<p>@tncollege , I’m afraid my opinion about it not being a good idea to write about bringing a gun to school will not change. And IMO using words like “troublemaker” only invite negative reactions.</p>
<p>At one summer visit program D and I attended, a dean cautioned students not to write about the three Ds: Death, Depression and Drugs. (The fourth D should be “don’t write about dreams”). I think the implication was that the readers want to feel really confident about the person that they are proposing being admitted. </p>
<p>The appropriate place to deal with the gun issue is in the counselor’s letter. You have a great relationship with your counselor. If they have covered the topic adequately, you can concentrate on portraying yourself in an entirely positive light. The first thing you said about yourself in your post is that you are ambitious. Why not write about a person close to you who inspired your ambition?</p>
<p>Finally, regarding “mundane” childhood Kazakhstan. At the most highly selective LAC that D and I visited, an admissions officer said that the best essay he ever read was about a student as a child walking along the beach with her grandfather. (He said that the worst was about a student’s first sexual experience.) So the essay really does have an impact, and I think yours should be about looking forward, and not about reliving a serious mistake.</p>