Hi Ethan! My kid and I watched many of your videos, and she fully used the resources you provided (e.g., values exercise) when working on her PIQ. A few days ago, we got the news that she's been accepted to UC Berkeley early. We want to thank you so much. Your videos are invaluable.
Working on my UC PIQs right now, this video is truly a gold mine. Wonderfully presented, absolutely great information given, and very thorough! Thanks a lot for making this!
These videos are so incredibly helpful. Your videos have been helping me with both essay writing and college apps as a whole and I'm so thankful that you're sharing this great information. College apps would've been so much more stressful without your help!!
First of all, your videos are a lifesaver! Thank you for doing this. I do have a question though: Is it wrong to treat UC 8 as an essay of your choice even if it comes back to the points of comprehensive review?
It's not wrong, I think you can probably make it work as a "topic of your choice." As you said, just make sure your response connects back to those points of comprehensive review. ;) Give it a shot!
hello do u think itd be a bad idea write something thats really unconventional and kinda unserious: the idea i had was shiny hunting in pokemon (which is searching for a really rare pokemon, and takes a lot of patience and willpower to not get bored out of ur mind) i figured it stood out a lot, but its a bit of a stupid prompt
After I watched your video, I completely rewrote my personal statement, but I feel that that time it better demonstrates me as a person (I was always bad in "advertising" myself). Thank you for explanation =)
Sir , I have a question. How some students apply to multiple universities , when you can't apply to a lot , cause of early restrictive and regular decisions ?
Thanks so much, Ethan! This was awesome - so practical and helpful. I work with students and help them with the application process. I'm constantly recommending that they go to your website (before they come to me)!
Would writing about finding and learning from a documentation wiki on a small coding platform be a good topic for an educational opportunity? It allowed me to learn about a specific library that I used to create a video game plugin with 2500 downloads. I think its pretty unique but might not fit the prompt very well.
That topic could work! A good question to ask yourself is: "Does this topic demonstrate the skills, qualities, values, and interests I offer the school as an incoming student?" If yes, then start outlining and writing your first drafts. If no, go back to brainstorming!
I own a business that I scaled from essentially nothing to expectedly hitting 100k 2022 as I almost hit that in 2021. I wanted to ask if I could write 2 PIQs about that because there’s so much that happened there that it gives me plenty of content. At the same time I don’t want to write about it twice if it’ll look bad or like I don’t have anything else to write about
It may be OK to write about your business for more than 1 PIQ, but I recommend trying another topic first if you've already written one about your business. Congrats by the way!
There is a COVID-19 prompt in Common App specifically for writing about anything in your life affected by the pandemic. For this reason, we would recommend writing your personal statement about something else.
I want to start by saying great content; there is a lot of information in this video. I was wondering if you could elaborate more on the comprehensive review? Thank you
Thanks for saying that! For more info on the UC's 13 points of comprehensive review, check out their webiste: admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html
Hi @Collegeessayguy! Just watched the whole video and really enjoying the content, thank you for making it all free! Just wondering, where can I find the 13 points of comprehension review?
Hey there! Your videos are so helpful! Can I write about how my helped my cousin who has a problem in speaking for her final exams and she aced it plus how I made question papers for her went to her speech therapies and understood everything Your advice will be much appreciated Thank you!
Your essay should be primarily about you. If you're going to mention your cousin frequently throughout the essay, just be sure to tie it back to you as much as possible.
is the info you have given them enough for what they are looking for? create your UC Activity list before the essays UC topics u want to avoid: common sports, piano, violin OR you have to say smth to surprise them (uncommon connections) absolutely no. 1) big performance essay (nervous) absolutely no. 2) big game => lost, win at life, etc 3) sports injury => team manager 4) mission trip
Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately, Ethan is swamped this time of year and unable to provide feedback on everyone's essay. We recommend working with our friends over at Prompt. They provide essay feedback relatively quickly. Here is their link: prompt.com/ceg/ In the meantime, check out these two blog posts. They are often helpful for revising an essay. The Great College Essay Test: www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/tgcet Revising Your Essay in 5 Steps: www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/5-steps-revising-your-college-essay Want even more free resources? Check out these free resources here: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-resources Hope some of these help!
