<p>I was wondering what you guys thought of my essay idea. Ok here it is.</p>
<p>From Underprivileged to Ivy League Hopeful: Learning Through Adversity.</p>
<p>I’m going to talk about how growing up underprivileged has taught me invaluable life lessons and how I will apply them to being successful at brown.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your feedback</p>
<p>Tyler</p>
<p>I mean, it sounds good, but dont think that it is original!
Probably a third of the essays they get are about how people overcame some type of disadvantage or adversity</p>
<p>OP: Keep in mind that your essay (I assume you are talking about your MAIN essay) will need to be something you can fit neatly inside the Common App such that it can get shipped without revision to all the other colleges to which you are applying. So, for instance, if you write your essay on "My Path to Ivy Stardom" then you can only apply to Ivies (aside from the few non-Common app colleges still holding out like Georgetown, Villanova, Columbia, which of course is ivy, and various others). So your essay needs to deliver all the expected quirkiness and/or diversity-consciousness and/or show-us-you-intelligence and/or show-us-seomthing-nobody-would-ever-guess-about-you, etc. If you can make them never forget you, then you accomplish your goal.</p>
<p>If you are NOT talking about the main essay, but rather talking about the optional Brown essay about "Tell us something not contained elsewhere in your application package, well.... the same rules apply. Just IMO. Essays are a hot-button topic on here.</p>
<p>^ That's not true.</p>
<p>You can make several different common apps (I think it's around 9 or 10) under the same user name. Meaning, you can make many versions of your common app that specializes for each school. So, if you wanted to include "UPenn" or "Brown" in your common app, you can!</p>
<p>Go for it. I wrote an essay about adversity, but my short answers and extra essay for the supplement obviously weren't.</p>
<p>That was excellent advice, Gabba.</p>
<p>Stressed, you are 8 months away from when the essay will be due, and a lot will happen in those eight months. Don't become wedded to any topic yet. If you are the type of person who likes to plan in advance, then what you could do is start a notebook for your essay, and use it to jot down ideas. Keep a list of all possible topics, and aspects about yourself that you might want admission officers to know. You can start writing this summer -- but remember that you may change your mind up until the last minute, as new essay topics occur to you. Many students (my daughter being one) started a dozen or so essays before she landed on the perfect one.</p>
<p>Holy smokes, qwerty01. I searched on what you said and it appears to be the case. So now I guess the question becomes: What kind of brain explosion occurs when you realize that instead of 15 essays (1 common app + various optionals) you now have to write 25 or 30 essays ! Eek! And that's not counting any essays you need to write for scholarships you may be applying for. </p>
<p>However, I stand corrected on the initial point. You are correct.</p>
<p>Go for it, but you would have to be original because alot people will talk about learning through adversity. for example, my sister wrote an essay for a scholarship but her adversity was getting over her unborn sisters death while taking care of her four other sisters while my biological mother was in the hospital for almost 4 months. she wrote about how she balanced school and how it helped her to learn that things happen but they happen to make you stronger. Now, someone else could have had her story and write it in a captivating way and she ended up not getting the scholarship, but she did. it all depends on what ur story is, to you it may be tear jerking and inspiring but to someone else it may be OK. youve got plenty of time. good luck!</p>
<p>as long as the reader doesnt feel they are being manipulated--ok, cry here please-- you're fine. i just think if you write with that theme in mind you are going to be hearing sad violins in the background as you write. if the story is worth telling, it will tell itself.</p>