What are the best tips from College Essay Guy on writing a standout college essay?

Feeling overwhelmed is totally normal when you’re starting your college essay. College Essay Guy has a ton of resources, so it’s smart to focus on just a few key strategies rather than trying to use everything at once. The most helpful tip from his approach is to focus on finding your core values. His core values exercise asks you to list out traits that are important to you, and then look for stories from your life that demonstrate these. This not only makes your essay more authentic, but helps you avoid cliché topics because the story will be unique to your actual experience.

A lot of students also benefit from the "I am, I love, I believe" brainstorming exercise. This helps you get ideas down quickly without worrying about judgment or perfect phrasing. For example, if you write "I love organizing events for my school," you can start digging into a particular memory—maybe the first time you coordinated a talent show, how you felt, the challenges you faced, and what you learned. This is how you take a broad idea and make it specific and memorable.

I know someone who started with the "Essence Objects" exercise, where you list objects that are meaningful to you. She picked her old flute case and ended up writing a whole essay around the years she spent at weekend band practice—spinning it into a story about how community and routine became anchors through her parents’ divorce. The object helped her find focus for the essay, and she brought her personality in through specific stories, rather than generic statements.

Don’t worry about following every exercise exactly; pick the ones that spark ideas. Start with brainstorming values and stories, then pick one or two moments to explore in depth. It’s easier to revise a real draft than try to perfect ideas in your head. And remember, a unique essay isn’t about big, dramatic events—it’s about how you see and process the world. Even small moments, when described through your lens, can make a huge impact. Just be honest, choose details only you could write, and let your authentic voice come through—even if it feels imperfect at first.