<p>I want to talk about how I endured through criticisms in high school. Like I was valedictorian and every guy wanted me to help them in the exam hall or cheat for them. And I refused and endured through their criticisms even some teachers told me to help them. Is that controversial? I mean the teacher part? Like will colleges think I'm was in some corrupt school and thereby reject me, thinking I'm unqualified?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You’re not valedictorian until you graduate. Your senior year counts.</p></li>
<li><p>Having people ask you for help is not a hardship, and turning them down is not the kind of character trait you want to center your application I want.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You misinterpreted it, I never said hardship, no one’s talking about hardship, I said criticisms. I’ve graduated and now I’m doing a gap year plus I meant cheating in the exam hall like passing them answers.</p>
<p>Still not seeing the point. Having been criticized doesn’t set you apart.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would choose another topic</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>
<p>I was going to say it put me in a position to stand for what I believed in even though the majority didn’t agree with it and criticized me for such and I was going to relate it to college. So that’s not a good idea? Wow! I need to start looking for new topics then.</p>
<p>Being a top student who is asked to cheat for friends/others and refuses to do it just isn’t a very powerful topic. Most top students routinely refuse to cheat even when pressured by less academically able friends and yes, they take some heat for it - but this is hardly worth an entire essay. That fact that you had a corrupt teacher or two doesn’t change the basic story line.</p>
<p>Find a topic that says more about who you are and what you have to offer. This one sounds sanctimonious.</p>
<p>Yeah, I wouldn’t write about it. It’s nothing that makes you stand out, since I’m sure every single student has had to go through this. It’s nothing original, and says nothing about your character.</p>
<p>And you’re not valedictorian.</p>
<p>I am or should I say was valedictorian. But thanks you guys I will definitely find another topic that emphasizes more on my character. In fact I’ve found the perfect one with no controversy whatsoever.</p>
<p>^^^They graduated already, so yes, they were valedictorian. </p>
<p>I think it does say something about your character, OP, but I agree that it might sound more like you’re trying to out all of the miscreants and corruption instead of showing off who you are. I’m sure you’ll come up with another great topic that will highlight you instead of the challenges you faced. 
</p>
<p>(Cross-posted – you’re faster at finding topics than I am at posting!)</p>