@heynicoleburke's reel — transcript & breakdown

The opening uses a high number ($3000) and a significant outcome (son got into dream college) to grab attention and establish credibility.

“I spent $3,000 to hire a college admissions coach to help my son get into his dream college. He's going to Vanderbilt University in the fall and I think his essay had a big part of his admissions.”

The video promises actionable advice by outlining the structure of a successful college essay, creating anticipation for the content.

“Today I'm going to tell you the four sections of his essay so that hopefully this will help your kid who's trying to write their essay this summer.”

Providing 'what not to do' first helps filter common mistakes and primes the audience for unique, effective strategies.

“First up what not to write about. The college coach said do not write about your grandparents, don't write about illness, don't write about sports, which totally surprised me.”

The explanation of 'woe' (action-packed, surprising start) and 'wow' (kid's response to challenge) offers concrete essay-writing techniques.

“There's a bigger point of the essay to these very selective colleges. I'll tell you about that in a second. First section of essay is woe. You want to open the essay with a lot of action, something that is surprising. Think of it as the very first open of a movie or a great book. These emissions counselors are or even if it's AI, they're reading thousands of essays and so you gotta catch them at the very beginning. The second section is wow. And this is the way the kid responded to the woe. So something they created for themselves, some way they work through a lump, a problem.”

Detailing 'what if' (bigger ideas/plans) and 'we could' (attaching experience to college, proving value) illustrates how to connect personal stories to the university's needs.

“Third section is what if and this is where the kid is going to start to explain some of their bigger ideas about life, their bigger plans for their own life, how they're going to take this one experience and this thing that they've overcome and made possible and how it could be bigger. The fourth section is we could and this is where your kid attaches his experience to the college. They start to show why they want to study, what they want to study, the particular experiences they want to have in college so that the what if could be true. This is where the kid is proving to the college or university that they're going to become an asset to the college, not just someone who sits in the classroom.”

The overall point of giving the kid a 'title' concisely summarizes the goal of a powerful essay.

“What the college coach taught us was that the point of the whole essay was to give your kid a title. After the admissions officer read your kid's essay, they should have a name for your kid beyond their actual name.”

A direct call to action encourages engagement and further content requests.

“Let me know if you want me to keep talking about college admissions. You're doing a great job as a mom. I love you. See you later her.”