Including ski racing in college essay

College Essays
1

I’m starting to work on my college essays. Something that is a huge part of my identity is alpine ski racing. I want to write about this, but I also understand that ski racing is a privileged sport and that I am very lucky to be able to compete in it. Will I come off as spoiled if I write about it?

Some essays I’m considering:
-Alpine ski racing is like playing the cello (they have a lot of similarities in how they’ve affected my life)
-Something about riding in my team’s truck on the way to a race. That’s always been my happy place. I consider those car rides to be among the most meaningful moments in my life.

On the other hand, I’m involved in other things, like orchestra, a minimum wage job, computational research, and volunteer work. If ski racing is off-limits, I could probably write an interesting essay about working in a sno cone stand.

What do you think? Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

2

I like the riding in the team truck aspect. The alpine ski racing is already on your app and they know about it.

3

I agree with the above.

4

Agree with the above. They will see that you ski from your ECs so there is no reason to hide it. The idea of the essay is to give the admission officers a glimpse into you – what makes you tick, what is important to you, what you value etc. so use whatever topic can help you to do this. The team truck may work well – start writing and see how it goes.

5

I think that writing about something that is important to you-which is sounds like ski racing is to you- is the most important. You want your voice to show in the essay and you don’t want to try to conform to what you think colleges want to hear.