<li>Do colleges know if you submit the same essay to them and another school? Or are you expected to write a different essay for each school you want to attend?
For example, I know some schools require an extra essay besides the one on the common app, but would they know if you sent the same supplemental essay to another school or would it even matter?</li>
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<p>I think I’m being a bit paranoid over this but I’m wondering if colleges reference things like this to check how dedicated a student is to the admissions process (as in personalized, different essays for each college). I know that the Ivies can share ED applicant names, but of course that’s for legal reasons (sort of) but can they (or rather, would they even bother) checking if a student sends them the same essay as another school?</p>
<li><p>I know that colleges don’t want to hear some Lifetime-brand/soap-opera-ish sob story on your essay but what if a deep, personal tragedy truly did massively shape and affect one’s personality/outlook on life (and grades, too :[ ), should you include it?</p></li>
<li><p>This is going to be really subjective, but how personal is too personal?
Are there some things that you just SHOULDN’T tell/write to the admissions people?
(i.e. [and this is just off the top of my head] how your crack-addicted mother forced you to push drugs for her as a teenager but how you subsequently escaped from that to a foster family and from then, dedicated yourself to making your scholastic career your ticket to a better life?)</p></li>
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<p>1) The supplemental essay topic varies from one school to the next, so you might not be able to use the same essay twice. Of course, if your essay fits under both prompts, you could recycle it.</p>
<p>2) Sure, just don't make it seem like a) it's a "sob story" or b) you're making an excuse for bad grades.</p>
<p>3) Not sure. That topic sounds great to me.</p>
<p>I don't think colleges tell each other about students' essay topics. It's too much of a hassle and they already know that many students recycle essays so that's probably ok.</p>
<p>Colleges won't check whether you're sending the same essays to diferent schools. It is VERY common, so don't worry. You arn't expected to write 8 different essays. They won't know if you send the same supplamental essay either. Supplament essays are useally the "Why us" essays which would be hard to recycle. Prompts on supplaments vary so much from school to school it might be inevitable to write different essays.</p>
<p>Yes, you should include your sad story into an essay. Don't make it depressing or a pity party though. Show how you have overcame and triumphed.</p>
<p>I think you can have a lot of potential with that example topic, but be careful. Some tpics ar waaaaay too personal though. For example, getting high for the first time or losing your virginity.</p>
<p>One "tragedy" to stay away from is death of a pet...they get way too many of those. If you do write about a traumatic experience, stress the coping skills you learned, what it taught you about yourself, how it made you more resilient or insightful.</p>