<p>I will be applying to several American colleges as an international student this year. I have served in the Army of my country (which is in Southeast Asia) for 2 years, and I have gained a lot of valuable lessons and experiences from being in the military, mostly about overcoming adveristy.</p>
<p>Would you recommend that I write about what I learnt from my time in the Army in my Common Application essay? I am afraid that it might come across as very cliche because I gather that a lot of other applicants would probably write about overcoming adversity as well, even though they may not have served in a military.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any feedback/advice, and maybe tell me how I can use my experience in the Army to my advantage in the application process.</p>
<p>You have a unique experience that other applicants do not. Be careful not to trivialize that experience by turning it into just another version of the same old “overcoming adversity” essay. How did that experience change you? Is there any kind of insight you picked up through that experience that has changed the way you view people? Your essay might be more powerful if the adversity part of it is simply the backdrop to what you’re really talking about rather than being the point of the essay itself.</p>