Do you agree with College Essay Guy's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 93 customers have already said.
College Essay Guy is an online company. Based on 50 reviews on TrustPlane, it has an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. Last reviewed February 19, 2026.
The company appears to have a lot of resources, but my issues are the following:1) While essay coaches do most of the work, they only get paid about 1/5 of what you pay. I am not sure if coaches are willing to put in the level of labor you'd expect them to. It just feels exploitative. 2) It requires students to be very self-motivated. Otherwise, it's just a theater of meetings.
College Essay Guy takes the guesswork out of applying to college. Through the guidance of an experienced Application Coach, you’ll learn proven brainstorming and essay-writing strategies that help your best ideas rise to the surface. With an expert by your side to brainstorm, revise, and refine every step of the way, the level of quality and support College Essay Guy provides is truly invaluable. Thank you so much to my coach, Ethan, and the entire CEG team!
Every person we engaged with at College Essay Guy was great, even our sales rep! My daughter's essay coach, Meg, was encouraging every step of the way, but also clear and firm on the next set of things that needed to be accomplished. This kept the forward momentum going and made the process feel manageable for a kid who was very, very busy. I feel like Meg brought out the best in my daughter and helped her to feel confident that it was okay to brag about herself. Meg also became a confidant. When our daughter made the difficult decision to not apply to a college that had previously been her top choice, a decision that was not easy for her, Meg was the person who helped her feel calm and confident about it. I thought my daughter's essays were great, but it's how she felt about herself and her ability to communicate at the end of the process that was truly priceless. Watching the whole thing was pretty magical.
The essay coach was a great match for him…their interests were aligned. My son felt seen and supported and valued. The process of defining his values and goals and then writing a story showing who he is felt like a culminating experience as he stands at this transition to young adulthood.
I appreciated this whole experience for our daughter! It was a unique opportunity that fostered self-reflection and personal growth through writing. All of this led to her crafting authentic essays and a cohesive application story. Her mentor was a terrific fit - I am thankful for whoever helped make this fit happen. As a parent, I felt I could let go, not meddle, and trust the process. I also appreciated CEG's structured approach. They communicated clearly and provided thoughtful and timely feedback + support. Our daughter was initially matched with a different mentor who ended up leaving CEG last minute due to a job change after the process had already started. The CEG team was quick to respond and rematch - it all worked out fine!CEG's podcast is a great free resource, too!
My relationship with my essay coach felt genuine and personal. Sam helped me feel like I mattered and I ended up with a college application that I was proud of.
A step by step process to completion. She couldn’t have completed it without the guide of essay coach. John took the time to get to know us, shared his college experience and recommended a college counselor which we didn’t know we needed at the time.
Taking the pressure of us (parents)!His coach Lavon was great. My son really related to him and enjoyed their sessions. Lavon’s feedback and expertise was crucial to developing a personal, descriptive and engaging essay.
Our daughter's essay coach was amazing. She was incredibly kind and patient. The process clearly involved a lot of deep reflection and self-discovery. Not only did it help her craft strong college essays, but I have feeling that it will also have a lasting positive impact on her skills as a writer and on her confidence.Our college counselor was also great. She encouraged our daughter to look at schools that were not initially on her list, and that ended up being among her top choices. She was honest, thorough, responsive, and supportive the whole way through. It was invaluable to have someone to turn to with questions. Ultimately, the results were also great for us. Our daughter was accepted to 16 of the 18 schools on her list, including multiple "top 25" colleges.
My son ('25) worked with Cat on his essay. He's a very reluctant writer. She worked through ideas with him and brought details out with good questions. The essay and contents always sounded like him. They use google docs so I could watch the progress and comments made by Cat. They spent weeks honing and revising. She was also very encouraging in her feedback. The whole process really improved my son's confidence. He came out of this knowing himself better with an authentic essay, and he became a better writer. Cat also helped him word his activities in a way that made the most impact on his common app activities list. Renee's advising was also very helpful. She found an alt school that ended up being second on his list and a great backup to his #1 pick which he ultimately got into. I had been concerned about the cost, but in retrospect, it was definitely worth it. When I compare it to what others have spent on private counselors, I think we got more resources, time, and attention for the price.I can't say enough good things about both Cat and Renee. They were both very encouraging and helpful. I also learned a lot from the Essay Guy podcast, you tube videos and web site.
Both of my daughters in year 2024 and in year 2022 used the writing coaches from College Essay Guy and we have no reservations recommending them. Both writing coaches we used were superb in terms of skills, quality, professionalism. The most important thing is they really cared for their students. We can’t say thank you enough!
Essay coach are more experience, give good ideas and suggestions and they can help students express themselves better.We are so lucky to have Candace as our essay coach. Because she was major in the same field, so she was able to give better suggestions from her experience and applied them to the essay. We couldn’t be more happy. We started the program late, she knew the deadline was tight, she worked very hard to help us catch up and met the deadline. It was incredible. We signed up for the program late, and Margaret helped expedite the process, and also she helped match a perfect essay coach for us.
Great insight; Elica really got to know Max so well personally; Continuous positive support and encouraging feedback on all the essays; They worked out their schedules and Elica remained very flexible and understanding. Nothing to change at all - for the next round in 2026 with Max's younger brother, Sam, we'll probably start the process a little earlier so we can hit the ground full-speed as soon as Summer 2026 begins.
My son coach did an amazing job keeping him on track for his deadlines and very responsive for review. She made an effort to get to know him to nail his essays and make them reflect who he is. My son was really motivated jumping to the coaching sessions. THANK YOUAll the team was amazing, Nitzya, Tom , Margaret, Ashley
Lyssa skillfully guided my daughter through the challenging process of crafting her personal statement around an extremely difficult personal experience. She helped my daughter capture the essence of who she is — and who she hopes to become — translating that into a compelling and authentic narrative. Her thoughtful editing sharpened the essays into something truly impactful and uniquely my daughter.Honestly, there’s nothing I would change. The experience was exceptional from start to finish.
Every year, College Essay Guy resources have been instrumental in helping students at our high school craft strong Common App and supplemental essays. Since incorporating them into our process, we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in the quality of student essays. I always encourage students to visit this website for additional guidance, and it has been incredibly helpful.You’re doing amazing work, and we truly appreciate the impact you have on our students. Thank you for everything!
Great company to deal with. Highly recommend for their responsiveness, flexibility and performance.
I worked with College Essay Guy 3 years ago, when I was a senior rushing to complete my college applications after failing on my own as well as with another counselor (acquaintance). Although I would've liked if they offered to help with more schools (6-10 is not really enough these days), the brainstorming, the development of my narrative (happened very naturally through their exercises), the many meetings (often 2+ times a week) where we discussed feedback and ideas, and the edits were all thoughtful and had a purpose. I got into my top choice, while other people I recommended have also gotten into schools of their choice.
they are good for average university but if you want to get into top university they are just not at that level, we did spend 1 on 1 service , lots of money I must say and my son did not get into any top universities of his choices - they tried to point that maybe it it because of the grade average but his grade average was very high and it was up to his essays to pass or fail and they just did not deliver the level of service or knowledge, we were very disappointed indeed.
Their courses are amazing, they give you a step by step on how to brainstorm and write your essays.They free resource of previous college essays is a good source to learn what works and doesn't.They guide you from day 1 to acceptance and beyond, couldn't recommend them more.
According to TrustPlane, College Essay Guy has a 4.9/5 rating based on 50 verified reviews as of April 2026. Source: trustplane.app/company/collegeessayguy-com