Beyond the required transfer essay, choose the topics that'll give you the best opportunity to communicate your values/skills/qualities and address the UC points of comprehensive review.
Hi Ethan, this was the first time to listen to your video, great. I will save it for my daughter. Do you have any video on how to find out what major should kids choose if they have no idea yet? Is it better to declare major in UC? I heard it was hard to get classes you want. Thanks
Thanks for watching! We haven't uploaded a video for choosing a major (yet), but our blog has tons of free and paid resources for students applying to college. Check it out: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-admissions-blog
Do you think it would be bad to talk about a certain relatiuonship I had with a person? Not like go into detail about the person but as an influence, such as a girlfriend or family relationships. They greatly affected my life and I ended up changing my gpa significantly and becoming the best version of my self to this day because of it.
From our experience, it's really hard to stand out with an essay about a breakup. It's still your choice whether or not to write about it. Check out this video for more context: ruclips.net/video/lSEqhcqjIE4/видео.html&pp=ygUPdG9waWNzIHRvIGF2b2lk
Hi! I was thinking for UC #2 of talking about about a very specific, niche topic/hobby of mine (creating/posting VOCALOID/UTAU covers on YT. Not on this channel tho!), which I feel like I could right a good, insightful essay on that. However, I'm worried that, because the topic is so niche and frequently misunderstood, too much of my essay will be exposition, or explaining what this hobby actually is to someone who has no prior knowledge about it, rather than talking about how this hobby relates to me. I want to incorporate this somehow into my application, especially since, as a prospective computer science major, this hobby is heavily related to it (singing voice synthesizer software and). Also, this hobby feeds into many of my other interests, such as music/singing, digital art, video editing, which I don't think I will be able to describe elsewhere Do you have any advice how I should go about this?
UC PIQs allow 350 words per response, so you theoreically should have enough room to briefly explain your hobby AND draw connections to yourself. Keyword: briefly
Thank you for reaching out regarding working one-on-one with Ethan and his team. We're happy to share more! So that we can learn a bit more about you, can you fill out the form on this page? www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-review-services Once we receive that, Devon from our team will follow up with next steps about our packages and process. Thank you!
Hi there! Thanks for writing in. We have a few options for getting 1:1 college essay support: 1.) If you're looking for 1-on-1 help with your college application and essays, please submit a request form at this link and our team will be in touch with you soon to share more details about our 1:1 support and how to schedule a call to learn more: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-coaching 2.) If our packages are out of range, we are offering asynchronous reviews of college essays/applications with our Complete Application Review service, which you can learn more about and sign up for here: students.collegeessayguy.com/complete-application-review Lastly, we always have free and pay-what-you-can courses. We recommend starting with our two signature essay courses here: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-courses Happy writing, CEG Team
That topic could work! A good question to ask yourself is: "Does this topic demonstrate the skills, qualities, values, and interests I offer the school as an incoming student?" If yes, then start outlining and writing your first drafts. If no, go back to brainstorming!
Hi Ethan! My kid and I watched many of your videos, and she fully used the resources you provided (e.g., values exercise) when working on her PIQ. A few days ago, we got the news that she's been accepted to UC Berkeley early. We want to thank you so much. Your videos are invaluable.
That is awesome! Congrats to your daughter!
Working on my UC PIQs right now, this video is truly a gold mine. Wonderfully presented, absolutely great information given, and very thorough! Thanks a lot for making this!
Great to hear! Thanks for watching!
You explained it so well. Thank you very much
These videos are so incredibly helpful. Your videos have been helping me with both essay writing and college apps as a whole and I'm so thankful that you're sharing this great information. College apps would've been so much more stressful without your help!!
Thanks for chiming in! Happy to help. :)
First of all, your videos are a lifesaver! Thank you for doing this.
I do have a question though:
Is it wrong to treat UC 8 as an essay of your choice even if it comes back to the points of comprehensive review?
It's not wrong, I think you can probably make it work as a "topic of your choice." As you said, just make sure your response connects back to those points of comprehensive review. ;) Give it a shot!
