in mind about affordability and fit?

Resources

• How to Pay for College in 4 Steps: Crash Course on How to Pay for College
• Colleges That Offer Complete Financial Aid
• Podcast: Which Schools Are the Most Generous With Financial Aid?
• What is Financial Aid?
• CSS Profile and CSS Profile Schools
• Family Handbook: Discussing Finances + Financial Aid
• Whitman 10% Promise (official page)
• Whitman Early Financial Aid Guarantee
• Forbes (Michael T. Nietzel, June 22, 2026)
• Fortune (June 25, 2026)
• College Worth Your Money (book referenced re: ROI)
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi, friends, and welcome back to our series, "On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling." I'm Tom Campbell, former Pomona and Holy Cross admissions officer, and one of the CEG podcast co-hosts, alongside my lovely colleagues Tillie and Ethan. In this series, we take a close look at personal essays written by real students, talking about why we love them, what makes them work, and how they came to be.

In this episode, we break down an essay that we're calling The Translator. This student, who worked with one of our amazing essay coaches Lavon Robinson a few years back, wanted to share how he acted as a translator not just for his brother on the autism spectrum, but for other neurodivergent students in his school and wider community. It's a model for anyone who wants to write an essay about a relationship that's been particularly meaningful to them, but is nervous about making the essay too much about the other person.

If you're the kind of person who enjoys seeing how things get made, whether it's a great meal, a film scene, or a piece of writing, I have a feeling you might enjoy this one.

Lavon (he/him) has always been a coach. From managing fundraising campaigns, teaching swimming, and school counseling, Lavon finds joy in coaching others to find their joy. He earned his BA in Business from Illinois Wesleyan University and his M.ED from DePaul University. He also has a College Counseling Certificate from UCSD. He currently works as a school counselor at an independent school in Chicago after spending eight years as a college counselor at a large suburban high school. He has hosted webinars with 500+ families on how to best work with their school counselor and visited various colleges around the country for professional development. His students have been accepted to colleges including Northwestern University, the University of Southern California, Williams College, and the University of Florida. At the core of his work is building connections with unconditional positive regard as he works with students to build trust and reach their potential. He understands the college admissions process is stressful and takes the most joy in supporting students to relieve anxiety while going through the process.

We hope you enjoy.

Play-by-Play

• 3:15 – Lavon shares his path from school counseling to becoming a CEG essay coach
• 6:52 – What kinds of students does Lavon tend to be matched with as a CEG essay coach?
• 9:29 – How does Lavon use CEG's brainstorming exercises to help students reflect, even outside of essay coaching?
• 10:49 – What has surprised Lavon most about being an essay coach, and how has his perspective grown?
• 13:01 – Do college essays need a title?
• 14:06 – Lavon introduces the student behind "The Translator," and how he arrived at CEG already deep into drafts about his brother
• 18:41 – How many drafts did it take to find the right balance between the brother and the student himself?
• 21:16 – Which brainstorming exercises helped unlock the "translator" theme?
• 27:01 – How does Lavon connect a student's roles and identities to CEG's admission nutrients?
• 31:30 – Lavon reads the essay, which we're calling "The Translator"
• 36:27 – Which admission nutrients show up throughout the essay?
• 38:26 – What works well in this student's opening paragraph?
• 45:13 – How did Lavon help the student build more vulnerability into each draft?
• 46:13 – How does bringing in his own emotional experience keep the essay focused on the student, even while writing about his brother?
• 47:52 – How can students write about their extracurriculars without over-explaining them?
• 53:00 – How did Lavon coach the student to write about his research in an accessible way?
• 54:11 – What does it mean to be "strategically general" in a college essay?
• 59:48 – How does closing turn the essay's focus back to the student himself?
• 1:04:53 – Why small, specific details are what take an essay from good to great
• 1:05:59 – Closing thoughts

Resources

• "The Translator" Essay
• CEG's College Admission Nutrients (aka The Great College Application Test)
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi friends, and welcome back to the podcast.

