college essay writing podcast

Join College Essay Advisors' Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, and Director of Advising, Becca Myers, for the inside scoop on all things college essay-related. This is your chance to go behind the scenes at CEA and discover what it takes to write winning admissions essays!

Episode 1: What is the College Essay?

Join CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, and Director of Advising, Becca Myers, as they answer the most frequently asked question raised by rising seniors: what is the college essay, anyway? They’ll explain the purpose of the assignment and offer insight as to what a successful college essay needs to accomplish.

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Episode 4: The Common App’s Prompt #3 (The Challenge Essay)

Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the Common App’s third prompt option (out of seven), which asks applicants to reflect on a time when they questioned or challenged a belief or idea. They'll discuss the pitfalls of this prompt (and how to avoid them), as well as the opportunities it presents for self-discovery.

Episode 3: The Common App’s Prompt #2 (The Setback Essay)

Join Stacey and Becca as they discuss the Common App’s second prompt option (out of seven), which asks applicants to recount a time when they faced a challenge, setback, or failure, and share examples of topics that have been successful in the past.

Episode 2: The Common App’s Prompt #1 (The Background Essay)

Join Stacey and Becca as they walk you through the Common App’s first prompt option (out of seven), which asks applicants to discuss a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it.

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The College Essay: What Students (and Teachers) Need to Know

• August 23, 2022

A quick note before we begin! Today’s episode is special. It’s not just for teachers, it’s also for students.

If you work with juniors or seniors, you can play this show for your class as a guest workshop when you prepare to tackle the college essay together.

With that in mind, I’ve made you a curriculum set you can use with this podcast as a kick-off workshop for your classes.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Sketchnotes templates your students can use to write down their takeaways as they listen to today’s experts weigh in
• A poster reminding students to write what they really care about (complete with quirky examples)
• A brainstorming guide for topic selection that gets students mining their camera roll for ideas
• A practice activity to help students spot the weak spots in an essay excerpt (generalities? lame topics? We’ve got ’em.)
• Draft checklist that references the key points these expert speakers bring up

You can sign up for this free curriculum set here , and you’ll also get my Friday emails stuffed with teaching ideas.

OK, now that you’ve got the curriculum to match, let’s dive in!

You can listen in below, click here to tune in on any podcast player, or read on for the full post.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Kind Cotton, a small family-run business changing the world one book at a time. When you purchase one of their lovely teacher tees or sweatshirts, they donate one inclusive children’s book (and they’re almost up to 75,000!). You can use my affiliate code “BETSY” for 10% off your next purchase right here.

OK, creative teacher, as we move into the show notes, the “you” I’ll be addressing now is your student! This show is really about sharing help directly with your students for writing better essays, and since the guests are mostly speaking directly to the kids, I’m going to follow suit. If you choose not to play the show for your students, of course you can just gather the info for them yourself.

Guest #1: Colleen Davis from The George School

Colleen kicks off a theme you’ll hear throughout: “Show us YOURSELF, and don’t buy into trying to be perfect.” Though it’s tempting to try to summarize yourself as the perfect leader, student, athlete, and volunteer in your essay, Colleen recommends trying to avoid attempting to write exactly what you imagine an admissions officer wants to read about the perfect student, and write about who you really are instead.

She recommends trying to choose a specific moment in your experience to narrow in on, rather than painting your life with broad brushstrokes. Don’t be general, she recommends, be memorable. Trying to cram all the lessons of your life, or your full resume, into five hundred words, will only weaken your essay. Instead, be as specific as you can. Find that moment and then tell the story of how it represents you and your evolution as a person.

Colleen shares one bonus tip, which is to be really careful about writing an essay about a service trip. It’s easy to fall into stereotypes about other people when writing about a service trip, and you don’t want to do that.

Guest #2: Rhemi Abrams-Fuller from Occidental College

Rhemi’s favorite essay of all time was about a student’s experience of discovering their immigration status, which was not what she expected it to be. The essay was profound, vulnerable, and emotional, though the writing was imperfect. Rhemi’s core advice is to “Pick a topic that you care about… I want to dispel the myth that there are topics that are better than others.”

