<p>Well during the end of my Sophmore year I went on Hajj. For those of you who do not know what Hajj is, it's a religious obligation for all Muslims, and it must be done once before if you can do it physically and of course afford it. Before I had done it, I wasn't really mature and was just taking life as a joke. Didn't value education and was starting to get tempted into alcohol and drug use. My grades started going south, especially during Sophmore year. Well I went on Hajj and things just started clicking for me. I started valuing education more and kept myself away from alcohol and drug use. I became a better Muslim overall too. I would be really interested in helping establish Muslim clubs in college and helping college kids see that Muslims do not want violence. So I was wondering if the experience of Hajj would be a good idea or if it is just overdone in terms of college essay topics.</p>
<p>put some spin on it.</p>
<p>although i'm not sure how spin would help. yeah, it's completely played out.</p>
<p>I say that if this experience really did change you as much as it seems, that you should write about it, just dont try to "spin it" or anything else, just write it from the heart, because it seems the experience means a lot to you.</p>
<p>At the same time, beware of using the dialectic of sentimentality that so commonly follows from writing about life-changing experiences.</p>
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<p>I think the hajj's effect on you would be interesting. I think that even if you use a played out essay topic, it can work for you. A lot of essays is not what you write, but how you write it.</p>
<p>I don't know...sounds risky</p>
<p>but if it was influential, write about it, but know it's cliche</p>
<p>I've never heard of a religious pilgrimage as the theme of an application essay, though the more general theme of life-changing experiences is very common.</p>
<p>how do you plan to make it different?</p>
<p>I think it is a great essay topic. </p>
<p>The only thing I would be careful about is to make it sound genuine. By your post, it seems like it really meant alot to you, but make sure you convey that. The only thing I'd fear is that, if it isn't written well, the topic might seem to be too superficial or big, and it might seem you choose such a big theme to impress them rather than it truly coming from yourself. Again, its an excellent topic, but it's all about the way you present it.</p>
<p>VERY risky, you can hit with a great probability a reader who is at best an atheist, and at worst an active anti-Islamic. I am not an admission officer, but I am in academia and a member of search committees. Religious references on resumes are big turn-offs.</p>
<p>I'm no expert at the whole admissions game, but I highly doubt an adcom would ever consider religion to be a turn-off. Religion is an integral part of billions of peoples lives, and admissions explicitly are forbidden from using race as a discriminating factor. </p>
<p>If someone is very involved in their relgion, then it is just as good, if not better, than a passionate extracurricular.</p>
<p>how many muslims are there? theyre a minority. for that fact in itself i would say that this topic isnt played. sounds like an awesome tipic.</p>
<p>Insane, I think you highly underestimate the numbers of people who could not care less/oppose religion, especially in academic circles. Nobody will discriminate you on that basis on purpose, but some people may not like you enough to admit.</p>
<p>I'm not downing the Hajj or anything, so I hope it doesn't come across as so, but every Muslim has to do it. And I'm pretty sure they all have the same after effect. I mean write about it, but I don't get how that really showcases your personality.</p>
<p>Well a history of my high school career is that prior to high school I was a pretty religious person. Did everything a normal Muslim did. However, once High School started I got introduced into the world of sex, drugs, and alcohol. I started to get tempted by all these things and I started to move further and further away from my faith to the point where I started to question the existance of God. I started thinking that maybe everything was true, Islam is a religion of violence. My grades started to tumble from an 89 GPA freshman year to an 88 Sophmore year. The only things that slightly saved me were the high amount of honors courses I had on my schedule. Well I went to Hajj and I was just moved. Things started to click. I saw people of all races, black, white, asian, etc, uniting towards a single goal. It was a beautiful experience for me. Things started clicking and I came back a more focused person. I stopped underachieving, I had underachieved not only in terms of academically but in my sports too. I came back, worked as hard as I could, became a day one starter on the football team and my GPA skyrocketed to about a 96 for my Junior Year. I also started to become highly involved in my Mosque. I volunteered to be an assistant teacher and helped teach 3rd graders Islamic History. I also helped establish a newspaper for my local mosque and helped start some fundraisers that raised a lot of money for the mosque. </p>
<p>Like I said, if that is too cliche or risky then I will certainly write about something else. But do note that I am planning to apply to a lot of Jesuit schools, and Boston College is my number one choice. I'm not really sure if being so religious will help me or if the fact that I'm not Roman Catholic will hurt me. I would help start some Muslim clubs in college too if there are none present.</p>
<p>I would say write about it, but don't conclude it with "and now I know the value of education, am a good boy/girl who doesn't do drugs, etc. and will be a great addition to _____ college" if you know what I mean....</p>
<p>Well obviously I would not say that, but still is this topic a smart one or is it just something that would come back to haunt me.</p>
<p>A lot of those things that you mentioned...like raising money for the mosque, and teaching classes, I thought that was normal and manditory as a way to assist your religion for helping you? It is normal here with my friends, so I don't think it's something "extra." I mean write about it...but....it's your own thing</p>
<p>I didn't know that. Not many people do that around here actually. Many people just use the Mosque as a place to pray and such. Not many people do what I've done to help the Mosque actually. But according to you this is pretty common. So I guess I should start rethinking this essay.</p>