Wait I just wanna say, I watched you videos last year and they helped a ton! I’m now a freshman at Berkeley! My PIQs are on my channel :)
Amazing!
hello
do u think itd be a bad idea write something thats really unconventional and kinda unserious: the idea i had was shiny hunting in pokemon (which is searching for a really rare pokemon, and takes a lot of patience and willpower to not get bored out of ur mind)
i figured it stood out a lot, but its a bit of a stupid prompt
That topic could work! Try outlining and drafting some material!
After I watched your video, I completely rewrote my personal statement, but I feel that that time it better demonstrates me as a person (I was always bad in "advertising" myself). Thank you for explanation =)
Excellent! Thanks for watching. :)
Sir , I have a question.
How some students apply to multiple universities , when you can't apply to a lot , cause of early restrictive and regular decisions ?
You should still be able to apply regular decision!
Thanks for your videos, very helpful. Can you please enable transcripts with your videos thanks.
Thanks so much, Ethan! This was awesome - so practical and helpful. I work with students and help them with the application process. I'm constantly recommending that they go to your website (before they come to me)!
Thanks so much!
Would writing about finding and learning from a documentation wiki on a small coding platform be a good topic for an educational opportunity? It allowed me to learn about a specific library that I used to create a video game plugin with 2500 downloads. I think its pretty unique but might not fit the prompt very well.
That topic could work! A good question to ask yourself is: "Does this topic demonstrate the skills, qualities, values, and interests I offer the school as an incoming student?"
If yes, then start outlining and writing your first drafts. If no, go back to brainstorming!
I own a business that I scaled from essentially nothing to expectedly hitting 100k 2022 as I almost hit that in 2021. I wanted to ask if I could write 2 PIQs about that because there’s so much that happened there that it gives me plenty of content.
At the same time I don’t want to write about it twice if it’ll look bad or like I don’t have anything else to write about
It may be OK to write about your business for more than 1 PIQ, but I recommend trying another topic first if you've already written one about your business. Congrats by the way!
Do you think writing about overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic is a good idea? I feel like it is going to be a common response
There is a COVID-19 prompt in Common App specifically for writing about anything in your life affected by the pandemic. For this reason, we would recommend writing your personal statement about something else.
I got 2 days
i got 1 XDDD
Good luck!
Hi Mr. CollegeEssayGuy, should our essays be a mini narrative with figurative language or should it just be straightforward?
I would say mini narrative that transitions into explicitly how it benefitted u and then how u benefitted others or something
That's up to you! Both are valid.
This is great!!! THANK YOUUU
You're welcome!
I want to start by saying great content; there is a lot of information in this video. I was wondering if you could elaborate more on the comprehensive review? Thank you
Thanks for saying that! For more info on the UC's 13 points of comprehensive review, check out their webiste: admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html
Applying this week!
Congrats! You got this.
Hi @Collegeessayguy! Just watched the whole video and really enjoying the content, thank you for making it all free! Just wondering, where can I find the 13 points of comprehension review?
On any of the UCs websites!
Hey there! Your videos are so helpful!
Can I write about how my helped my cousin who has a problem in speaking for her final exams and she aced it plus how I made question papers for her went to her speech therapies and understood everything
Your advice will be much appreciated
Thank you!
Your essay should be primarily about you. If you're going to mention your cousin frequently throughout the essay, just be sure to tie it back to you as much as possible.
is the info you have given them enough for what they are looking for?
create your UC Activity list before the essays
UC topics u want to avoid: common sports, piano, violin OR you have to say smth to surprise them (uncommon connections)
absolutely no.
1) big performance essay (nervous) absolutely no.
2) big game => lost, win at life, etc
3) sports injury => team manager
4) mission trip
Thanks!
I appreciate you SO SO SO MUCH
Thanks! :)
Hey can you review my personal statement?
Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately, Ethan is swamped this time of year and unable to provide feedback on everyone's essay. We recommend working with our friends over at Prompt. They provide essay feedback relatively quickly. Here is their link: prompt.com/ceg/
In the meantime, check out these two blog posts. They are often helpful for revising an essay.
