<p>thx again for the info anonymous you’re very helpful and seem to know your stuff.</p>
<p>in relation to the news and americans caring about what goes on in other nations… the only information you need to know that the vast majority of americans won’t care is to look at the #1 news outlet. FOX… I think MSNBC is up there too. these news outlets don’t care about the foreign world, just their own agenda. the simpletons that depend on those news casts for their information won’t care either as a result. it takes an enlightened mind to understand the travesties that unfold elsewhere and then to care about them on top of that.
unfortunately most americans wouldn’t know where to look to find reliable information on horrific foreign events. I barely do. I would venture to say most Americans don’t want to hear about it, it doesn’t immediately affect them… and you know what they say, hear no evil, see no evil, feel no evil. </p>
<p>do you guys/girls know anywhere I can go to see sample responses to the essay prompts on the UC app? I’m not really even sure what format I am supposed to write in.</p>
<p>The media is more interested in covering current events that will get more attention. </p>
<p>Of course, you have to acknowledge the essence of opposites. There is always an opposite to an idea. Black to white, yes to no and etc… It’s just where you place your reference point when you tackle an idea. I’ve been to a couple of seminars for writing a good personal statement and they advised to avoid writing about such topics. </p>
<p>Anonymoususer seems to not understand that having a criminal record/depression/addiction does affect applications rather negatively…</p>
<p>and they specifically said not to mention a legitimate disability that you overcame?
I mean if I wrote " I am bi polar so my grades are low" I would see your point.</p>
<p>but that is very different then writing “in my youth I struggled with bipolar disorder and through counseling and therapy I was able to overcome it and now have grades that more closely reflect my potential in the academic world. I have also shown that I overcame it in the business world with my various promotions through corporate ladders that don’t normally promote employees without college degrees.”</p>
<p>thats not actually what I am writing just something I thought of right now…</p>
<p>“Anonymoususer seems to not understand that having a criminal record/depression/addiction does affect applications rather negatively…” </p>
<p>so now you’re comparing bipolar disorder to having a criminal record?</p>
<p>I’m coming to the conclusion that you don’t know too much about this topic and are just talking out of your ass. You seem to think that there is a “scan” to diagnose depression, you compare overcoming a mental disorder to being a criminal, and you think that “most” school would find it unacceptable for an applicant to write about how they overcame said disorder.</p>
<p>the essay prompt is: </p>
<p>Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?</p>
<p>do you really think that the people reading the essay would be judgmental about someone’s success story?</p>
<p>See, you missed my point. Universities and colleges prefer not to admit students with an unstable background such as depression/criminal record/addiction. They acknowledge that a student can relapse into their old habits which would pose a hazard to the academic community. There has been numerous news articles on the topic.</p>
<p>THERE IS A SCAN FOR DEPRESSION. A scan doesn’t always refer to a CAT/MRI/x-ray scan. You answer a series of questions which inquire about anxiety/depression/bipolar/manic depression. I’ve seen a counselor, psychiatrist and a psychologist for Rx for a few years. I do know a little about psychology.
I’ve talked to various admission officers (Harvard undergrad & CAL grad physics major who is an admissions officer for Rice University, Stanford alumni, Caltech post grad who is my father’s colleague) and I specifically asked a couple of them if writing about my past as a critically depressed addict with severe anxiety disorder who has made a miraculous recovery (much like BPkid101’s) and they all said giving away such information would be a gamble and would jeopardize my reputation. They instead said lack of motivation and interest, and laziness would be a better alternative to specifying the actual conditions. If I really wanted to clarify, they said I should hint it rather than going into detail. Overcoming a hardship and how you’ve improved how you strive to do better should be elaborated thoroughly.</p>
<p>I’m sure the adcom won’t be judgemental but honestly, would you choose a student with psychological problem over someone with a stable stature?
