Hey,
I’m a current high school student from Europe.
I’ve heard that colleges in the US notice applicant’s past, or childhood in some situations.
It might depends on the college but how possible could it be to get addmitted in a college if you have a hard childhood?
I was raised by two alcoholic parents, and at the age of 7 my mom took her own life. After my mom’s death my dad behaved violently towards me. Also I was sexually abused at a very young age.
And I won’t apply to any colleges if I know I’m not motivated at all. Right now I do hard work to get good grades but I don’t know… everything can change and maybe after a year I won’t be interested to keep studying at all, haha.
So, I’m just curious.
Yes, it is possible to get admitted to a college or university for one who has experienced childhood traumas.
And you CAN write about your childhood in your college essays, but you don’t have to. You may want to discuss something about your current life and aspirations instead. If so, you might want to share some details about your personal history with your college counselor or guidance counselor (whoever will write the school recommendation letter for you).
Nevertheless, having been a victim of sexual abuse as a child is a topic that requires careful handling as you are applying to an institution of higher learning & not to a treatment program. In that respect, you can reference that you are a survivor of childhood traumas & express your desire to study a discipline which will help you to help others or share the names of organizations which you support as a volunteer worker, for example. It would not be wise to share specific details of the abuse.
With respect to adult children of alcoholics, the main characteristic in common is that the adult child of alcoholics is overly responsible. They rarely blame others and tend to be perfectionists who are quite hard on themselves. This aspect can be portrayed in a positive fashion.
A parent’s suicide can be addressed. But you should be reflective about how that event caused you to develop in positive ways–such as caring & sensitive of the needs of others.
I subscribe to the school of don’t write about the “5 D’s”. Death, disease, divorce, depression, and debt. Although it is possible to write a good essay on one of these topics, it is very difficult.
While I empathize with the OP as what he/she describes is truly awful, I hear a hint of attitude or flippancy that I dont care for. Personal tragedy is not some tool to try to elicit sympathy to win points with admissions.
Admissions to US colleges for international applicants is extremely competitive, and if you need financial aid the process is even more challenging. You need the academics first and foremost.
When the time comes your essay should be something that 1) tells admissions officers something about you that isn’t elsewhere in the application and 2) makes the admission officer want to have you on campus. A “woe is me” essay probably isn’t the answer – you don’t want admission’s officers pity, you want to highlight what positive traits you can bring to campus. So IMO you should structure any essay about your past to focus on things like personal growth, overcoming adversity, how you want to help others in similar positions etc.
For now, I would just focus on doing as well as you can in HS and see where things take you. Good luck.