Rhemi suggests you should be funny if you’re funny, thoughtful if you’re thoughtful, serious if you’re serious. Echoing the continuing theme, she reminds all students not to try to present what you think admissions wants to read.

Guest #3: Hector Martinez (The Webb Schools)

Hector begins by sharing his favorite essay of all time, about a student’s love for the piano. He knows what you’re thinking… what a boring topic, a million people have probably written about that (you ARE thinking that, right?).

But he describes the way the essay painted a beautiful vivid picture for him, and how it made him feel like he knew the student and wanted to be friends with her.

Which brought him to his core advice: “The more genuine their voice is, in that essay, the more real, the more vivid, the better the essay tends to be.” He makes the comparison of a Polaroid picture, recommending that you try to create an essay that is as vivid as a photograph for your reader.

Guest #4: Thyra Briggs (Harvey Mudd College)

Thyra reiterates that the essay does not need to be about something like world peace or diversity – you should write about something that matters to you (noticing the trend? This is essential!).

She shares one of her favorite essays of all time, which was about a student’s experience working at a craft store. The student told the story of one shift at work, and what she learned from each of the customers she encountered that she would be bringing with her to college. She wrapped up her story with the line, “Everything’s better with glitter,” which Thyra still remembers all these years later.

Thyra recommends you work on writing in YOUR OWN VOICE, so it really sounds like you. Then you can read it aloud to check that it feels natural, and share it with people in your life that know you to help make sure.

Students, as you approach the college essay, I think it’s clear that all the experts agree – be genuine and vivid, don’t try to affect a fake personality to impress someone, tell a specific and meaningful part of your own unique life experience. You can do it!

OK, teachers, that’s a wrap! Remember to grab the free curriculum set as a companion to this episode right here . Give students the sketchnotes templates as they listen to this episode, then move on to the other activities.

I’ll help you find the creative ELA strategies that will light up your classroom. Get ready for joyful teaching!

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Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

Tips for writing an effective college essay.

College admissions essays are an important part of your college application and gives you the chance to show colleges and universities your character and experiences. This guide will give you tips to write an effective college essay.

Want free help with your college essay?

UPchieve connects you with knowledgeable and friendly college advisors—online, 24/7, and completely free. Get 1:1 help brainstorming topics, outlining your essay, revising a draft, or editing grammar.

Writing a strong college admissions essay

Learn about the elements of a solid admissions essay.

Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes

Learn some of the most common mistakes made on college essays

Brainstorming tips for your college essay

Stuck on what to write your college essay about? Here are some exercises to help you get started.

How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Learn how formal your college essay should be and get tips on how to bring out your natural voice.

Taking your college essay to the next level

Hear an admissions expert discuss the appropriate level of depth necessary in your college essay.

Student Stories

Student Story: Admissions essay about a formative experience

Get the perspective of a current college student on how he approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about personal identity

Get the perspective of a current college student on how she approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about community impact

Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

This content is licensed by Khan Academy and is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

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Our 7th Annual Student Podcast Contest

We invite students to create an original podcast of five minutes or less that informs or entertains. Contest dates: April 17 to May 15.

By The Learning Network

Do you listen to podcasts? Do you tune in to find out what’s happening in the world ? To stay up-to-date on sports , music , film , fashion or TV ? To get advice ? To laugh ? To hear a good story ? To learn something new ?

Imagine you — or you and several of your friends — were behind the microphone. What would you talk about? Who might you like to interview? What thoughts, talents, insights, opinions or stories would you want to share with the world?

In our Seventh Annual Podcast Contest, we invite teenagers to submit original podcasts of five minutes or less. Your creation can be about anything that interests you, in any form that you like. Our favorites will be featured on The Learning Network.

Take a look at the guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected].

Here’s what you need to know:

The challenge, a few rules, resources for teachers and students, frequently asked questions, submission form.

Produce a podcast of five minutes or less that informs or entertains.

You can create a podcast on any topic you like in any format you like, whether that’s an interview with an expert, an informal conversation with a friend, a journalistic investigation, a fictional story or anything else you can think of. We welcome podcasts across genres, including, comedy, true crime, news documentary, history, radio theater and sports — let your imagination run wild.

