Does anyone have advice on using College Essay Guy's resources for the Michigan essays?

College Essay Guy’s materials are definitely solid for essay brainstorming and structure, even if they aren’t tailored specifically to Michigan. For the ‘Why Michigan’ essay, his general advice—like making your 'why us' responses as specific as possible and showing how your goals directly connect to programs and opportunities at Michigan—is really useful. For example, the College Essay Guy suggests making a 'college list chart' where you line up your interests with very specific things Michigan offers. One student I know created a chart mapping their interests in social policy to particular Michigan professors, centers, and student orgs. This approach made their 'Why Michigan' essay much stronger and more personal.

For Michigan’s community essay, his “Essence Objects” and “Values Exercise” can help you dig out stories that show how you fit into, or want to contribute to, a community. I’ve seen students choose an object connected to their family’s traditions or a hobby that’s shaped how they form connections. Those stories worked really well for Michigan’s prompt, which asks about the community you come from and your place within it. Just be sure to push beyond surface-level examples—use moments of conflict or growth whenever possible to make your story unique.

His sample essays aren’t always Michigan-specific, but they show you what highly personal writing looks like, which Michigan likes to see. When I was stuck, the step-by-step exercises like the ‘21 Details’ brainstorm and ‘Montage Structure’ helped me generate ideas and start organizing my experiences.

If you feel stuck, I recommend picking one or two exercises to get you writing, then tweaking what you come up with to match Michigan’s specific prompts. Combining his brainstorming tools with research into Michigan’s offerings (and making sure all your examples could only fit Michigan) is a reliable way to make your essays stand out.

In summary, College Essay Guy’s tools work as a strong foundation, but the finishing touch comes from researching what’s distinct about Michigan—and ensuring your stories, details, and reasons couldn’t just apply to any other school.