Does this idea for an essay sound okay?

I would really like to write my common app essay about my struggle with anxiety I have had basically my entire life. I do believe it is an important part of my background. My only worry is sounding like I’m making excuses.Would this be a good idea for the first prompt? Or should I just avoid the topic altogether and pick something else?

Don’t do it. You want the adcoms to like you and not to feel sorry for you. Write an essay that will make the reader want to meet you. It doesn’t have to be something big, think outside the box.

How did you overcome your anxiety? If you haven’t, then I suggest not writing about it.

Most people would say don’t do it, but I say if you feel that you can put enough positive spin on it, do it. I wrote my common app essay on my eating disorder, and I got into a ton of schools (9 out of 11, the other two I knew I wasn’t going to get into anyway, they were ivies). But you have to be confident that your essay doesn’t read like a pity party and reads like a story of how you overcame something and what you learned about yourself, and how you’re better for it.

Only if you overcame your anxiety.

Got it. Seems like a topic to avoid. Thanks guys!