High school English teachers impart many important skills, from methods for analyzing works of literature to techniques for writing a cohesive five-paragraph essay. However, crafting a distinctive personal statement is very different from writing a five-paragraph essay for school. Composing a memorable college application essay combines elements of persuasive, creative, and autobiographical writing since students are, in effect, telling a story about themselves to persuade the admissions committee to admit them to the university. We teach students how to discover the story that will most resonate with application readers, and then we lead them through a proven, step-by-step framework for writing a personal statement that will give them a true competitive edge.