Has anyone found a good college essay organizer tool or method?

You're definitely not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of college application essays, prompts, and deadlines. Staying organized can make a huge difference in both your productivity and stress level. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all tool for essay organization, but here are a few effective methods I’ve seen work well for students:

A lot of students swear by Google Sheets for this process. Start with a spreadsheet where you can make columns for each school, prompt, required word count, deadline, if the essay is complete or in draft form, and any relevant notes. If you color-code by status or urgency, you’ll get an immediate overview of what needs your attention next. For example, you might shade completed essays green, essays in progress yellow, and those you haven’t started red.

Another popular system is using Notion, especially if you like a more visual setup or want to keep drafts and research in one place. You can make a database for each college, create linked pages for each essay, and even add checklists and deadlines. With Notion, you could, for example, have a school overview table that links directly to each essay’s workspace and keeps your drafts tidy.

Example: One student set up an Excel sheet with tabs for each college. On each tab, they pasted the prompt, tracked the essay status, and made checklists for brainstorming, drafting, revising, and final review. This let them quickly jump between essays and never miss a prompt or an important deadline.

No matter what tool you use, what’s most important is that you update it regularly and keep everything in one place. Don’t forget to back up your work, especially if you’re using digital tools—losing a finished essay can be a nightmare!

Try out a couple of methods and see which one helps you stay motivated and clear-headed. The right system will help you focus more on writing great essays and less on keeping track of them.