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Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement
A guide to crafting a meaningful and polished college admissions essay that gets students into the school of their dreams by expressing their unique personality, strengths, and goals.
Stand out from the crowd with a memorable, meaningful personal statement that will capture the attention of college admissions officers.
Writing a college admissions essay is no easy task—but with college essay coach and New York Times contributor Alan Gelb’s accessible and encouraging step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to write an honest, one-of-a-kind essay that really shines.
Gelb’s ten-step approach has garnered great results for the students who have tried it, many of whom were accepted into their dream schools (Harvard, Brown, Yale, and more). This to-the-point handbook shows you how to identify an engaging essay topic, and then teaches you how to use creative writing techniques to craft a narrative that expresses your unique personality, strengths, and goals. Whether you’re an A-student looking for an extra boost or a less-confident writer who needs more intensive help, Gelb’s reassuring and concise guidance will help you every step of the way, from your initial draft to final revision. In the end, you will have a well-polished, powerful, and profound personal statement that you can feel proud of—a college essay that doesn’t feel “pre-fab,” but is a real reflection of your own individuality.
Stand out from the crowd with a memorable, meaningful personal statement that will capture the attention of college admissions officers.
Writing a college admissions essay is no easy task—but with college essay coach and New York Times contributor Alan Gelb’s accessible and encouraging step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to write an honest, one-of-a-kind essay that really shines.
Gelb’s ten-step approach has garnered great results for the students who have tried it, many of whom were accepted into their dream schools (Harvard, Brown, Yale, and more). This to-the-point handbook shows you how to identify an engaging essay topic, and then teaches you how to use creative writing techniques to craft a narrative that expresses your unique personality, strengths, and goals. Whether you’re an A-student looking for an extra boost or a less-confident writer who needs more intensive help, Gelb’s reassuring and concise guidance will help you every step of the way, from your initial draft to final revision. In the end, you will have a well-polished, powerful, and profound personal statement that you can feel proud of—a college essay that doesn’t feel “pre-fab,” but is a real reflection of your own individuality.
224 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2013
69 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 29, 2009
ok, first off i am not the preferred audience for this book. i'm not in high school and am applying to grad school. but checked it out in hopes that it would help with articulation & improvement of my overall writing. one great takeaway: killing your babies - letting go of a draft if it isn't working.this saved me hours of forcing idea on the page that didn't want to be there. the book also helped me identify problematic grammar areas and focus on being authentic. but otherwise, i skimmed through a good portion of the novel. it felt too long: 10 steps and it's almost 200 pages? shorten the chapters, don't use so many examples. p.s. the sample essays felt juvenile and weren't helpful :(
August 24, 2016
I didn't read this cover to cover. After reaching about the 50 page mark I didn't feel that I could get any more information out of it. I might flip through it within the next few months but I have a slew of talented, intelligent people willing to help me with my admissions essay on a much more personal basis. One of the things that stopped me from reading further was an example that was given that did not feel like the pinnacle of essay writing, a very basic sounding piece of writing with decent prose and a straight forward message that did not demonstrate a mastery of subtlety. I have another essay book that I might also flip through.
January 17, 2022
I truly did try to keep an open mind and learn a few things, but this book just didn't do it. As a college admissions coach, my advice for students and college-applying people is this: if you wish to give this book a go, go for it. But be sure to take it with a few grains of salt. It would be best to consult other books and human coaches, as well.
The only reason it's a 3 not a 2/5 is the appendix.
Read more in my blog: https://niansworld.wordpress.com/2022...
The only reason it's a 3 not a 2/5 is the appendix.
Read more in my blog: https://niansworld.wordpress.com/2022...
August 14, 2017
I've read several college essay books, and this one is organized well, and is easiest to follow. I like how he recommends that you jump into a personal narrative right away to grab the admission reader's attention. I think it's great advice. I like the example essays that he put in at the end. I also teach writing classes to kids and teens, and will use tons of his advice for my general teaching. Great book!
July 9, 2022
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is looking for college essay advice. This book repeated the same central idea in every chapter with different wording. The only thing I got out of this was to have multiple people peer review my essay. The author added way too much fluff in this book for it to be informative.
April 2, 2023
another helpful college essay guide!! a tad bit repetitive but that's exactly what a guide book should do. i feel confident and ready to write my college narrative in my authentic voice. i love my starbucks study days 🫶🫶
April 27, 2020
Wonderful book that helped me get into MBA/MPA. Excellent book on writing.
