<p>what if you write about a great struggle in your life, but harvard thinks that the very fact that you went through those struggles is because your innate character is inferior, and the thought that "even though this kid overcame a lot, he was still a lazy, inconsiderate, ingrate who just now reformed." do harvard adcoms ever confuse people who are honestly telling what they say as an emotional outburst that might be a lie? and do they dislike overambitiousness/comparison and admiration of famous people?</p>
<p>pretty much, i'm scared of thinking what i feel i have gotten stronger by going through won't be seen as very significant, and maybe it's better to write a generic essay about my academic/scholarly accomplishments.</p>
<p>what's better?</p>
<p>pretty much im emotionally deaf and i don't understand the differnece between confidence and arrogance. seems like people always think confidence is important, but then arrogance is the deadly sin.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh</p>
<p>I don't have an answer to the original question, but I do have a comment on this:
"and maybe it's better to write a generic essay about my academic/scholarly accomplishments."</p>
<p>Don't do that - they already see those accomplishments in your grades, EC's, awards, AP exams, etc... They don't need an essay to reiterate that. If you want to mention some of them by relating them to something in your essay, that's fine, but writing the main essay about an academic accomplishment/s would be dull and fail to show them another dimension of yourself.</p>
<p>I think I know exactly what the OP means....... to take it to an extreme, what if you were a real jerk in the first place then "reformed" to become a normal person?</p>
<p>Personally, I hope the adcoms take into account your personal circumstances/wierd experiences that made you a tool in the first place...</p>
<p>If it is genuine, write about it. Sit down and write down your thoughts - random, weird, whatever - and then sort out what you have into an essay. Ask people to comment on whether or not it comes across as arrogant, and how you can change that.</p>
<p>People are different and Harvard wants them to be. Writing your essay you are showing what you are and, obviuosly enough you can't be anyone you aren't. You can't compare circumstances alone, you have to take into consideration the person's character formed by different factors. I think what they are really looking for is not somebody "good" in a formal way, but foremost someone who possesses the ability to assess himeslf critically and willingness to "improve". Write about what matters, write about what's of greatest importance to yourself as a human being not an academic or social person. This what makes you different from anybody else, and makes you interesting to others, not achievement of pre-set standards.</p>