Hi,
I recently came out to my parents as gay the other day. Ive been struggling to find who I am, and questioning my sexuality. I was wondering if it would be terrible to write a short essay, maybe 100 words, about that to include in the additional info section of the common app. While I know its very cliche and not unique, it is still a part of me that i have recently come to terms with. I wanted to do it in the additional info section, unless there is a prompt specifically asking, because i would rather talk about topics that better represent my morals and values in the actual essays. I was wondering if it is frowned upon to talk about it in general or talk about it in the additional info?
Thank you so much for all your help
First - congrats on coming out (especially in high school), and best of luck to you. You are fortunate to have parentes who you are comfortable coming out to.
Son faced this decision - and he included a comment in some of his schools’ apps, but not all of them. He was accepted and rejected to schools, both where he included a mention of his sexuality, and where he did not. He empirically determined (from a non-credible sample size), that it had no bearing on his applications.
If you would rather talk about other topics like your morals and values, I encourage you to do that. In ten years time from now, you may look back and wonder why was even a question for you. But this is still a recent event in your life (the coming out) so it may seem more important.
We attended a lot of information sessions and heard this issue brought up in many Q&A’s. Universally the college admin officers will say if it is important to you, then say so, if something else is more important, then say that instead. Schools are not trying to fill quotas with a certain percentage of gay applicants - they want you to use the essays to tell them why they should admit you.
Best of luck in your applications!
Thank you so much! Do you think it would be ok to do it in the Additional Info section or is that more for discussing traumatic events, dips in grades, etc.
I think it’s appropriate for the additional info section.
Kudos for coming out and being true to yourself!
Additional info is for just that – additional info. Sometimes people need to disclose something that there’s no room for on the rest of the application. For example I knew someone who’s transcript got messed up and there was no way for the school to correct the official transcript until after the application deadline the Additional Info section was great for that – and the GC letter prob mentioned the glitch as well come to think of it. So mentioning coming out there could possibly work.
But you may want to also consider mentioning it as part of your identity in an essay – if it’s not a distraction there and seems like it fits. If you’re talking about your chemistry class in your major essay, maybe there’s no room for it there, but if you’re writing the “why this school” essay and you want to mention the clubs you might join on campus, you might mention the LGBT+ community club and mention that you’ve recently come out at that point. It feels like a more natural fit in one place and less so the other.
Just find the most comfortable place and do it there. Best of luck to you.
I think it’s fine and that that’s a good place to put it. It sheds more light on who you are and what looms large for you right now. I think it’s good that it’s an “oh, by the way … here’s something else about me.” I don’t think it would help you or hurt you, but it would give a fuller picture of who you are and what’s important to you.
Going against the grain here. Generally speaking, it’s NOT advisable to write an essay about something as personal as your sexual orientation or sexual self-discovery, your parents divorce, and so on. Such intimate topics are extremely difficult to pull off effectively in college applications and therefore in my opinion there’s a greater risk than reward by doing so. I understand that self-discovery can be thrilling and emotional, but I’d urge that you be disciplined about it rather than being carried away by the moment no matter the degree of its significance.
Thank you all so much for your help! I really appreciate it
I’m going to side with @TiggerDad. I’m not sure what you gain from adding this info. I can see that it might crop up in your essay, or be evident in your activities, and I think that is fine. I guess I think it is better to come across as comfortable in your own skin, and putting this in additional info — like, you need to tell them — doesn’t come across that way.