The Great College Essay Test: www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/tgcet
Revising Your Essay in 5 Steps: www.collegeessayguy.com/blog/5-steps-revising-your-college-essay
Want even more free resources? Check out these free resources here: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-resources
Hope some of these help!
UC PIQ 6 isn't the same this application cycle. As a transfer student applying for engineering, what question do you recommend I respond to?
Beyond the required transfer essay, choose the topics that'll give you the best opportunity to communicate your values/skills/qualities and address the UC points of comprehensive review.
Hi Ethan, this was the first time to listen to your video, great. I will save it for my daughter. Do you have any video on how to find out what major should kids choose if they have no idea yet? Is it better to declare major in UC? I heard it was hard to get classes you want. Thanks
Thanks for watching! We haven't uploaded a video for choosing a major (yet), but our blog has tons of free and paid resources for students applying to college. Check it out: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-admissions-blog
Do you think it would be bad to talk about a certain relatiuonship I had with a person? Not like go into detail about the person but as an influence, such as a girlfriend or family relationships. They greatly affected my life and I ended up changing my gpa significantly and becoming the best version of my self to this day because of it.
From our experience, it's really hard to stand out with an essay about a breakup. It's still your choice whether or not to write about it. Check out this video for more context: ruclips.net/video/lSEqhcqjIE4/видео.html&pp=ygUPdG9waWNzIHRvIGF2b2lk
Hi! I was thinking for UC #2 of talking about about a very specific, niche topic/hobby of mine (creating/posting VOCALOID/UTAU covers on YT. Not on this channel tho!), which I feel like I could right a good, insightful essay on that. However, I'm worried that, because the topic is so niche and frequently misunderstood, too much of my essay will be exposition, or explaining what this hobby actually is to someone who has no prior knowledge about it, rather than talking about how this hobby relates to me. I want to incorporate this somehow into my application, especially since, as a prospective computer science major, this hobby is heavily related to it (singing voice synthesizer software and). Also, this hobby feeds into many of my other interests, such as music/singing, digital art, video editing, which I don't think I will be able to describe elsewhere
Do you have any advice how I should go about this?
UC PIQs allow 350 words per response, so you theoreically should have enough room to briefly explain your hobby AND draw connections to yourself. Keyword: briefly
How can we hire you to read our essay before submission
Thank you for reaching out regarding working one-on-one with Ethan and his team. We're happy to share more!
So that we can learn a bit more about you, can you fill out the form on this page?
www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-review-services
Once we receive that, Devon from our team will follow up with next steps about our packages and process.
Thank you!
Thank you for the video Ethan :)
You're welcome! Thanks for watching. :)
thank u so much for this !!!!!
You're welcome. :) Thanks for watching!
You are the best!.now I'm a fan
Thanks for watching!
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you soooo much. You are a lifesaver.
You're so welcome!
hey, will you be willing to look at my essays?
Hi there! Thanks for writing in.
We have a few options for getting 1:1 college essay support:
1.) If you're looking for 1-on-1 help with your college application and essays, please submit a request form at this link and our team will be in touch with you soon to share more details about our 1:1 support and how to schedule a call to learn more: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-coaching
2.) If our packages are out of range, we are offering asynchronous reviews of college essays/applications with our Complete Application Review service, which you can learn more about and sign up for here: students.collegeessayguy.com/complete-application-review
Lastly, we always have free and pay-what-you-can courses. We recommend starting with our two signature essay courses here: www.collegeessayguy.com/college-essay-courses
Happy writing,
CEG Team
Would drawing be considered a common topic?
That’s what I’m wondering 😭
That topic could work! A good question to ask yourself is: "Does this topic demonstrate the skills, qualities, values, and interests I offer the school as an incoming student?"
If yes, then start outlining and writing your first drafts. If no, go back to brainstorming!
9:00
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
:)
This is saving my life-thanks a million!!
You got this!
20:40
Thanks for being here!
Fundraising for an animal shelter does this fulfil prompt 7 @ community
Sure! And if it feels forced, just submit it under the "topic of your choice" prompt option.
this has to be one of the best videos of all time
LOL! Thank you for watching. :)