Is this an appropriate thing to write about for essay/app (tragedy)

Applying to College
1

<p>I've been through some harrowing experiences throughout my life, and they sure have shaped my life significantly. However, I'm reluctant about writing about them, for reasons that will become apparent. I'll try to spare most of the details.</p>

<p>When I was 9, my father started to show signs of psychosis. He would hallucinate - hear things, see things. He was also be very paranoid. He would break all the phones in the house, because he thought someone was spying on him. Then, he started to lose touch with reality - he heard voices telling him that the world wasn't real, or everything was in his imagination and stuff like that. He would sometimes ask my mom and I if we were real, and then when he thought we were lying, he would beat us. It was especially bad when my mom left for work, and I was left home alone with him.</p>

<p>One night, when I was 10, my dad's mental state became especially bad. My mom called the police, who came in to find "nothing wrong", and then left. Right after that, he started to act very aggressive towards my mother, and he went into the kitchen to find something to attack her with. My mom ran into my bedroom, locked the door, and held me for several hours. When things started to quiet down, she unlocked the door and went out. We found the living room window open; he had jumped several stories to his death. </p>

<p>Surprisingly, I don't have that much trauma. I've had sporadic bouts of depression throughout my teenage life, but I've never sought help from professionals or talked to anyone about it. I have moved on nicely: I am on track as salutatorian with a full-IB curriculum, and am founder of many successful international non-profits, but it is still something I think about everyday. If someone were ever to ask me what experiences I had that set me apart from other people - it would be this. Thus, for that reason, it would be something to write about in a college app, yes? But what I do NOT want to do is scare adcoms, or make them think I'm trying to win sympathy, because the mere idea of using such a traumatic experience as a "ticket into college" repulses me. </p>

<p>But somehow, if I were to not include such a pivotal moment in my life, my application wouldn't be fully representative of "me", you know?</p>

<p>What to do... :(</p>

2

<p>This is obviously a sensitive topic, but since you asked I’ll try to help.</p>

<p>My suggestion: yes, you can briefly tell the story, but I’d say that you shouldn’t go into too much detail. Make clear that you have had a very tough childhood, and that you’ve had to deal with the emotional scars. As you said, it’s part of who you are. My thinking is that this is a paragraph or so. no more.</p>

<p>As you are already aware, it’s not useful to dwell on this, or do a “feel sorry for me” essay. You should really strive to talk about how you’ve succeeded despite your challenges, how you use your focus and determination to fight your inner demons. And of course talk much more about what you’re going to do, what you want to get out of college.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>^ This is good advice. I’d say the same that just don’t go into too many specifics when narrating that part of ur life but DO include it in ur application essay as it’ll really define u. It wont be a ticket to college, it’ll just show the unusual circumstances u’ve had in ur life, that’s it.</p>

<p>And even the common application asks all applicant to specify any unusual experiences they’ve had in life.</p>