<p>I am currently a transfer student in the process of writing my essays. I am debating whether or not to write about how I was diagnosed with melanoma at sixteen. After two years of excruciating chemotherapy my cancer cells went into remission. Would being a cancer survivor be a big hook? Or would it be viewed as a negative, signifying that I have more potential health problems?</p>
<p>I am applying to the lower Ivies and many highly ranked private schools primarily along the east coast. Currently I do not have access to my health records (long story), and if colleges ask for proof of melanoma, I will be unable to provide it. This is another huge factor that leads me into not wanting to write my essay about my experience with cancer. Will they request these records? I just do not want to be receive an acceptance letter contingent upon me supplying health records, when I do not know if I will be able to provide them when they need them (I might be, I am just unsure at the moment).</p>
<p>Do these schools normally request health records in situations like these? What would you guys do if you were me?</p>
<p>Schools do not request health records to verify health issues as part of the admissions process. They may request verification if you make a special housing request due to allergies or other special needs, but that has nothing to do with admission.</p>
<p>If you were applying as a freshman, your high school guidence counselor would probably make note that you had to overcome a serious health issue if it affected your grades or ability to participate in school activities, so colleges would have independent verification of an extenuating circumstance. Since you are a transfer student and the health event was a number of years ago, you don’t need to provide independent verification.</p>
<p>As an essay topic, it can be an opportunity to highlight what your experience has taught you, and especially, if it has had any impact on your academic goals and career aspirations. If it is part of the reason you decided to attend a community college, then that should also be discussed. On the other hand, there is a section on the common application which you can use to describe exceptional circumstances, which means you can then use your essays to highlight other aspects of who you are. You want to make sure they understand that your illness is not the most important thing about who you are.</p>