Hi! I’m wondering what the general consensus is on making your (open-ended) college essay about your chronic illness. The focus would be the way it shaped me growing up (I’ve had it for the past nine years, so over half my life) and my view of the world because of it, as well as how it lead me to gain an interest in my intended major. I don’t want to try and make it seem like I’m asking them to feel sorry for me (I’m sick, accept me!) or to sound all “woe-is-me”, but it definitely has had an effect on me and I’m wondering if addressing that would be a good idea.
I’m open to any and all criticism, so please tell me what your thoughts are on this. I don’t want to screw up my essays lol so any help or suggestions are appreciated.
This question (or questions akin to this one) has been asked before on this site, and from what I’ve seen, the general consensus is: write about your X in the context of how you learned from it, how it taught you perseverance, how it made you stronger. If it’s related to your planned major, write about that, too.
It is challenging to pull off. You can communicate about it through your GC or as a short note in additional info if you would prefer to use the common app essay real estate in a different way.
Listened to the president of a top ten university introduce a senior undergraduate by elaborating on her journey to the university and passion for studying medicine based on her many trips to the university hospital for her diabetes care. I imagine her ‘why here’ essay included this journey. So in context, she was/is a great fit and obviously an accomplished student now accepted to an MD/PHD program.
It depends on the illness. Physical illness? Yes, those tend to be pretty successful essays and those people tend to be some of the most resilient in the world. (STD’s are the exception: I hope I don’t need to explain this one)
I would highly discourage talking about mental illness. There is a high stigma against people who have those, with the occasional exception of PTSD, which was caused by an external force, and you should only write about that if you are cured now. Depression, Bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, etc should be avoided at all costs. Universities sees those people as a potential suicide risk, as well as extra medical fees.
Thank you all for your advice! I’ll definitely take it into consideration as I get started on my essays.
@ConcernedRabbit : for clarity, I have an autoimmune disorder that takes a toll physically as well as mentally (not really anything mental-illness heavy, more of brain fog and a poor memory). Would you say those are worth mentioning since they’re not really something that would be considered a risk to a university, or should I mostly just stick to the physical aspect of it? I definitely don’t want to seem like I’m not capable or that I would use my illness as an excuse not to work hard. But I also want to speak as truthfully as possible (without jeopardizing my chances of admission) about the effect it has had.
An autoimmune disorder is something I would consider as physical. Mental illnesses tend to cause higher rates of suicidality, and colleges want to keep down their suicide rates. Autoimmune disorders do not increase suicidality, therefore, I would classified as a physical disorder.
I think writing about it will show resilience and adds a more interesting element to your story. I would recommend talking about it.
My child could write a thesis on her ailment. Her ailment has most certainly helped define who she is. However, her essay was not that but a story that between the lines allowed the reader to know she was disabled. The focus was on why she is who she is without saying she is sick. It was alluded to but focused on her personality and what she loves to do. In referring between the lines to the ailment it used humor. It showed her fearless nature not using the disability but an unrelated event in life.
My son is a Type 1 diabetic. His experiences are very much like @KLSD described and have influenced his successes, perseverance, and academic/volunteer choices in life. He will include all of this in his college essays.
TBH, he would not be the person he is today without dealing with T1 for most of his 16 years. He owns it and will make it work for him.