Today's episode is a special behind-the-scenes look at a live application review I did with Anna, a high school senior I met last year. We recorded this about ten days before her early deadlines, and she was kind enough to let me walk through her entire application in real time: her personal statement, her activities list, and all of her supplemental essays for Yale.

Fun fact: Anna emailed me a couple months later to let me know she actually got into Yale (congrats again, Anna!).

In this episode, we get into:

• What it was like for Anna to pivot away from a topic that wasn't serving her (ten drafts about her favorite socks, which started to sound like a list)
• Her pivot to a new topic: Trivial Pursuit, a board game that's close to my heart
• A live read-through of her final personal statement, which touches on family, curiosity, and community
• How applying test-optional led her to sprinkle a few more high-level academic moments into her writing
• Her supplemental essays for Yale, including her "why us" essay and an academic prompt essay

Anna is a recent high school graduate who loves cooking, sustainable agriculture, and spending time in nature. When she's not cross-country skiing with her school team, she's mentoring friends in the library or volunteering at her local synagogue.

Whether you're a student navigating this process right now, or a parent or counselor supporting students from the sidelines, I hope you find this useful.

Hope you enjoy our conversation.

Play-by-Play:

• 1:58 – Ten days from her early deadlines, how is Anna feeling?
• 2:33 – When did Anna start working on her essays, and how much time has she put in?
• 3:35 – What has Anna learned about herself through this process?
• 4:26 – Anna walks through her journey to finding a personal statement topic
• 8:10 – Anna reads her personal statement
• 12:35 – What values are coming through in Anna's personal statement?
• 14:26 – What questions does Anna have about her essay?
• 19:23 – Ethan reviews Anna's activities list and additional information section
• 21:33 – Anna reads her "Why Yale" essay
• 23:14 – What academic opportunities and programs excite Anna about Yale?
• 29:06 – Anna reads her "Why Major" essay
• 31:25 – How can Anna weave more specific, "geeky" language into her soil health essay?
• 38:48 – The short takes: four 200-character response
  • 38:48 – What inspires you?
  • 42:28 – A course, book, or piece of art you'd create
  • 47:14 – A significant influence outside your family
  • 48:56 – Something not included elsewhere in your application
• 56:44 – Anna reads her community essay
• 1:02:35 – How Anna might sharpen the essay with a couple more specific details?
• 1:04:41 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• How to Write the Yale Supplemental Essays: Guide + Examples
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi, friends, and welcome back to our series, "On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling." In this series, we take a close look at personal essays written by real students, talking about why we love them, what makes them work, and how they came to be.

In this episode, we break down an essay called "The Stomach Whisperer" about a student who used to lie on her grandmother's stomach and wonder if the echoing gurgle I'd just heard was caused by the molasses or by the cinnamon.

I'm joined today by Tillie Gottlieb, a former admission officer turned Director of College Counseling who I'm so happy to say now works with me full-time at College Essay Guy. In this episode (thanks to Tillie's background), we get to analyze a personal statement through three different lenses: admission officer, college counselor, and lover of creative non-fiction. If you're the kind of person who enjoys seeing how things get made, whether it's a great meal, a film scene, or a piece of writing, I have a feeling you might enjoy this one.

Tillie Gottlieb is an educator and creative producer with fifteen years of experience in the world of higher education admissions and counseling. After earning her Bachelor's from Whitman College and her Master's in Education from Middlebury, Tillie navigated the complexities of college admissions from both sides of the desk—serving as a Director of College Counseling, a reader for USC, and overseas as an independent educational consultant. She is also a filmmaker and performer who has spent a career at the intersection of systems-level thinking, centering equity, and storytelling. At CEG, she translates her background into leading webinars and workshops, sharing free content on our social media channels, and serves as a senior college counselor, helping students turn their values and lived experiences into something people can actually feel.

Enjoy.