Go ahead and conclude so. I’m not trying to ■■■■■ by the way.</p>
<p>Do you even know that some private institutions curbed admission for Korean males because the shooter of VT was Korean? Why would they do such a thing? I’m guessing VT has had no effect on the admissions process… “Private institutions can’t do such a thing” ---- Hence the categorization private institutions.</p>
<p>Of course I do not know much about this topic as much as you do and I may seem like I’m talking out of my ass - my blastopore developed into my anus, because I am a deuterostome. I think we’ve had a series of miscommunication.</p>
<p>^^that’s fantastic I’m not quite sure where it mentions mental disorders like ADHD or Bipolar maybe you could point it out to me…</p>
<p>I would have to agree with the people who told you to leave **your **experience out of the essay.</p>
<p>You were an addict, something that you could have prevented. You sought treatment to undo the wrongs of your past and succeeded. Writing about it would be a mistake because (sorry to be harsh) it showed weakness in your character.</p>
<p>In stark contrast, the OP couldn’t have prevented his ADHD or Bipolar disorder. He didn’t ask to be held back by these deficits but he still managed to overcome them. You seem to think that substance abuse and bipolar disorder are equivalent when they are not. </p>
<p>So again I ask:</p>
<p>*“Anonymoususer seems to not understand that having a criminal record/depression/addiction does affect applications rather negatively…”</p>
<p>so now you’re comparing bipolar disorder to having a criminal record?*</p>
<p>They instead said lack of motivation and interest, and laziness would be a better alternative to specifying the actual conditions. If I really wanted to clarify, they said I should hint it rather than going into detail. Overcoming a hardship and how you’ve improved how you strive to do better should be elaborated thoroughly.</p>
<p>Although I would discourage writing about your experiences, this is one of the stupidest alternatives I could have heard. Why would you attribute your poor performance to being lazy? Do you think that an admissions officer would view that well? </p>
<p>You, again would be susceptible for the adcom to interpret this as your fault. If you mention substance addiction or being lazy you would come across as someone who was irresponsible and like you said, has the potential to relapse. Your experience was completely different from the one that the OP went through, his disorders aren’t compatible to criminal conduct like substance abuse, pretty much everyone knows that (admissions officers included). </p>
<p>Do you even know that some private institutions curbed admission for Korean males because the shooter of VT was Korean? Why would they do such a thing? I’m guessing VT has had no effect on the admissions process… “Private institutions can’t do such a thing” ---- Hence the categorization private institutions.</p>
<ol>
<li>Excuses
If you had a bad semester or two in high school, it may be tempting to use the essay to explain your low grades. Perhaps you were ill, your parents were getting divorced, your best friend died, or you moved to a new country. You will want to convey this information to the college, but not in your essay. Instead, have a guidance counselor write about your bad semester, or include a short supplement with your application.</li>
</ol>
<p>I really don’t think you understand me. You tend to assume that everyone else is ■■■■■■■■ and can’t think for themselves.</p>
<p>Depression and anxiety, when untreated, often leads to substance abuse- if you did not know that yet. BPkid101’s case of depression is minor compared to mine. I’ve been on several medications and many therapies did not help and my depression exacerbated over time. You jump to conclusions too fast. Don’t you think I asked if I could write about my severe depression and anxiety while leaving out other info? Of course my experience wasn’t the same as BPkid’s because mine was way worse than his. Yet after several years of struggle, I have overcome my depression. How is that different from BPkid’s? </p>
<p>An irresponsible person who later gets his act together is far significantly better than a person with a mental disorder who is unstable and later catches up with school. It is not a stupid idea. A mistake or fault is incomparable to a mental instability.</p>
<p>I have not compared bipolar depression to a criminal record. I was implying that they are in the same category in terms of defining the stability of a person.</p>
<p>hmm I’m obviously not as impartial in this discussion as I would like to be, but I’m def siding with anonymous here.
here’s why:
your own self described problems are #1 on the list of do not write abouts( [Bad</a> Essay Topics for College Admissions - Avoid These Bad Topics in Your College Admission Essay](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/tp/bad-essay-topics.htm]Bad”>Bad College Admissions Essay Topics) ). my problem, although as you call it “minor” isn’t on the list as far as I can tell. to say it falls under excuses is a stretch. your situation may well have been far worse than mine, and if thats the case my apologies… I feel badly for you. </p>
<p>I personally think the whole adhd/bipolar dropout thing, + finding a good job and elevating myself through the ranks seems like it could be a good essay. its certainly better than for me to say that I was complacent when I got out of highschool, atleast in my opinion. I could be mistaken which is why I am posting here; but your opinion is definitely quite skewed by your own decision on what to put in your personal statement.</p>
<p>that and you seem to be making up facts and twisting the other facts as you go. I still appreciate your input though, it’s always better to see something from two sides. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if you have realized this by post #28 but the OP wasn’t “ill”, his parents didn’t get divorced, his friend didn’t die, or he didn’t move to a new country. What he had was two mental disorders. </p>
<p>And prey tell, why would he not make this the central theme of a compelling essay instead of inserting it into the additional comments box? oh that’s write, because the admissions officer might assume that the OP would shoot up the school based on overcoming ADHD.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the purpose of this incorrect statement is?</p>
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</p>
<p>This might have been your experience but you’re assuming that the OP’s depression would have forced him to resort to substance abuse and no other alternative. But yeah, I’m the one who’s jumping to conclusions… </p>
<p>The OP didn’t develop an addiction, he straightened his problem out with ADHD and bipolar disorder and is now applying to some of the top schools in the country. He should emphasize what an accomplishment that is</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The mere fact that you know your experience was worse should indicate that it was different. But if you still don’t realize why your issues were different (from the two conflicting sentences that you wrote), I’ll just re-quote myself:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you, yourself admitted to being mentally unstable. Does this make lazy people who got their act together “better” than you?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You are wrong in your definition and this is an example of why I think you’re talking out of your ass. You seem to think that you are the authority on mental processes because you’ve had your own mental issues resolved. It’s like the guy who gets his aorta fixed and starts giving advice to everyone about how the human heart works. </p>
<p>also, just for your own sake know that about.com is not the arbiter on much of anything and definitely not on college admissions essays. On the contrary, an admission officer with UC Berkeley’s TAP told my friend with OCD last year that she thought it would be a good idea to write about his experience with the disorder. He was admitted to all the schools that he applied. That should be some indication that writing about the accomplishment of your life will be viewed as a good thing. </p>
<p>But hey, this isn’t personal. If the OP chooses to write about their experiences I think that’s great, if not that’s fine to. In the end the best essay will come from the topic that the OP feels most comfortable writing about.</p>
<p>If you had a bad semester or two in high school, it may be tempting to use the essay to explain your low grades.</p>
<p>I don’t even wanna deal with you anymore. You are a smarter and a more intelligent person than I am. You can’t interpret things as well as someone of your stature should. I’ve reiterated myself yet you still don’t understand. I have made up so many false facts, which I’ve read on newspapers myself… Good luck with whatever you’re up to.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that the best essays are ones where the admissions officers feel like they know you so well, that it’s hard for them to reject you. I wrote about a learning disability that affected my social life, but when I showed my counselor my essay, he said I sounded whiny. </p>
<p>How are essays about harships effectively expressed on paper? I’m so confused about this. I thought illustrating the emotional effects a certain learning disability had on me would make the admissions officers feel like they know me personally, but I ended up writing a “pity me” essay. </p>
<p>How do you get the admissions officers to know you intimately if you only emphasize how you overcame the hardship, without thoroughly describing the hardship itself?</p>
<p>talk about how your experience made you a better person. There’s no empirical formula for writing an essay and how you write the second personal statement depends on how many words you want to use But I would dedicate:</p>
<p>1/6 of the essay to background and the “pity me” stuff<br>
2/6 of the essay to how you overcame it
2/6 of the essay to how it made you a better person/student/applicant
1/6 of the essay to wrap things up and reinforce why you would make a good addition to their campus</p>
<p>^^that’s what I did and it worked for me, if you find a way that you prefer use it. you will always write the best personal statement when you are comfortable and confident with the topic. </p>
<p>don’t **tell **them about your experience, you’ll sound whiny. *Explain *to them how you overcame it and improved in spite of what you faced. And don’t forget to include why you’re a better applicant than the rest.</p>
<p>i find it amazing that it’s November and you guys haven’t finished your essays yet</p>