<p>I was wondering if my essay would be a good choice or not so I thought I'd ask here. Everyone else can post their essay topics here to discuss, too.</p>
<p>My parents divorced when I was young and then my dad remarried. He'd promised me that I could be the flower girl (I was seven) but then his future wife told me I couldn't be in the wedding because she wanted it to be just about them (the couple). It was very emotional for me and it defined my current relationship with my father (nonexistent).</p>
<p>Is this too weak? Obviously there are more details. I am planning on applying to some of the better schools in the States.</p>
<p>No topic is a wrong topic</p>
<p>If it helps to define you and shows the ad comm more to your character, if the essay shows you overcoming a certain difficult period in life and if you can show it simply and beautifully sure it could be a good topic.</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents: Don’t show too much angst and emotion …it can literally freak out admission people.</p>
<p>And what exactly do you mean by better school in states?</p>
<p>You can use it as a topic, but don’t make it too “dark.” Tell your story and let it show who you are and what is important to you, but don’t make it moody and depressing. Turning it into a “sob story” about your current relationship with your father would be a bad idea. Instead, show how you have grown from this and how this has ultimately made you a better person, because otherwise it can risk sounding like a sympathy story. Maybe even add a little humor to the situation if you can. And whatever you decide to do with the story, make sure it’s about YOU, not your dad or his past/current wife. Good luck!</p>
<p>jdyer, I have heard that adcoms don’t generally like to read essays about a dramatic and emotional time in a student’s life. I assume from your post that you will be applying to some of the more selective schools in the US - those adcoms will read dozens of essays about a death in the family, about divorce, and about dad losing his job. I would caution against using this as a topic, since it is (unfortunately) a little overused and negative. Like the others have said, the admissions essay needs to show something really great about YOU. Even though there will be less emotion involved, I’d suggest an essay about a passion you have or an activity you do, something that you can use to show how much you love learning (that’s a zinger, trust me!) and what sort of a person you are.</p>
<p>Hey I was thinking about writing about problems Ive had with my mom and my aunts (arrests, drugs…) if I’m able to do this by making an essay mostly about how it affected me positively, would this be a good idea. Im applying mostly to what I guess you could call second tier schools but also to Georgetown and maybe one ivy.</p>
<p>So I wrote an essay about my influential figure, aka my father. He grew up in a rural village just outside of Cairo, Egypt. I delve into his experiences growing up and the hardships he has had to face and how he achieved the “American Dream”. That’s basically what I wrote about. Do you guys think that’s decent?</p>
<p>@Eric — I think that’s a fabulous topic for your essay! It shows the struggles you’ve had to overcome and how it’s had a positive impact on you.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I fail to understand how this essay topic has anything to do with your capacity to be a valuable member of a university community and/or to succeed in college-level coursework. Thus, it’s not all that great of a topic.</p>
<p>To me, this comes off as an irrelevant sob story. You’ll be much better off with an essay focused more on yourself - after all, you’re trying to get the admissions committees to accept you, not your family.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the best topic for your Common App essay (or for the main essay at any school that’s not on the Common App) is an essay highlighting one of your extracurriculars, which should be the one that you’re most passionate about or that is the most meaningful.</p>
<p>Wait, but one of the prompts for the common essay asks us to describe an influential figure on our life. How can we relate that to “how we can become a valuable member of the university”?</p>
<p>The only way that this essay would work is to give it an air of intelligence. What exactly I mean by that is to depict it as a positive, refreshing, and worthwhile experience, that would otherwise be a sad story. Act smart, be quirky with it, and show that you possess strength of character. If you execute this well, you will be surprised. </p>
<p>The best of luck to you!</p>