Just make sure that whatever you produce is a complete listening experience. That is, your podcast should have a clear beginning, middle and end.

Your submission can be an excerpt from a longer podcast, as long as you demonstrate thoughtfulness about how you are using time. The beginning, for example, should give listeners some context as to what they’re hearing; the ending can be a hard “end” of the podcast, or it can be the conclusion of a segment, or even the closing of an introduction within a longer episode.

In addition to the guidelines above, here are a few more details:

You must be a student ages 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate , and all students must have parent or guardian permission to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details.

Please be sure to use non-copyrighted sound effects or music, with some exceptions. You can find royalty-free music and sound effects on Freesound and SoundBible , or by doing a web search for royalty-free files. You can also use audio editing software to create your own music or sound effects. There are limited fair use exceptions when you can legally use copyrighted music or sound effects, such as when you are critiquing a song or reporting on a film. Read more about those exceptions to ensure that your use of copyrighted material does not infringe on copyright protections. If you use any music or sounds effects, please list the sources in the designated field in the submission form.

We suggest uploading your podcast to SoundCloud to make it easier for our judges to listen to your work. Make sure that the track settings are set to “public.” Our judges will also listen to entries hosted on other podcasting sites, including Podomatic , Buzzsprout , Anchor , Spreaker and Podbean . Please make sure you follow your hosting site’s terms of service. Note: Our judges have often had difficulty listening to podcasts hosted on GoogleDrive, so we strongly recommend you use a different method.

Your piece should be no longer than five minutes. Please be sure to check the length of your audio file before submitting. Just to be very clear, 5:01 is longer than five minutes.

The work you submit should be fundamentally your own — it should not be plagiarized, written by someone else or generated by artificial intelligence.

Your podcast must be original for this contest. That means it should not already have been published at the time of submission, whether by a radio station, another contest or an any other site (not including your own page or a teacher’s class page). However, after you submit to this contest, you are allowed to submit your entry to another publication or contest for possible publication.

Keep in mind that the work you send in should be appropriate for a Times audience — that is, something that could be published in a family newspaper (so, please, no curse words).

You may work alone or with a group , but students should submit only one entry each.

You must also submit a short, informal “artist’s statement” as part of your submission, that describes your process. These statements, which will not be used to choose finalists, help us to design and refine our contests. See the F.A.Q. to learn more.

All entries must be submitted by May 15, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time using the electronic form below.

Use these resources to help you create a podcast:

A unit plan on writing for podcasts, which includes writing prompts to inspire your work; a mentor text featuring past winners of our contest; a lesson plan that focuses on storytelling, interviewing, editing and producing; and much more.

Three short videos from two Times audio producers and one student contest winner who share tips on how to plan, script and record meaningful podcasts.

A recorded webinar on writing for podcasts in which you’ll hear from a school librarian with experience teaching podcasting to students, New York Times podcast producers and previous student winners of our contest.

Our winners from 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 and 2018 , as well as a video with advice from several of them (below).

Two lesson plans on teaching with popular New York Times podcasts: “ Using the Modern Love Podcast to Teach Narrative Writing ” and “ Experimenting With Sound and Story: Teaching and Learning With ‘The Daily’ Podcast .”

“The State of Podcasting,” a series from The New York Times that includes articles on teenage podcasters , “ podcast voice ,” stories of people overlooked by the medium , the future of the industry and more.

Our contest rubric .

Answers to your questions about writing, judging, the rules and teaching with this contest. Please read these thoroughly and, if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, post your query in the comments or write to us at [email protected].

QUESTIONS ABOUT PODCASTING

What is a podcast?

Simply put: Podcasts are audio programs that can take almost any form. They can be a news report or a one-act play ; a formal interview or a friendly conversation ; a personal narrative or a book review . Some podcasts are informative , others are entertaining , and others try to persuade . They can be funny, serious, thought-provoking or emotional. In short, your podcast can be pretty much whatever you want it to be.

How can I make my podcast stand out?

We are primarily looking for thoughtful pieces with a clear beginning, middle and ending. Here are a few tips to get your podcast noticed by our judges:

Choose a topic that matters to you. Not only will your passion sustain you during the creative process, but it will shine through in the final product. Remember, though, you have only five minutes, so make sure you choose something that you can do justice in that time. For example, you probably won’t be able to take on all of climate change, but you can focus on a small aspect of it, like food waste in your community.

Use a format that brings your topic to life. Ask yourself: What is the best way to tell this story? Is it appropriate to tell the story from your own point of view or should you interview an expert? Does it make sense for the podcast to have a rigid structure or should it be more of a free flowing conversation? Should it be nonfiction or could a fictional story be more entertaining or meaningful?

Prepare. Before recording your podcast, create an outline or a script. Having a plan will both help you make the most use of your five minutes, and make it easier for your listener to follow along.

Make sure your audio is clear. You don’t need to have high-grade recording equipment to make a great podcast, but do be mindful to speak clearly and to eliminate background noise as much as possible.

Use sound thoughtfully and intentionally. Spoken word, music, sound effects and environmental noise can all make for a compelling listening experience. Consider how you might use them strategically to provide context, create structure for your podcast and engage your listeners’ emotions.

How do I come up with a topic for my podcast?

Your podcast can be about anything. To get ideas, start by browsing our list of 1,000 writing prompts , which includes questions on everything from video games and fashion to smartphones and parenting. Try responding to a few prompts that interest you. Then, you might choose one you enjoyed writing about as inspiration for your podcast.

If you’re thinking about sharing a personal story, take a look at these prompts for personal and narrative writing . If you want to assert an opinion or engage in a debate, look at this list of prompts for argumentative writing . You can find even more in our Writing Prompts column , where we publish a new question every school day.

Can someone else produce or edit my work?

You are welcome to get feedback on and suggestions for your podcast, but the work you submit, including the editing and production, should be fundamentally your own.

Where can I find examples of podcasts in The Times?

You can find all regular Times podcasts in the Podcast column , and special narrative projects from Serial Productions here . Here are a few of our favorites:

“ The Daily ,” a 20-minute morning news program powered by New York Times journalism.

“ Still Processing ,” a show about all things culture, from television and music to dating and the internet.

“ Modern Love ,” stories that explore the complicated love lives of real people.

“ Popcast ,” a podcast by the The Times’s pop music team on music news, new songs and albums, and artists of note.

“ The Opinions ,” short (5-10 minutes) audio essays from the Opinion section.

But remember, you’re not limited to The Times for inspiration. You can find other podcast recommendations in the Arts section , such as this list of suggestions from 36 podcast personalities .

QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDGING

How will my podcast be judged?

Your work will be listened to by producers and journalists on The New York Times podcast team as well as by Learning Network staff members, professional podcasters and educators from around the United States. We will use this rubric to judge entries.

What’s the prize?

Having your work published on The Learning Network.

When will the winners be announced?

About two months after the contest has closed.

My podcast wasn’t selected as a winner. Can you tell me why?

We typically receive over a thousand entries for this contest, so, unfortunately, our team does not have the capacity to provide individual feedback.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RULES

Who is eligible to participate in this contest?

This contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 who are in middle school or high school around the world. College students cannot submit an entry. However, high school students (including high school postgraduate students) who are taking one or more college classes can participate. Students attending their first year of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec Province can also participate. In addition, students age 19 or under who have completed high school but are taking a gap year or are otherwise not enrolled in college can participate.

The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Nor are students who live in the same household as those employees.

Can I have someone else check my work?

We understand that students will often revise their work based on feedback from teachers and peers. That is allowed for this contest. However, be sure that the final submission reflects the ideas, voice and writing ability of the student, not someone else.

Why are you asking for an Artist’s Statement about our process? What will you do with it?

All of us who work on The Learning Network are former teachers. One of the many things we miss, now that we work in a newsroom rather than a classroom, is being able to see how students are reacting to our “assignments” in real time — and to offer help, or tweaks, to make those assignments better. We’re asking you to reflect on what you did and why, and what was hard or easy about it, in large part so that we can improve our contests and the curriculum we create to support them. This is especially important for new contests, like this one.