October 9, 2022
There was a lot more grammar in this than I expected
August 10, 2025
Useful for any creative nonfiction writing
December 17, 2015
Hardly a fun read. Gelb does know his stuff, and there are many useful suggestions, but the book is pretty pedantic in many places. It's a slim book -- 200 pages, without many words on a page -- and actually could have been more effective as an essay a quarter of that length.
Gelb does seem to have been effective in assisting students in writing college admission essays. The problem is not all of what he does probably made it into the book. The first section is on how to get started, and finding a quiet place and writing freely is the basic guideline, though it takes much more than a sentence for him to say it. I suppose, though, that the only advice you can give is to just start writing. But do we need a book to tell us that?
The best parts of this book deal with what constitutes good writing. Many of the suggestions are good concerning appropriate tone, varying sentence structure, using active voice, etc. But there are so many other really small points that the book becomes turgid. Towards the end of the book, Gelb gives eighteen points of grammar, and it would surprise me if many people made it through the list.
Since I work as a college counselor, I have been able to distill a number of useful things from Gelb's writing. I cannot imagine a student getting much out of this, though. There is so much detail that it sets the bar too high and can make a daunting task seem totally undoable. I'm not sure parents will fare much better. My fear is they will distract their kid from the larger picture, which is the most important aspect of a college essay, and focus on small changes and corrections which will create a tense interaction.
Gelb does seem to have been effective in assisting students in writing college admission essays. The problem is not all of what he does probably made it into the book. The first section is on how to get started, and finding a quiet place and writing freely is the basic guideline, though it takes much more than a sentence for him to say it. I suppose, though, that the only advice you can give is to just start writing. But do we need a book to tell us that?
The best parts of this book deal with what constitutes good writing. Many of the suggestions are good concerning appropriate tone, varying sentence structure, using active voice, etc. But there are so many other really small points that the book becomes turgid. Towards the end of the book, Gelb gives eighteen points of grammar, and it would surprise me if many people made it through the list.
Since I work as a college counselor, I have been able to distill a number of useful things from Gelb's writing. I cannot imagine a student getting much out of this, though. There is so much detail that it sets the bar too high and can make a daunting task seem totally undoable. I'm not sure parents will fare much better. My fear is they will distract their kid from the larger picture, which is the most important aspect of a college essay, and focus on small changes and corrections which will create a tense interaction.
September 8, 2017
Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read and review Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Easy Steps, Third Edition: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement by Alan Gelb. Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Easy Steps by Alan Gelb. The ten steps are listed in the table of contents as understanding the narrative, finding your topic, point of view, getting it down, "big picture " editing, second draft, self-editing, third draft, pulling it together and finishing up. Examples of real student essays can be found in the appendix, as well as help for parents, teachers and students. Essential information needed to write your essay is included and this book gets down to business. Recap at the end of each chapter summarizes and reviews the needed information. This very helpful book, worth 5 stars, will be beneficial to anyone having to write a personal narrative and not just for college admissions essays. Will be purchasing for school library!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary review consideration.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary review consideration.
October 23, 2017
Thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read and review Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Easy Steps, Third Edition: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement by Alan Gelb. Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Easy Steps by Alan Gelb. The ten steps are listed in the table of contents as understanding the narrative, finding your topic, point of view, getting it down, "big picture " editing, second draft, self-editing, third draft, pulling it together and finishing up. Examples of real student essays can be found in the appendix, as well as help for parents, teachers and students. Essential information needed to write your essay is included and this book gets down to business. Recap at the end of each chapter summarizes and reviews the needed information. This very helpful book, worth 5 stars, will be beneficial to anyone having to write a personal narrative and not just for college admissions essays. Will be purchasing for school library!
October 31, 2014
I would give this book a 3.5 star.
I didn't find this book as helpful as the other book (On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld) I read. I think the most important/useful tip from this book is that it tells you to focus and find the main idea.Your essay should be super elaborated about multiple details; instead it should focus on one theme/idea. Gelb states that it's okay for the first draft to be long, because when you revise, you're supposed to find the main idea on your first draft. Then on the second draft, you would have to focus on that main idea. Gelb also states that every narrative needs a conflict, so your essay should be in a narrative form with a conflict.
The book also provided essay samples at the end. You could use those essay samples to spark some motivation and ideas for your essay.
