<p>Hi, all. I'm thinking of applying to some top-tier universities, but I'm wondering if it's a good idea to submit essay(s) that deal with seriously personal topics. By that, I mean things that I have never told anyone about contained within an essay that only I have ever seen. Any advice? Any experience with writing about something with deep emotional significance? I'm not an outwardly emotional person but I feel like I have something internal to share.</p>
<p>Because you’re sending it out into the world, and your reader could be almost any kind of person.
Also, an extremely personal essay could make the reader uncomfortable, depending on the subject.</p>
<p>This would be part of a supplement for just one school. Should I not trust the admissions department at a highly respected institution to maintain my confidentiality?</p>
<p>It all depends. You are sharing with strangers. Does your topic seem appropriate to share with strangers? Would this personal topic paint you in a bad light in any way? Does this topic say something about you that you want people to know? If so, I’m wondering why it has been such a private thing.
My personal feeling is that, while you want the colleges to get a sense of who you are, you also want to present yourself as a stable, thoughtful person who understands his audience. It’s not true confession time.
On the other hand if the topic is truly important to you, it might make an interesting essay, and I’m sure people have written emotional essays successfully. It takes a good writer to pull it off.
Frankly, it’s very hard to advise when we have no idea what you’re planning to write about.</p>
<p>I tried to do that with an essay, but it ended up being rather difficult. Because I had never talked about the topic, I was worried about people reading it and it ended up lacking details. Also, would you be comfortable with others reading your essay and helping your revise it? If not, then I think it might be too touchy a subject.</p>
<p>If the topic will serve to highlight a positive or unique part of your character, then I don’t see why not. But be sure to relate how the event or revelation has impacted your worldview or shaped yourself on a personal level.</p>
<p>It’s about a shaky relationship with a parent and a conflict between how I show myself to others and how I feel. The parent would literally go insane if he or she found out. I would NOT be comfortable with anyone reading it besides my closest friend.</p>
<p>If that is the case, then I would probably choose a different topic. I believe it’s best to leave parental/family conflict out of college essays.</p>
<p>Moonchild is right. College essays are a way of separating urself from the rest. U dont want to separate urself in a negative manner. As in colleges thinking ur a troubled child. U want to show wat makes u unique</p>
<p>If it makes you cry or feel bad it’s too personal. But if you feel it is central to your identity then allude to it and focus on the impact it has had on you and what you do/plan to do</p>
<p>I am also facing a similar situation. I want to write about how I have been extremely dependent on my parents for the last three years - they remember dates for me, where my phone is, helping me with my studies, editing my essays. And I have begun to break out of that, to become more independent, but it has been a huge struggle. I had to improve myself as a person - be less lazy, take the initiative, etc. I have always wanted to be a doctor (not because of my parents, they always tried to dissuade me) and I took the initiative to do a lot of things related to medicine starting my junior year. Yet this is also very personal for me. I would be happy to explain this to anyone, so it is not sensitive, but would that be a good essay topic?</p>
<p>@smithsonian, I don’t think it would, it shows that you’ve relied much too long on your parents up until this point, meaning colleges won’t know how much of your past has been done completely by yourself, or how much your parents had to help you out on.</p>