Hello, I am an international student applying to study in us this year. I want to write a personal essay and I have an idea. I was bullied in high school freshman. I totally got over it and now learned many life lessons to be more forgiving, challenge facing, etc. Will it be bad on this basis?
Thanks for your interest:)
My first reaction is that an essay explaining why you want to study abroad in the US would be more appropriate as an international applicant. But, if done well, almost any topic can work for a college admissions essay.
Important to show intellectual curiosity, evidence of maturity, willingness to grow, and who you are and what makes you who you are today.
It would not necessarily be a bad choice for a topic… it depends on what direction you are taking it.
If you’re trying to show you “overcame adversity”… well, without diminishing what you went through (I truly don’t mean to!), there will be others who are applying who overcame worse… poverty, mental illness, broken families, a combination thereof, etc. Some colleges ask you to write about a challenge you overcame, but the topic on the whole has been overdone IMO. No one wants to compete on the basis of who had it worse.
If you genuinely want to show you became a more forgiving and braver person, the essay definitely works… IF you can demonstrate (show, not tell) more about how you applied those lessons. For example, did you work with Best Buddies International to pair up with a fellow student who is developmentally disabled? Did you become a speaker or advocate for anti-bullying causes? What impact did you have on the lives of others who are oppressed?