Podcast

college essays

602: Roles and Identities Part 2 (for Counselors and Educators): A Framework for Understanding How Your Roles Shape Your Work

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To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring.  If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. 

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this mini-series where Ethan walked through some practical exercises for students and parents based on the Roles and Identities framework. 

But what about counselors? We who spend our days (and often nights) answering emails, phone calls, texting and generally caretaking in 100 different ways…  Today’s episode is the second of two where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students. Ethan explores: 

  • How can counselors make sure we fill our own cups (and not just our coffee cups)? 

  • How can we make sure we’re even more spacious and resourced… so that we’re able to give back from a full cup, and with a full heart?

  • And more. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

  • 0:08 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework? 

  • 5:34 - Exercise #1 : The Roles & Identities List 

  • 11:39 - Exercise #2: The “shadow” version

  • 21:30 - Exercise #3: The “foil” to your role 

  • 23:20 - Closing thoughts 

Resources

 

601: Roles and Identities Part 1 (for Students and Parents): A Framework for Exploring Who You’ve Been, Who You Are, and Who You’re Becoming

Listen Here

SHOW NOTES

To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring.  If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. 

Today’s episode is the first of two where Ethan will dive into a few short, practical exercises for students and parents that can help them figure out things like how they’d like to focus their time as they go through this process. He gets into, among other things: 

  • The philosophy behind the Roles and Identities framework

  • Some hands-on exercises that students can do — whether in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade — that can help them, for example, plan summer/EC activities, or even map out their college application. 

  • A simple but powerful exercise for parents thinking about who they want to be in this process—since let’s be honest it isn’t the students who are learning about themselves here. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

  • 3:36 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework? 

  • 6:57 - Exercise #1 (for both students and parents): The Roles & Identities List 

  • 8:59 - Exercise #2 (for students): Using the Roles & Identities list to plan your summer or extracurricular activities

  • 11:30 - Using The Values list to expand on your roles and identities

  • 13:23 - Which parts of you will you show in your college application?

  • 18:21 - Exercise #3 (for parents): Who do you want to be in this process? 

  • 27:50 - Closing thoughts

Resources

 

518: Inside the Application (Part 4): How to Know if You’re “Almost Done” with Your College Application

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Today’s episode is part four of our series Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term.  Cassidy’s application deadlines are coming up, so Ethan and Cassidy check out what she has so far through a process called the “Almost Done” review. They discuss about, among other things:

  • Where do things stand & how’s Cassidy feeling about the application?

  • What values come through in each piece of Cassidy’s writing? 

  • Where do Ethan (and Cassidy) see opportunities for revision to bring more of herself into the application? 

  • And more

Stay tuned, as we’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to find out how her process went and what she ended up hearing back from colleges.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper.” 

We hope you enjoy.


Play-by-Play

2:05 - How’s the writing process going for Cassidy?

  • 2:50 - How much time has Cassidy been putting into her application lately?

  • 4:50 - Does Cassidy consider herself a writer?

  • 5:45 - What is an “Almost Done” review? 

  • 6:39 - What is a Values Scan? 

  • 8:55 - Reviewing Cassidy’s most recent draft of the personal statement 

  • 23:20 - Cassidy shares some of her activities list descriptions

  • 34:35 - Highlights from Cassidy’s additional information section

  • 38:25 - Cassidy’s draft of her “excitement for learning” essay 

  • 48:08 - Cassidy’s draft of her “roommate” essay

  • 53:20 - Cassidy’s draft of her “community” essay

  • 1:03:08 - Cassidy shares her short answer responses (50 words each) 

  • 1:12:55 - Ethan shares closing advice for Cassidy as she prepares to submit 

  • 1:14:20 - Final thoughts

Resources

 

517: Inside the Application (Part 3): Supplemental Essay Deep Dive + Developing the College List w/ Special Guest Renee Ferrerio

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Today’s episode is part three of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term.  This episode is a deep dive into the supplemental essays — specific essays that many selective colleges and universities require. In particular, Cassidy and Ethan get into: 

  • How to write the “What would you bring to our campus” essay

  • How to write an essay that focuses on “intellectual vitality” 

  • How to write the “roommate” essay

  • Tips on the short answer questions (50 words or less)

  • And more

Finally, we close the episode out with a special guest appearance from Renee Ferrerio to review Cassidy’s college list. Renee has been working in college admission for three decades. She has a Masters in school counseling, has worked as both a public and independent school counselor, and serves on numerous college advisory boards and committees, including the Common Application Outreach Advisory Board, and many others. 

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 1:55 - How’s Cassidy doing on her supplemental essays so far?

  • 4:00 - Ethan reads Cassidy’s “what would you bring to our campus” essay draft

  • 8:48 - Ethan’s feedback on the essay

  • 15:38 - Additional supplemental essay prompts + Ethan’s impressions

  • 19:28 - Using the Roles and Identities Exercise to brainstorm ideas

  • 24:48 - Ethan reads & reviews Cassidy’s draft of her “community” essay

  • 35:41 - Ethan reads and reviews Cassidy’s draft of her “roommate” essay

  • 44:42 - Reviewing Cassiday’s “short answer” prompts (and why they’re like an advent calendar)

  • 53:45 - Introducing Renee Ferrerio (CEG college counselor with 25+ years experience)

  • 59:28 - Discussing impacted majors, Colleges That Change Lives, and suggestions for Cassidy’s college list

Resources

 

516: Inside the Application (Part 2): Developing the Personal Statement, Supplemental Essays, and College List with Cassidy, HS Senior

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Today’s episode is part two of our series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 2, they get into: 

  • How is Cassidy’s personal statement coming along?