I didn't find this book as helpful as the other book (On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld) I read. I think the most important/useful tip from this book is that it tells you to focus and find the main idea.Your essay should be super elaborated about multiple details; instead it should focus on one theme/idea. Gelb states that it's okay for the first draft to be long, because when you revise, you're supposed to find the main idea on your first draft. Then on the second draft, you would have to focus on that main idea. Gelb also states that every narrative needs a conflict, so your essay should be in a narrative form with a conflict.
The book also provided essay samples at the end. You could use those essay samples to spark some motivation and ideas for your essay.
December 13, 2013
TCL Call #: 808 Gelb
Diana's rating: 5 stars
I just skimmed this book and immediately brought it home...my son was struggling to polish up his essay and just reading the first and last chapter brought him to an aha moment. So I can't say you need all 10 steps, but certainly read the first chapter about narrative, and the last chapter with a few examples of essays from draft to final edit.
Which is about all a busy senior has time for. And definitely don't dangle a participle in your essay like I just did.
Diana's rating: 5 stars
I just skimmed this book and immediately brought it home...my son was struggling to polish up his essay and just reading the first and last chapter brought him to an aha moment. So I can't say you need all 10 steps, but certainly read the first chapter about narrative, and the last chapter with a few examples of essays from draft to final edit.
Which is about all a busy senior has time for. And definitely don't dangle a participle in your essay like I just did.
July 9, 2010
I'm not the preferred audience either, but Gelb stresses the pitfalls of writing that I can relate. Procrastination, fear of failure, parsimony of keywords. I will be reading through this - I'm sure I can pick up handy tips here and there.
Ok, so I finished this. I liked how it was written in a personable manner. Also, I liked that Gelb taught us how to write in succint sentences, removing repetitions and other unsightly sentence constructions.
It is useful as a basic writing guide.
Ok, so I finished this. I liked how it was written in a personable manner. Also, I liked that Gelb taught us how to write in succint sentences, removing repetitions and other unsightly sentence constructions.
It is useful as a basic writing guide.
January 26, 2011
I read this book as research for a writing workshop. I found the content very entertaining, but when I went to compile materials, I found that just flipping through "College Admission Essays for Dummies" yielded more helpful information. There was one very helpful section that listed common mistakes, such as misusing lose/loose, their/there, etc. I honestly didn't know that 'alright' is not a word!
July 13, 2018
Engaging and honest breakdown of all of the components that students should include in their college essays. I am reading this as a teacher and this book makes me excited to guide my students with their writing process. The list of questions that Gelb has compiled to help students find a potential topic is especially useful. I am grateful for this book in addition to the free resources that Gelb offers teachers.
August 10, 2019
It’s pretty helpful for writing personal essays but best of all, it’s really short. And if you’re super pressed for time, there are recaps at the end of each chapter that basically tell you all you need to know.
Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about college for a long time!
(What’s that? I’m a sophomore already? EXCUSE ME HOW)
It might be time to reread… and kill my babies (just one of many helpful tips from the book).
Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about college for a long time!
(What’s that? I’m a sophomore already? EXCUSE ME HOW)
It might be time to reread… and kill my babies (just one of many helpful tips from the book).
June 16, 2019
I very much enjoyed reading Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, because Alan Gelb's advice about writing can be applicable not only to writing college essays, but also to writing fiction. I'm pretty sure I'll reach for it again when I decide to finally dust off my short stories and whip them into better shape.
March 4, 2013
Very good read as a tutor, teacher and one who gets frustrated with the writing I see kids do. Granted, this is higher level writing, but some things don't change at any level. The author also has a website I'd like to check out - www.conqueringthecollegeessay.com
May 6, 2011
Very helpful. I plan on using this book to write my essays.
September 29, 2012
Extremely useful book! It really has helped me with crafting a nice college essay!
October 30, 2016
The author is a better writer himself than a teacher of writing.
February 10, 2018
Well, I got into college didn't I?
I thought this was pretty useful, pretty boring, but what else can you expect it. Definitely helped though.
I thought this was pretty useful, pretty boring, but what else can you expect it. Definitely helped though.
January 1, 2021
Helpful book, though nothing compares to Bauld.
April 21, 2017
As I read this book, I wrote a narrative essay to apply for a scholarship to attend a Summer Scholars program at IWU and I got it!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews