<p>So in case anyone hasn't seen it already, the prompt goes...</p>
<p>"Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story."</p>
<p>I have wrote an essay on this, and I feel like it is coming along well. The problem is that when I read this prompt, it seems like you need some dramatic, life-altering event - like a death in the family or moving to a new school or something of that nature. My essay is not really life altering, but it showcases who I am. If the prompt said "If you have a story that showcases your identity, please share it." I would be fine. But the wording of it seems like mine would be inadequate. What do you guys think? How have you guys been interpreting the prompt.</p>
<p>Sum up for those who don't want to read everything: Does your story need to be life-altering or what society would consider significant, or can it just be a story that at surface seems pretty ordinary but reveals a good deal about you?</p>
<p>I would love to hear all of your opinions.</p>
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<p>Your story doesn’t need to be life-altering, but it does need to be what the prompt describes as “central to your identity.” Only you can decide if your essay topic is truly central to your identity. It needs to reveal a “good deal” and possibly even more about you.</p>
<p>the problem of this prompt is this. have to stay really focused all the time. and one thing, the prompt says this, </p>
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<p>It something like SAT score.</p>
<p>They don’t want you to write about your SAT scores.</p>
<p>I have to assume this prompt isn’t meant to be taken 100% literally. There is an Additional Information section on the Common App where you can put explanations for bad grades and such, so I don’t think they want a rehashing of that.</p>
<p>I think he meant that your essay has to be as vital to your application as your SAT score is, but that’s just how I interpreted it.</p>
<p>Oh, okay. :)</p>
<p>But I think an essay could be considered “vital” if it reveals something about who you are as a person that they couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. I don’t think you need a dramatic topic to do that.</p>
<p>According to several admissions officers I’ve talked to from Harvard and Brown, it’s actually all the more impressive to write a thoughtful, inspirational essay about a minor event and make it seem hugely important.</p>