  • What does Cassidy want colleges to know about her?

  • How is Cassidy approaching her supplemental essays?

  • What is Cassidy looking for in a college and how did she develop her list?

  • And more

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation! This series is a bit different in that, normally, we share episodes-in-a-series consecutively. For these, we’re releasing them pretty much as we record them, so you’ll notice them interspersed among other topics we’ll be covering. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 1:36 - What has Cassidy been working on since last episode?

  • 3:28 - Cassidy reads draft two of her personal statement 

  • 7:51 - Cassidy shares her thoughts on her draft

  • 9:18 - Ethan gives feedback and shares suggestions for the next draft 

  • 12:57 -  Ethan reviews Cassidy’s "Everything I Want Colleges to Know About Me" list

  • 21:38 - Ethan reviews Cassidy’s CommonApp Activities List and Additional Info sections

  • 26:09 - What is Cassidy looking for in a college and how did she develop her list?

  • 25:00 - Ethan reads the supplemental prompts from Cassidy’s college list tracker 

  • 35:56  - What is a “super topic" and how might it help Cassidy?

  • 50:50 - What is the Roles and Identities exercise?

  • 58:55 - What are Cassidy’s next steps in her drafting process? 

Resources

 

515: Inside the Application Part 1: Brainstorming, Outlining, and Drafting in Real Time with Cassidy, HS Senior

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SHOW NOTES

Today’s episode kicks off a new series, Inside the Application. Ethan is joined by Cassidy, a current high school senior who is working on her college applications for the Fall 2025 term. Ethan and Cassidy will be walking step-by-step through the college application process as it unfolds this school year. In episode 1, they get into: 

  • How did Cassidy approach brainstorming and outlining for her personal statement? 

  • What brainstorming activities helped Cassidy pick her topic?

  • Cassidy’s first draft of her personal statement 

  • Ethan’s suggestions for revision 

  • And more

This series will also be different in that, normally, we share episodes-in-a-series consecutively. For these, we’re releasing them pretty much as we record them, so you’ll notice them interspersed among other topics we’ll be covering. 

Stay tuned for future episodes where Ethan and Cassidy continue the conversation! They’ll revisit her personal statement, talk about supplemental essays, go over how Cassidy developed her college list, and even talk a little bit about the activities list and the additional information section. We’ll continue to check in with Cassidy to see how things are going, and you’ll find out how it turned out a few months from now.

Cassidy is a current high school student going through the college application process. She lives in the Bay Area, loves ballet, knows a lot about Biology, and identifies as a “yapper”—more on that in our conversation. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Play-by-Play

  • 2:57 - Getting to know Cassidy through her brainstorming materials

    • 3:27 - Cassidy’s social identities

    • 4:29 - Cassidy’s values

    • 7:05 - Cassidy’s superpower

    • 8:12 - Cassidy’s islands of personality

  • 8:40 - What were some of the topics Cassidy considered for her essay?

  • 13:51 - Cassidy walks through her essay outline and examples

  • 16:01 - How did outlining make things easier for Cassidy? 

  • 18:48 - Cassidy reads the first draft of her personal statement 

  • 22:42 - Cassidy shares her thoughts on her draft

  • 26:04 - Ethan gives feedback 

  • 39:18 - Ethan shares suggestions for the next draft 

  • 41:52 - Closing thoughts  

Resources

 

511: Identity, Self-care, and the Future of College Admission

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In today’s episode, Ethan connects with Angel Pérez (CEO of the National Association of College Admission Counselors) to discuss identity, his personal journey with self-care, and where he sees the college admission profession heading. 

On the episode, you’ll hear Angel and Ethan discuss:

  • Angel’s brainstorming work for his own imagined college essay (yes, really)

  • What Angel’s core values have to do with his self-care journey

  • Strategies and techniques Angel (and Ethan) use for self care

  • How does Angel see the US college landscape (and/or admissions process) changing in the next 5 years? 

Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel.

Check out last year’s conversation, CEG Podcast Episode 401: Self-care for counselors, leaders, and professionals in helping roles.

If you haven’t met Angel Pérez, he is CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In this role, he represents more than 25,000 admission and counseling professionals worldwide committed to postsecondary access and success. Named by a Forbes article in 2019 as the most influential voice in college admissions, he strives to build an educational ecosystem that better represents today’s society. Prior to joining NACAC in July of 2020, Dr. Pérez served in secondary and higher education leadership positions across America, most recently, as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success at Trinity College in Connecticut. He is an advocate for counselors everywhere, an important ally in the work of increasing access to higher education, and I’m so lucky to call him my friend… 

Hope you enjoy this episode. 

Play-by-Play

  • 2:43 - Introductions and welcome

  • 4:15 - Values Exercise

  • 9:13 - Social Identities Exercise

  • 11:47 - What life experiences have influenced Angel’s identities? 

  • 19:58 - How do Angel’s core values connect to identity? 

  • 22:46 - How has self-care for Angel and Ethan evolved since their conversation last year?

  • 27:06 - What are Angel and Ethan still working on for self-care?

  • 33:39 - Accountability, pausing, and intention in self-care 

  • 39:24 - How does Angel see the US college landscape (and/or admissions process) changing in the next 5 years? 

  • 44:14 - How has the ban on race-conscious admission impacted students? 

  • 46:07 - Advice for students 

  • 48:20 - Is college still worth the cost?

  • 50:56 - Advice for counselors and admission professionals

  • 53:23 - Closing thoughts

Resources