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

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

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

• Part 1 of this series, Inside the Application
• Part 2 of this series, Inside the Application
• Part 3 of this series, Inside the Application
• Cassidy’s Supplemental Essay Doc
• The Roles and Identities Exercise
• How to Write the Stanford Roommate Essay + Examples
• A How-To Guide for the Short Answer Questions for Highly-Selective Colleges
• How to Choose a College: A Step-By-Step Guide
• CEG's College Application Resource Hub
• A List of Activities You May Not Have Considered Including—But That Count!
• What do colleges look for in students?