<p>I'm just about finished with my college apps, but I'm worrying about my essays.</p>
<p>I know most colleges like to read about your passions, but what if you write about overcoming a personal problem? For me, I wrote about being diagnosed with ADD (late into high school), how I channeled it into inspiration, and how I'm doing MUCH better as a Senior.</p>
<p>Does it seem too "Oh poor me, wah" or is it a perfectly fine topic to write about?</p>
<p>This seems fine! I imagine that it explains something essential to who you are and the context of your high school experience, while hopefully highlighting your positive traits, like over coming challenges.</p>
<p>Every topic can be written well or can be written badly. Those are written a LOT, so sometimes the cliches are easy to use, but if you're confident in your ability to write an amazing and original essay, then go for it.</p>
<p>No, it certainly doesn't give out a "Oh Poor Me, Wah" vibe as long as your focus is on how you ovecome the challenge instead of on the challenge itself.</p>
<p>There is someone on the NYU board with a similar situation except she wants to write about mental disorders and hospitlization, which I think is WAY TOO much to reveal and will hurt her chances but ADD is pretty common nowadays..I would'nt play it up too much, don't make it sound like it was a BIG problem, just something that you never realized you had and now that you're being treated, you enjoy school much more... It should be fine, just don't overly emphasize it.</p>
<p>I wrote my essay on overcoming my personal problems and how the experience shaped me into the person I am today ...I've gotten into every school I applied to so far (safeties) but am not going to hear from my reaches that put more consideration on the essay until the end of January. We'll see if they let me in, heh.</p>
<p>I think you should ask yourself whether a reviewer reading your essay will be persuaded that you have really overcome your problems permanently, or whether he will suspect that these problems will cause you difficulties in college as well. Perhaps have somebody else read your essay with this in mind.</p>
<p>I would not be afraid to reveal that you have ADD to colleges. The last thing you want is to end up at a school that is not helpful and understanding in dealing with learning differences. Personally I think it is better to be rejected than to hide an important and relevant fact about yourself and end up at a poor match. ADD is not going to go away because you are accepted at college. I think this essay can be effective if you can use interesting examples/anecdotes to make it non-cliche and to help explain how the ADD has affected your school life.</p>
<p>i think it's a pretty good idea, but i wrote about something like that too (psoriasis). most people think it's good, so i hope the colleges do, lol.</p>
<p>I remember seeing an essay that Alice Walker published in Ms. Magazine about her childhood experiences with psoriasis or exzema, and it was insightful and excellent. How one writes an essay is more important than is the subject itself.</p>