My college essay is about gender roles i face in India. I am born in India but lived my whole life here but i visit India every 2 years or so. Since, i live in a really small village i tend to experience a lot of gender roles. like how women should be at home and not working. although all of India is not like this my village is. I was gonna talk about what it is like experiencing these gender roles as a woman and what I’m willing to do to fix it.
Is this a good topic?
Make sure you make it more about you than the gender roles; the gender roles aren’t the ones applying to college.
I’m assuming this may be for the “problem I’d like to solve” Common App prompt?
This sounds great! Definitely shows a unique perspective background and influence. Just make sure to talk about how you have been affected; colleges don’t need a history lesson, they need a reason to be interested in you.
yes it is a problem I’d like to solve prompt @bodangles
Sounds like a good fit for that prompt. One other possible trap to avoid is having it sound like you think you’re going to solve sexism single-handedly (“what I’m willing to do to fix it,” as if the entire thing hinges on you being “willing” to fix a massive cultural system)…because we all know it’s too big of a problem for that! Definitely get several trusted readers’ opinions on the essay when you eventually write it.
what do you mean by get several trusted readers’ opinions on the essay? like should i mention them in the essay??
@bodangles
…No, I mean get people to read it so they can tell you if you’re going in the wrong direction. “Trusted readers” as in people like your parents, an English teacher, or adults on CC (be wary of people who give you advice and then ask if you’ll edit their essay for them too. If they need help, why are they trying to advise you?).
okay thank you!