Another reason? We have heard from many teachers that writing these statements is immensely helpful to students. Stepping back from a piece and trying to put into words what you wanted to express, and why and how you made artistic choices to do that, can help you see your piece anew and figure out how to make it stronger. For our staff, they offer important context that help us understand individual students and submissions, and learn more about the conditions under which students around the world create.

Whom can I contact if I have questions about this contest or am having issues submitting my entry?

Leave a comment on this post or write to us at [email protected].

QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH THIS CONTEST

I’m a teacher. What resources do you have to help me teach with this contest?

Start with our unit plan for creating a podcast. It includes writing prompts, mentor texts and lesson plans that can support this contest. To learn more about how to teach with this unit, watch our on-demand webinar .

Do my students need a New York Times subscription to use these resources?

No. The Learning Network is completely free.

What can you tell me about student copyright and privacy issues?

Students retain the copyright in their work. That means that they own their work, and can sell it and/or have it published elsewhere after submitting it to our contest.

However, by submitting an entry, a student — or if they are not yet 18 years old, then their parent or guardian — agrees that The Times can use the submission in print in The New York Times and online at nytimes.com. And they agree that The Times can authorize third parties to do so as well. The permission form is part of the submission process.

Students are not required to provide their full name. We let students and their families decide how they want to identify themselves if their entry is selected as a finalist.

We will post the submission form here on April 17, the day the contest opens.

What Colleges Want (Part 1): A Deep Dive into the Factors Colleges Deem Important & State of College Admissions Report The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

Show Notes On today's episode, Ethan sits down with David Hawkins, Chief Education and Policy Officer at National Association of College Admission Counselors (aka NACAC), and they get discuss, among other things:  What are the most important factors colleges consider?  What significant changes has he seen in the college admission landscape in the past few years? How has the emphasis on college essays (aka the personal statement) shifted?  Why has the emphasis in standardized testing changed? What have the impacts been of the Supreme Court decision to ban race conscious admission?  How can students, counselors, and parents use the info in this report to make their college admission process easier?  For over 20 years, David Hawkins has worked in enrollment management and admissions to alleviate systemic barriers to accessing higher education. Hawkins has played a key role in setting NACAC's strategic direction, which involved hearing and representing the collective voice of NACAC’s more than 25,000 high school counselors and college admission officers. His priorities include making NACAC a more effective learning organization, with an emphasis on ethics and redefining advocacy.  We hope you enjoy the conversation.   Play-by-Play 2:04 - Introductions 3:03 - What is the State of College Admission report? 5:48 - How can students, parents, and counselors use this report? 9:50 - Which factors of admissions decisions are most important to colleges? 13:34 - How are “positive character attributes” assessed? 18:00 - What are some specific qualities that are important to colleges? 20:46 - How do students show these qualities in their applications? 25:33 - How has the importance of the college essay shifted in recent years? 27:13 - Which colleges seem to value the essay more highly? 28:47 - How does a student’s interest in attending a particular school influence admissions decisions? 32:30 - How are counselor & teacher recommendations assessed? 33:58 - What are admissions officers looking for in extracurricular activities? 37:38 - Why is high school class rank dropping in rank of importance?  39:30 - Do colleges still want to see standardized test scores? 42:52 - Quick thoughts on creative portfolios, interviews, work experience, state exam scores, and subject test scores 44:49 - David shares predictions on shifts in equity and inclusion in the future of admissions 48:57 - Closing thoughts    Resources State of College Admission Report What is Demonstrated Interest? A Practical How-To Guide A List of Activities You May Not Have Considered Including—But That Count! How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College: Step-by-Step Guide for Students How to Write a Letter of Recommendation: Counselor's Guide + Samples How to Write a Recommendation Letter for a Student: Teacher’s Guide + Samples Crash Course to Standardized Testing Podcast Episodes: 204: What You Need to Know About Standardized Tests and Mistakes to Avoid 411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want  

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