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

Hey friends, and welcome back to the College Essay Guy podcast. Today's episode is a behind-the-scenes look at Alisha's supplemental essays. If you've been following our Inside the Personal Statement Process series, this episode zooms out a bit—you'll hear us work live through several of her supplements and talk through how to bring clarity, intention, and personality into each one.

In this session, Alisha and I explore:

• What makes a great "list" response for Columbia—and how to avoid filler
• How to refine a topic that feels "too common" into something that might stand out a little more
• A simple way to use the roles & identities exercise to focus a short essay
• Strategies for approaching the "navigating differences" essay, and
• How to tackle a "Why us" and a "why major" essay

Whether you're a student working on your own essays right now, a parent supporting from the sidelines, or a counselor guiding students through this process, I hope you'll find something useful here.

Alisha is a current high school senior going through the application process who loves science, movies, and discovering new places. When she's not studying the brain, she's mentoring younger students through her program Running Start or planning her next adventure.

Hope you enjoy our session.

Play-by-Play:

• 1:24 – How is Alisha's writing coming along?
• 2:56 – Alisha reads her Columbia list responses.
• 5:45 – Ethan gives feedback on the list draft.
• 7:31 – Ethan introduces the Columbia lived-experience prompt.
• 8:25 – Alisha reads her draft.
• 9:30 – How did Alisha choose her topic?
• 16:31 – Ethan suggests an exercise for refining her draft.
• 25:41 – Alisha reads her draft of the "navigating differences" prompt.
• 31:37 – Ethan helps Alisha clarify each side's perspective in her disagreement example.
• 38:41 – Ethan introduces the adversity prompt and Alisha reads her response.
• 45:27 – Ethan encourages Alisha to center the essay on the value she names (autonomy) and make the story more specific.
• 48:29 – Alisha reads her response to the "Why Columbia" prompt.
• 50:27 – Ethan and Alisha identify what genuinely sets Columbia apart for her.
• 56:17 – Alisha reads her response to the "Why major" prompt.
• 58:12 – Ethan helps Alisha frame her essay around the central theme she has chosen: the interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience.
• 1:04:36 – Ethan and Alisha explore how students can research their major when they're unsure what career they want.
• 1:15:15 – Ethan and Alisha reflect on the drafting process and what comes next.

Resources:

Welcome back to the College Essay Guy Podcast. This is a very special session with a dear friend of mine and an honored guest in my world, Joan Liu. Joan is the founder of Second Chance, an organization that helps high achieving students from around the world secure full scholarships to universities after their original offers fall through. This conversation is adapted from a live webinar that we hosted where Joan shares some of the most practical, candid advice I've heard for international students who are looking for full financial aid and for the counselors who support them.

In our conversation, we talk about:

• What a competitive, full-need international applicant really looks like
• Some common mistakes that students make when applying to colleges and universities in the United States
• Why creating a global list and not just a US-centric list can open up new opportunities
• Joan's advice for counselors who are guiding students through this sometimes really complex process.
• And more.

Joan Liu has been a college counselor for the past 25 years, across top secondary schools in the US, UK, Turkey, and Singapore. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University. Joan is known in the admissions field for her financial aid expertise, and her ability to place students at universities with a full ride. In 2018, Joan mobilized a team of colleagues to support 60 Nepali students who had lost their scholarships from a university in Texas, USA. Joan did not stand by and watch this higher ed crisis. She assembled a team, and these teams stepped forward and re-seated all of the students at universities in the US, Canada, Middle East, and East Asia, with 10+ million in financial aid and scholarships - after the admissions cycle was OVER for that year. That experience led to Joan founding the non profit, Second Chance at Higher Ed, which supports talented students needing financial support, in accessing higher education at the last minute, after the US cycle is over. Folks, that's full rides after April 1 - no other organization has ever done this - and Second Chance is first in its category. Just a few months ago, SC went into its 7th cycle, helping 53 students from 23 countries earn a full ride in less than eight weeks. These students included refugees from Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.

Whether you're a student dreaming of studying abroad or a counselor helping students try to reach that dream, we're hoping that you'll find something useful in this episode.

Play-by-Play:

• 2:36 – What is Second Chance and how did it get started?
• 3:34 – What is the typical profile that colleges look for in an international student who is competitive for full financial aid in the United States?
• 8:00 – How do admissions officers evaluate international applicants compared to U.S. students?
• 11:59 – What are the most common mistakes that full-need international students make when applying to colleges and universities in the US?
• 21:53 – What does it mean when a college says they are need-blind for international students?
• 23:02 – How important is early action for international students?
• 23:53 – How should international students think about SAT/ACT? What if testing is difficult to access?
• 31:34 – How important is English proficiency?
• 32:51 – How should full-need international students think about developing their college list?
• 41:22 – How does the financial aid process differ for full-need international students?
• 46:03 – How can students learn more about Second Chance?
• 51:35 – If a student is rejected from Early Decision, can they still be considered for Regular Decision?
• 53:09 – If a student does not have a school counselor, how do they submit a school report or other documentation required for applications?
• 55:11 – How is the application process different this year than in the past?
• 56:35 – How can students compensate for an average or low GPA?
• 58:13 – How can counselors best advocate for their full-need international students?
• 1:02:17 – Closing advice

