BRAND NEW GUIDE FOR 2025! Write a College Essay That Gets You Accepted Using a Time-Tested Approach from the Leading College Essay Expert. It's no secret that the college application process-especially the personal statement-can feel overwhelming. That's why Stacey Brook, renowned essay expert and the founder and chief advisor at College Essay Advisors (CEA), created The Uncommon College Essay: An Approachable Guide to an Intimidating Process. The book offers students and parents a clear understanding of the essay's purpose and potential, along with a structured, step-by-step approach to help transform a daunting task into one that is not only manageable, but maybe even (dare she say?) fun. In this guide, Stacey walks readers through her signature Uncommon College Essay Approach, a four-step process designed to turn essay anxiety into essay success. She covers: The Backwards Brainstorm Freewriting Your Face Off Story Sculpting Polishing to Perfection Step by step, Stacey breaks down her strategies and suggestions with detailed explanations, engaging exercises, real college essay examples, and (fair warning!) a generous dose of parenthetical asides. (She just can't help herself.) Using this guide as a reference, readers will gain the tools and confidence to tackle everything from the Common App personal statement to those tricky (and seemingly endless!) school-specific supplemental essays. But beyond mechanics, Stacey focuses on what really matters: helping students tell authentic, surprising, uncommon stories that show admissions officers who they are, not just as students, but as people. That is why Stacey and her Uncommon College Essay Approach have helped applicants gain acceptance to a wide variety of schools-from the Ivy League to the Big Ten to liberal arts institutions and more-for over twenty years. With Stacey's guidance, students learn how to craft essays that rise above the ordinary-essays that reflect their strengths, passions, quirks, motivations, and the intangible qualities no transcript or résumé can capture. It's time to get to work and transform your personal story into an essay no one else could write. The kind that gets you noticed–and accepted–by the school of your dreams! "College application essay." Those three words can inspire terror in teens (and parents alike). The Uncommon College Essay , is a fantastically useful book that will help you overcome those fears and stresses-enabling you to shine. Stacey Brook should be applauded for her ability to take a high-stakes, potentially overwhelming challenge and demystify it, piece-by-piece, illuminating it as the tremendous opportunity it is. The Uncommon College Essay is at once wise and insightful, while remaining compulsively readable, even fun! Brook's sentences-because they are clear and concise, elegant and entertaining-don't just tell you what makes a great essay, they show you. And her playful tone makes for a stress-reducing, frequently-inspiring coaching session. This is the book we all wish we had when preparing to apply for college. It should be required reading for anyone beginning this process. Jay Phelan PhD, UCLA Department of Life Sciences Core Education, co-author of The Secret Syllabus. A Guide to the Unwritten Rules of College Success I served on numerous acceptance and scholarship committees for over 30 years at Boston University. The personal essay was often a deciding factor about which qualified applicants were accepted at our highly competitive university. Stacey Brook has impressive experience on advising students about this key aspect of college admission. With that professional background, excellent writing skills and a playful sense of humor, Brook has published a definitive book on the topic. From structure to substance, the book offers prospective college students detailed, step-by-step information on the process of writing an effective personal essay. Along the way, Brook provides invaluable examples of the genre, including examples from her own life experiences. Highly readable and relatable, Brook's The Uncommon College Essay is now a recommendation on my list of writing resources. Dorothy S. Clark, retired writing professor/master lecture and writing program director. Boston University College of Communication Parents know it's harder to have "the essay talk" than "the sex talk." Our kids don't want our advice and everything we say is stupid and wrong. And yet they need an experienced guide to get them through this crucial part of the college application olympics. My younger son was starting his personal essay the same week I read the book, and I was able to say "Wait, don't write yet. Do this first." The book has helpful do's and don'ts, clear examples, great prompts, an easy methodology, and is all shared in a breezy style with humor sprinkles on top. Stacey found the perfect tone; the book reads like your teen's favorite hip teacher is guiding them through the process, dispensing