In my common app essay, I use the term “white power,” which was used against me. I talk about the different connotations the term had based on how he viewed the term and how I viewed the term. This term is the premise of my essay because I right about my struggle with my identity and racism. Will this give me an automatic rejection?
No, it won’t be an automatic rejection. But I suggest you have someone review your essay before you submit it. Some schools will be more receptive perhaps than others. And it is 100% going to depend on your writing skills.
I say no, but let me ask you this, are you writing it with the understanding that an old conservative white guy could be the admissions officer that reads it? I say this after listening to an Ivy League AO say that you have to understand they are real people with biases, reading your essay. I think if it’s an important story to your life and it is worth telling, like any it needs to be well written and appeal to the senses of the person reading it- whoever that may be. It should make a case for who you are and how you will fit in to their school and also your potential to be successful there and beyond.
The term is not “inappropriate” in that it is considered a pejorative term, not like the N-word. However, it can be considered racist in some contexts, and insulting in other ones. So, a person saying that they “support white power” has likely ensured their rejection. Use of that term to describe an organization like Sons of Norway is also highly inappropriate (and untrue, but that’s beside the point) and that can also destroy a person’s chances at being accepted.
However, when, say, describing signs that one saw at a White Supremacist rally, there is nothing wrong with writing something like “half of them had some version of ‘White Power’ written on them”.
Basically, when using that term, be aware that it describes a term that is associated with White Supremacist groups, so when using the term, caution is advised.
I’d say you’re better off without it. Not a racial term, but I feel like you can make your better point by using better wording. Someone might take offense if you are applying to a collge in the Southern states but I think there’s a very small chance of that happening. And yeah automatic rejection is a stretch.
I personally think it would be okay to use that term but if you want to be extra safe, err on the conservative side or maybe submit that essay to schools known for being more liberal and write a completely different ones for the others. It’s a lot of work but if you want to be as safe as possible, I think that would be a good route.