Financial Aid Resources:

The transition from high school to college is something that thousands of students struggle with each year, and it's not something people really talk about. There's a lot of pressure for students to "have it together" in some broad sense. That's why today I'm excited to talk to Dr. Jill Grimes, Dr. Jill Grimes, author of The ULTIMATE College Student Health Handbook: Your Guide for Everything from Hangovers to Homesickness, for a frank conversation about things that are often stigmatized.

Content warning: We get into some pretty serious topics such as mental health, drinking, and sex. The views and information shared in this podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health, treatment or medication.

In our conversation we cover a wide range of topics, including:

• What are some simple, science-backed tips for getting better sleep in a dorm room?
• How does caffeine or other medications affect sleep quality?
• Dr. Jill's Rule of 3 for navigating homesickness
• How can students tell the difference between typical stress and something that really needs attention?
• How do medications like antidepressants interact with other substances, and why is that something students need to take seriously?
• What are some simple ways students can take care of their bodies during this big life transition?
• And more

Dr. Jill Grimes is a nationally recognized medical media expert, award-winning author, and proud mom of two awesome college graduates. Dr. Grimes' passion project is The ULTIMATE College Student Health Handbook: Your Guide for Everything from Hangovers to Homesickness, Oprah's choice for Best Book in her 2025 Best Gifts for Grads List. With over 20 years of experience in private practice and academic medicine plus 7 years working directly with college students in a busy university health center, Dr. Jill brings a unique blend of real-world medical expertise, evidence-based medicine, and relatable advice for parents and students alike. Dr. Grimes loves creating and thinking outside the box, in or out of the medical world. She and her daughters relished their decade of scouting and many years of mother-daughter service through the National Charity League.

We hope you enjoy.

Play-by-Play:

• 3:09 – Dr. Jill shares her background and identities
• 4:32 – What are some of the questions that Dr. Jill often hears in her work?
• 5:58 – What advice would Dr. Jill give to first-year students?
• 7:32 – Why does getting involved early make such a difference?
• 9:46 – How can students get better sleep?
• 14:39 – How do caffeine and ADHD meds impact sleep quality?
• 16:37 – What should students know about melatonin and over-the-counter sleep aids?
• 20:29 – What's Dr. Jill's "Rule of Three" for easing homesickness?
• 28:04 – How can students reduce anxiety and test stress?
• 33:27 – How do students know when normal stress becomes a mental health concern?
• 38:21 – What should students know about nutrition and the effects of alcohol on the body?
• 44:20 – What advice would Dr. Jill give to students who decide to drink alcohol?
• 47:59 – How can families approach conversations about sex and consent?
• 49:48 – What should students know before visiting a doctor on their own?
• 52:50 – What does Dr. Jill hope that families will keep in mind through this transition?

Resources:

Hey friends, and welcome back to the College Essay Guy podcast. Today's episode is part two of our series called Inside the Personal Statement Process. If you're just tuning in, this series takes you behind the scenes as I work one-on-one with Alisha, a current high school senior applying for the Fall 2026 term. In the first episode, we got to know Alisha through her brainstorming and outline.

In this episode, we pick up right where we left off — Alisha's second draft. We get into:

• How did the new outline work for Alisha?
• How to approach trimming—not just words, but how Alisha can focus on a particular idea or value in the session to help her find her focus and what to trim
• How to align the insights that you have in your paragraphs with the examples
• And more

Whether you're a student working on your own essays right now, a parent supporting from the sidelines, or a counselor guiding students through this process, I hope you'll find something useful here.

Alisha is a current high school senior going through the application process who loves science, movies, and discovering new places. When she's not studying the brain, she's mentoring younger students through her program Running Start or planning her next adventure.

Hope you enjoy our session.

Play-by-Play:

• 1:24 – How is Alisha's writing coming along?
• 4:10 – Alisha shares her goals for feedback
• 5:50 – Alisha reads through her second draft
• 11:13 – Alisha shares her thoughts on the draft
• 15:10 – Ethan makes suggestions for trimming by focusing on values that Alisha wants to communicate to the reader
  • 16:40 – Paragraph one: Curiosity
  • 23:10 – Paragraph two: Empathy and nurturing
  • 32:50 – Paragraph three: Creativity.
  • 39:50 – Paragraph four: Pakistan.
• 46:40 – Ethan and Alisha map next steps for Draft 3
• 49:22 – Alisha shares new revision ideas and closing thoughts

Resources: