<p>I was considering writing about how I felt alienated and struggled to fit in with "black culture" growing up because of accusations of "acting too white," and how my parents' constant pushing me toward a culture that rejected me affected me as a person (or something like that). Do you think this is a little cliche? I feel like admission officers read topics like these all the time.</p>
<p>Yeah, I kinda sorta wrote about the same thing :P. I honestly never thought about it being a common topic though…</p>
<p>Yes, I thought about that, but I wanted something more personal. There are too many people also struggling with racial identity, so I found something a little closer to home!</p>
<p>@detpeace What did you find?</p>
<p>Yes, I think it’s a bit cliche’ but there are very few topics adcoms haven’t seen over and over. I think you can use it, but you should think about approaching it from some specific angle or dynamic as a component of your experience rather than the central theme by itself.</p>
<p>Not only being black, but being from Detroit. I haven’t started much of my essays though, but that’ll definitely be my theme.</p>
<p>I too have heard that the diversity essay, as well as the all to frequent mission trip essay, is ‘played out’. There are a ton of black kids in predom. white competitive schools and boarding schools and magnet schools. There is also the essay of the black kid who does not feel that they fit in with the black race. These are frequent, too frequent by some standards, topics. BUT my thought is that it will depend on how you write it. But again, it is not seen as a ‘struggle’ much any more on a grand scale because SO many kids face the aforementioned.</p>
<p>It is tough, but that is the reality.</p>
<p>HSG</p>
<p>There are not “a ton” of black students at PWIs and boarding schools. Not in the slightest (that’s where the “PW” part comes in). </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if adcoms have seen the topic before. They haven’t seen YOU write it. Everyone’s experience is different, and it’s foolish to assume that everyone writing on the same topic will sound the same</p>
<p>I dunno, I’m recounting a humorous yet racially-charged incident in my school cafeteria, using it as a framework to describe my experience hopping between schools of vastly different racial makeups (all-white to all-black to 50/50), then I’m describing how this constant adjustment and occasional alienation changed my outlook on diversity/acceptance, made me more adaptable, and gave me security in my identity.</p>
<p>It may still have elements of cliche, but it’s a lot better/more personal than the essay I was originally going to go with- How losing an election helped me learn to deal with failure.</p>
<p>Well yeah it’s a cliche topic (if you have to ask you know the answer lol), but just don’t touch on the cliche aspects of it. Try to focus on the most unique parts of your experiences. Writing about a creative topic is less important than how you write it ; however, ime it is easier to do the latter when you have a creative topic lol. Maybe brainstorm some more and see where it takes you, or just get drafting and decide to scrap it later on if need be. GL</p>
<p>CPUscientist3000…over the last 10 years there has been a HUGE boost in the number of black kids are boarding schools. There are programs that specifically work on matching black underpriv. kids with top boarding schools. Add to that the black kids who now are in middle and upper middle class families who are at boarding schools.
It simply is not as rare as it was in our parents’ generation. Is it still a struggle? Of course. But it is NOT the same struggle as it was for kids that went in before the recruitment programs were in place, before school truly started seeking diversity, before schools began having programs in place at the school for black students to support them while they are there.
Just because the schools are predom. white does NOT mean there are not a lot of blacks. Whites are a larger percentage of the population, a larger percentage of legacies at the schools and a larger percentage of American wealth. But the struggle, for blacks, is NOT the same as it was 10 and 15 years ago as the kids writing the essays are one of MANY in the situation…that is the point I was trying to make.
Yes, it can be a GREAT essay, but it is important to be aware that it may not pack the punch it once did because it has been written about a lot. As others said, it just means you have to be aware of that, be creative and personal and KNOW that you can’t come off as ‘This is unique’…because that situation is not unique anymore. A lot of us are walking this walk. But how the walk impacted YOU is what would have to be unique, I would think.
HSG</p>
<p>hsgrad what institution do you attend? Just curious. </p>
<p>And I still stick by what I said. Yes there are more blacks at PWIs and boarding schools than before (race isn’t mutually exclusive with “underresourced” or low socioeconomic status, but I’m not talking about poor kids of all races, or poor kids exclusively). That doesn’t mean there are “lots”, which is completely subjective. If you want to prove a point, use some hard numbers to back up your “lots” claims. </p>
<p>As FLVADAD said, there virtually isn’t an essay adcoms haven’t read or heard of. No point in stressing. When you force a “unique” essay, it backfires.</p>
<p>I don’t release, via preference of my parents and for other reasons, any information that can be ‘identifying’ to a significant degree online. Plenty of online safety classes at my school…drilled into us!</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think that our points are mutually exclusive, CPU. I fully agree that there is not an essay adcom that has not been written. I think the point I was trying to make (though not well) is that relative to 10-15 years ago there are ‘lots’ (though perhaps more would be a better term) of blacks in the situations we described. This is a GOOD thing on most levels. But with college essays it perhaps something to be mindful of when writing as we seek to show unique situations.</p>
<p>In the end, the best thing is to write a great essay, have great SAT/ACT scores AND grades…and have solid recommendation. All are easier said then done, of course.</p>
<p>We have to support each other and SHARE information and opinions during this process, and that was what my post intended…to pass on information I found helpful to consider. I appreciate and respect your counter points, CPU and hope that I receive the same.</p>
<p>HSG</p>