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college essays - supplemental essay strategies & tips

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Learn proven strategies for writing supplemental college essays that admissions officers notice. This crash course with the College Essay Guy covers Why Us, Why Major, community essays, and practical techniques to strengthen your applications without ...more

timestamps

  • 0:00

    Supplemental Essays Introduction

  • 0:31

    Presenter Background Overview

  • 1:01

    Session Goals and Values

  • 1:32

    Crash Course Overview

  • 2:03

    Defining Supplemental Essays

  • 2:34

    Common Essay Types

  • 3:07

    Why Us Essay Basics

  • 3:38

    Research for Why Us

  • 5:12

    Why Us Structure Tips

  • 6:47

    Finding Specific Resources

  • 8:23

    Why Us Essay Approaches

  • 11:30

    Example Why Us Essay

  • 13:35

    Cornell Unique Reasons Example

  • 16:12

    Ensuring Effective Why Us

  • 17:16

    Extracurricular Activity Essay

  • 19:52

    Elon Musk Structure Approach

  • 21:56

    Uncommon Connections Exercise

  • 24:30

    Super Essay Concept

  • 26:05

    Essay Tracker Setup

  • 29:09

    Why Major Essay Strategy

  • 30:46

    Mini Movie Outline Example

  • 33:23

    Managing Multiple Prompts

  • 35:26

    Super Topic Examples

  • 36:56

    Hiking Super Essay Example

  • 40:34

    Next Steps and Resources

  • 41:36

    Free Guides and Courses

  • 43:11

    Q&A Session Begins

  • 43:41

    Research Time and Sources

  • 45:51

    Citing in Why Us Essays

  • 47:25

    Avoiding Rant Essays

  • 49:29

    No Extracurriculars Advice

  • 51:01

    Common Topics to Avoid

  • 53:07

    Upleveling Your Essay

  • 54:38

    Academics vs Extracurriculars

  • 56:41

    Super Essay Relevance

  • 58:45

    Essay Review Options

  • 59:16

    Work Experience in Essays

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College Essays - Personal Statement: Montage & Narrative

College Essays - Personal Statement: Montage & Narrative

2020 · Ethan (College Essay Guy)

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© 2026 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.

every AP exam is fiveable

Fiveable

Study Content & Tools

Study GuidesFRQs + AI ScoringAP Essay Grader for StudentsAI Grading for TeachersPractice QuestionsGlossaryScore Calculators

Company

What's New?PricingBulk DiscountsTestimonialsFAQsEmail us

Resources

AP Exam Schedule 2027AP Exam AccommodationsAP ClassesAP ClassroomEasiest AP ClassesHardest AP ClassesAP vs IBAP vs Dual EnrollmentAP vs Honors ClassesAP Scholar Awards

history

🌎 ap world history🇺🇸 ap us history🇪🇺 ap european history

social science

✊🏿 ap african american studies🗳️ ap comparative government🚜 ap human geography💶 ap macroeconomics🤑 ap microeconomics🧠 ap psychology👩🏾‍⚖️ ap us government

english & capstone

✍🏽 ap english language📚 ap english literature🔍 ap research💬 ap seminar

arts

🎨 ap art & design🖼️ ap art history🎵 ap music theory

science

🧬 ap biology🧪 ap chemistry♻️ ap environmental science🎡 ap physics 1🧲 ap physics 2💡 ap physics c: e&m⚙️ ap physics c: mechanics

math & computer science

🧮 ap calculus ab♾️ ap calculus bc📐 ap precalculus📊 ap statistics💻 ap computer science a⌨️ ap computer science p

world languages

🇨🇳 ap chinese🇫🇷 ap french🇩🇪 ap german🇮🇹 ap italian🇯🇵 ap japanese🏛️ ap latin🇪🇸 ap spanish language💃🏽 ap spanish literature

career kickstart

💼 ap business with personal finance🔒 ap cybersecurity

go beyond AP

high school exams

✏️ PSAT🎓 Digital SAT🎒 ACT

honors classes

🍬 honors algebra II🫀 honors anatomy🐇 honors biology👩🏽‍🔬 honors chemistry💲 honors economics📐 honors geometry⚾️ honors physics📏 honors pre-calculus📊 honors statistics🗳️ honors us government🇺🇸 honors us history🌎 honors world history

college classes

👩🏽‍🎤 arts👔 business🎤 communications🏗️ engineering📓 humanities➗ math🧑🏽‍🔬 science💶 social science

hs classes

🏛️ alabama history⛰️ appalachian studies🌴 california history🌍 earth science🌐 ethnic studies🐊 florida history🍑 georgia history🌎 global studies🌺 hawaiian studies📰 journalism🪶 native american studies🌵 new mexico history🤠 oklahoma history⚗️ physical science🎙️ speech and debate🤝 texas government🤠 texas history🌲 washington state history🕊️ world religions
RefundsTermsPrivacyCCPAAI TransparencySchool Data Privacy

© 2026 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.