<p>Seriously though it all depends on how the essay is written. You are going to have to evaluate how much this has affected you, how well you are healing and changing from it, and if you can convey that in an essay. </p>
<p>If not I agree that there are other things in your life you could write about, and that's fine.</p>
<p>
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yeah...so that's my question. thanks to all who read this. i don't need condolences, but I will appreciate a "sorry, man" if you feel need be. what i do need is an opinion on my question =)
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I've been thinking about this too much in admissions terms, so I'd like to offer that "sorry, man" now. If you haven't already I suggest you find somebody to talk about this with, whether it be a close friend, parent or counselor. Talking really does help.</p>
<p>^thanks. I have, which has been a major help.</p>
<p>but if there's one thing I must get out here is that I had no choice - the law abides with the mother. Regardless of how I felt about the matter, it was her choice. That choice (by her) is the debate. I'm not really part of that. One is ultimately powerless in that situation. </p>
<p>I think the essay would be different if it was written by her, which would require a LOT more judgments in my opinion. Call it a double edged sword, but I would never write THAT essay. </p>
<p>here's how I take it </p>
<p>1) I get a conservative - poor kid, had no choice - mother's fault
2) I get a liberal - well, no problems much to begin with</p>
<p>and in this I still haven't given my opinion on the issue - same as in the essay.</p>
<p>Honestly, writing something that's still so painful probably means that you don't have a healthy distance from it. The most succinct and personality-revealing essays are usually quirky and simple. It seems like an essay as deep as that one will come out a painful, garbled mess, and you don't want to seem like you're using the experience as a "sob story" to get you in. I'm very, very sorry about your experience, but it brings up a lot of issues (politics, morals, behaviors) that don't need to be dealt with by an admissions officer. It's a big part of who you are but not who you will be to Harvard. They want to know who you are through you extracurriculars, scores, and grades, and then to see some personality behind those stats. That essay would open up a whole other can of worms.</p>
<p>So what did you learn from the experience? To use contraceptives? </p>
<p>Admissions officers will not embrace your topic well. Or at all. It's that simple.</p>
<p>Well, first of all, don't decide based on what all of us tell you. It's your decision. </p>
<p>My advice would be to write about it. Just don't put the spotlight on contraceptives or sex or similar things. Show instead how it shocked you and influenced you. Show how quickly a mistake can happen and how hard it is to recover from it. Show them that you can recover, or explain why you haven't quite recovered. There are many ways you could create a beautiful essay out of this topic. Just beacuse the admission officers might be conservative and stuffy doesn't mean they never made mistakes that they thought they couldn't recover from. Wrtite in a way so they will understand it's just like any other terrible mistake.</p>
<p>But you have to write it like you mean it. The worst thing, in my opinion, that you could do, is just write superficially about it and tell the story in the order it happened. Instead, you could even just mention it at the beginning as a springboard into an essay about mistakes and living through them. Or you could tell them about it without telling them what it was: Call it "that mistake" and show how much you have been influenced.</p>
<p>Hope that was a help.</p>
<p>Well, I'm sure this experience is a big part of who you are and I'm sure that if I had a 20 minute conversation with you, I could understand how you have grown from it. But can you put that into 500, maybe 700- words? If not, it will be.... well, inadequate. If so, it could work.</p>
<p>thanks to the people who have replied, but i found another essay topic which i really really like (i made another thread about it)</p>
<p>i didn't mean to bump this one but i had to. it keeps coming backkk. please dont post again haha</p>
<p>I agree, it's just too risky. The issue is that abortion is such a hot-button topic. What if whoever reads it is strictly pro-life? They won't care how little you mention it, they'll just get up in arms about how "wrong" it is. Or, they might think that your decision to talk about it is just you trying to use the situation to your advantage to get into Harvard. I'm not saying either one is true... I think it actually sounds like a very interesting essay that could be done well, but regardless of how well done it is, what's important is how it's preceived, and there's far too big a chance that the adcom won't take it well.</p>
<p>W.T.H! That's a HORRIBLE IDEA, and I ain't even Republican for that matter. What possible message could that show adcoms? I would reject a student immediately if that were to happen; it shows a severe lapse in character let alone moral standards. If I were you, I wouldn't even post this on a message board let alone to a group of strangers.</p>
<p>The kind of person you are and you grow up to become depends as much on how you deal with adversity as it does the easy times. These are experiences that make you who you are. If you are even considering writing about i, I would work through the essay. whether you choose to send in or not in the end will be up to you, and if you are applying to Harvard I am sure you will represent in a way that expresses you. Even if you choose not to send it, I sense the process of writing it would be very helpful to you.</p>
<p>Oh and simple- I really hope you never ever make a mistake, mistakes do not show a "lapse in character" only when we take nothing away from them.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? I've made mistakes and learned from it, but this ain't a mistake its like a MASSIVE ERROR IN JUDGEMENT okay. Even if the OP miraculously finds a way to portray himself as a stronger individual through this experience; it raises multiple issues particularly with his moral character. I mean come on do colleges and more importantly Harvard want an indivdual practicing in such activities. Why not tell them about a time when you stole your grandmother's purse or pushed a handicap down a stairs, obviously I'm being sarcastic.The point is simple: this is a personal matter which I would NEVER show to anyone particularly a HARVARD admissions committe and more importantly a blog of strangers. In the end its your choice, but I strongly strongly advise you NOT to show this to any college at all. Just forget about it and move on with your life.</p>
<p>Simple, this is getting off topic but I really have to ask: how is supporting his gf's right to choose a massive error in judgement?</p>
<p>I'm not going to even respond to munchkin. If the OP wants to write about his gf's abortion, then by all means do so. I've given my opinion made it perfectly clear, so do what you want and good luck with Harvard.</p>
<p>Too much focusing on how adcom members might stand on or react to the controversial issues, e.g., RTL v prochoice, premarital sex, etc. How do we know he'll write a good essay, or that he'll sound mature, sensitive and virtuous in the way he thought about and handled things--I'm not saying he won't, but the point is: What does the essay itself tell us about the writer--not the topic.</p>