Play-by-Play:

• 2:09 – When Tillie looks at a college essay, what are some of the lenses that she looks through?
• 5:07 – Tillie shares context on the essay and what she loves about it
• 5:43 – Tillie reads the essay we're calling, The Stomach Whisperer
• 9:40 – What stands out from the lens of an admission officer?
• 11:50 – What works well in the opening paragraph?
• 16:49 – How does the writer use descriptive language to show various personal qualities?
• 18:11 – How can students use "geeky language" to express their intellectual curiosity?
• 23:18 – What techniques does the writer use to subtly weave in a challenge as they gain confidence in their choice of major?
• 27:29 – How can students stand out using a more common topic such as an internship?
• 33:07 – What works well in the closing paragraph?
• 36:20 – What are some of the values that are coming through in this essay?
• 38:37 – What is something that Tillie would like students to keep in mind as they're going through this process?
• 38:55 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• The "Stomach Whisperer" Essay
• CEG's College Admission Nutrients (aka The Great College Application Test)
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Welcome back to the podcast! Today's episode is hosted by Tom Campbell, a former admission officer and now a college counselor and content creator here at College Essay Guy. This show often reminds us that beneath the essays, the deadlines, and the color-coded college lists, this whole thing is really about people — and today's guest is exhibit A.

Quick disclaimer: this is a feel-good episode. Very "This American Life." If you've ever needed your faith in public education restored, cancel your other plans. In a content landscape where some of the loudest admissions "experts" run on rage-bait and loose credentials, my guest is the opposite. And his name is David Cha.

In this episode I finally sit down with David. We get into:

• David's five-minute life story: how a kid from Koreatown, one youth pastor's quiet act of grace, and a hard left turn away from a communications career set David on the path to public education
• What it took to build the AVID program from scratch in 2001, overcoming early skepticism to help first-generation students thrive
• The evolution of the Bears University Seminar (BUS) and how a team of committed educators scaled a small library workshop into a massive success story
• Which CEG resources have quietly become game-changers inside BUS — yes, including the 250 copies of College Essay Essentials he bought as gifts for this year's graduates.
• And his hard-won advice for any public school educator trying to build a college-going culture against very long odds
• Oh, and at one point David volunteers his own high school SAT score toour dear listeners our dear listeners. I'll let him tell you that one.

David Cha is a veteran educator with 27 years of classroom experience and holds two Masters degrees from Biola and Grand Canyon A recent recipient of the Mayor of Downey's Outstanding Citizen Award, David has built a legacy of impactful college-prep programming at Warren High School. In 2001, he launched the school's AVID program with just 30 students—an initiative that now serves nearly 600 students locally and has expanded districtwide down to the elementary level. David is also the founder of the Bears University Seminar (BUS), a summer essay and application bootcamp established in 2019. What began as a small workshop has grown into a massive success story, recently guiding a cohort of 237 seniors to an incredible 1,373 college acceptances across the UC and CSU systems and beyond.

Whether you're an educator, counselor, parent, or student, I think you'll come away reminded that while admissions can feel impossibly complex, changing a student's life often starts with something beautifully simple: one person taking the time to invest in another. Let's get into it.

We hope you enjoy.

Play-by-Play:

• 3:52 – What is David's background?
• 4:59 – What inspired David to change his career plans and become a public school teacher?
• 7:50 – How did David build and fund a brand-new student support program from scratch?
• 13:30 – How has the program expanded across the school district over the years?
• 14:41 – Why did the team design their student framework to focus on long-term life fulfillment rather than just getting into college?
• 16:52 – How can a dedicated mentor completely change the academic trajectory of a struggling student?
• 20:46 – What words of encouragement does David offer to educators who are feeling overwhelmed or losing faith in their work?
• 25:25 – How did David turn online writing exercises into a structured summer essay curriculum for his students?
• 32:20 – What are the college acceptance statistics for the bootcamp students?
• 34:51 – How does David help his students continue their college application journeys independently after the summer workshop ends?
• 35:33 – Tom shares his own background story of how he first started working with College Essay Guy
• 37:26 – How can strong student advocacy help an applicant's unique story stand out during the review process?
• 38:23 – How can collaborations with local CBOs and college representatives help first-generation students access high-quality resources?
• 43:16 – What are the biggest cultural and mindset shifts required to help students navigate the college application process more effectively?
• 44:25 – How can schools guide first-generation families on college and class choices as early as possible?
• 49:19 – How can counselors help students highlight collaboration and teamwork on their applications?
• 50:42 – What are the practical logistics and daily structure of David's student bootcamp?
• 58:03 – How can schools leverage real admissions officers and guest experts to inspire and guide applicants?
• 1:01:39 – What has David learned over the years from putting together his program?
• 1:05:56 – Closing thoughts and advice for counselors

Resources:

• CEG's College Admission Nutrients (aka The Great College Application Test)
• Paying for College in Four Steps
• College Essay Guy's Values Exercise
• College Essay Guy's Essence Objects Exercise
• College Essay Guy's 21 Details Exercise
• College Essay Essentials
• The Matchlighters Scholars Program
• College Essay Guy's Supplemental Essay Guides
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub

Hi, friends, and welcome back to our series, "On Becoming: The Art and Craft of Personal Storytelling," where we take a close look at personal essays written by real students, talk about why we love them, what makes them work, and how they came to be.

In this episode, I'm joined by Amber Patterson, Regional Director of Admission at Texas Christian University. This conversation does two things at once. We read a real student essay closely, line by line, and we get inside an admission reader's head to understand what's actually landing as she reads through it.

We get into:

• What Amber hopes to learn about a student when she sits down with their personal statement
• Why TCU has chosen not to use any AI to read applications, and the human moments she says a machine can't pick up
• How the reading process actually works at TCU
• A full breakdown of an essay called "The Silent Assassin," starting with Amber's take on why a clever hook may matter less than students think
• How to nest a small, everyday challenge inside a larger essay (the hybrid structure), and how a common challenge can be than enough
• How to subtly weave an extracurricular activity into your essay, and how to actually use the additional information section
• Amber's honest take on AI for students: where it helps, and where to avoid it

Amber Patterson is a first generation, non-traditional college student who earned her Bachelor's degree in Ethnic Studies from Cal State East Bay and a Master of Human Relations degree in Inclusive Leadership from the University of Oklahoma. After a decade as a college counselor in California public high schools, she moved into higher ed and now serves as Regional Director of Admission at Texas Christian University. She has served on WACAC's Executive Board and currently chairs Professional Development for the Regional Admission Counselors of California. What she loves most about this work is helping students find their path to higher education and fostering an environment where every student's unique experiences are valued.

I loved this conversation, and Amber's care for students comes through in every answer. I hope you enjoy it too.

Play-by-Play:

• 2:21 – What is often happening in admission offices in June?
• 3:43 – What does Amber look for in a personal statement?
• 5:05 – What is the application reading process like at TCU and what is the role of the personal statement?
• 8:59 – What conversations are happening in the TCU admissions office around using AI for application review?
• 12:56 – What is the human "feeling" a great essay creates, and why is it so hard to teach a machine to find it?
• 15:34 – Do college essays need titles?
• 17:10 – Amber reads the essay, which we're calling "The Silent Assassin"
• 21:40 – Why does a clever hook matter less than students think?
• 24:42 – How does the author show leadership qualities through the essay?
• 26:58 – Why is "show, don't tell" an effective storytelling technique for college essays?
• 31:39 – How can students nest a challenge into the essay without it being the whole story?
• 36:40 – When should students weave an activity into the personal statement?
• 39:51 – Where is it best for students to mention their intended major?
• 41:00 – What can students include in the additional information section?
• 43:54 – What does the admission reader learn about the student through their proudest moment in high school?
• 50:01 – How much information might an admission reader catch in a quick read?
• 51:58 – What advice does Amber have for students around AI use?
• 54:15 – What does Amber hope that students will keep in mind throughout this process?
• 55:19 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• The "Silent Assassin" Essay
• Should I Discuss Mental Health in My Personal Statement or College Application? (And If So, How)?
• 512: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Counselor Perspective
• 513: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Admission Officer Perspective
• 514: Navigating Mental Health Disclosures in the College Application: The Student Perspective
• How to Use the Common App Additional Information section and Challenges and Circumstances section: Guide + Examples | College Essay Guy
• College Essay Guy's Personal Statement Resources
• College Essay Guy's College Application Hub