How personal is too personal for the college essay?

College Essays
1

<p>I had a pretty rocky childhood. My father went to prison as is a registered sex offender. My mother lost her business to a con artist and we spent some time on food stamps living in the basement of a friend's house. All the while, the girl, who was my age, was physically and verbally abusive. In short, for about 5 years my life was an example of Murphy's law, but my mother and I have come out on the other side.</p>

<p>I talk about this part of my past with almost nobody but I think it's a really important part of who I am. It shows that I faced adversity and came out on the other side. However, I don't want to turn off admission with an overly personal essay.</p>

<p>Would it be TMI to go into detail about my past (ps. not just complaining about it, of course, but how it makes me who I am today), or should I avoid the ugly stuff and stick to something less touchy.</p>

2

<p>This depends a lot on what you decide to write about. You should pick one situation that defined who you are. Include only what details are important to expressing this point. But I think adding any personal details would be fine as long as you feel confortable telling them and you don’t dote on them for too long.</p>