<p>So I recently submitted my application to Penn and Cornell Regular Decision. For my CommonApp essay, I wrote about suffering religious discrimination while in a private elementary school and the lessons in tolerance I learned. As I talked to a college councilor today, he seemed upset because he thought the topic to be too controversial and thought the essay may put me at a disadvantage. Though I do mention the name of my religion (Christian Science), I do not preach or even mention religious doctrine. The essay is solely how Southern culture suppressed my personal beliefs and how I learned about the importance of tolerance. The councilor also mentioned that admissions officers may already have a bias against certain religions for various reasons. Should I be concerned? Do you all think this will hurt my applications? </p>
<p>P.S. If reading the essay would help anyone make a determination, I am happy to send it to you.</p>
<p>this is purely anecdotal but I think Penn in particular likes controversial essays. I know someone whose kid (this was about 6-7 years ago) wrote a VERY controversial essay (topic was his first sexual experience). The kid got into UPenn ED and the admissions officer made a point of seeking him out and telling him how impressed they were with the mature way he handled the topic. Add to that that they certainly can’t discriminate on basis of religion and indeed seek religious diversity on campus, I think you are fine.</p>
<p>I think you did well writing about a substantial life experience that you had. Since you did not admonish other religions in your text, you’re being mostly personal, and that is fine.</p>
<p>By the way, does your nickname (fly4fun) has something to do with real flying? I am a private pilot student fyi ;)</p>
<p>It sounds like a good topic and based on your brief summary it sounds like you handled it in a mature and restrained manner. Given this, I think there is very little risk of your essay backfiring on you.</p>
<p>This is a personal experience to you, not a referendum on a certain religion. If your essay had been about why a certain religion was ‘wrong’ and the people practicing it were ‘immoral’…well that’s a judgement and shows shallow thinking on your part. That’s not the case here. You presented your experience from the standpoint of quite the opposite. By being judged without understanding, you learned tolerance for others. Society tells us not to talk about religion and politics to keep from offending others. That’s because often people don’t really know ‘how’ to discuss the topics, exchange ideas, and listen to others. People in academia are far more open minded then the rest of the world. I wouldn’t give this a second thought.</p>
<p>I’d agree that your description makes it seem more like an essay about being on the receiving end of unfair bias than an essay about religion.</p>
<p>As long as you kept the focus on what you learned from the experience, instead of running down the people who discriminated against you, I’d have some doubts about the advice you received from that counselor.</p>