<p>As of right now, my plan is to apply to Yale SCEA where I have been recruited for gymnastics. I have done gymnastics for almost my entire life and it has obviously been a huge time commitment while offering incredible learning experiences, so I'm planning on using that for my commonapp essay. First of all, is this smart since this aspect of my life will already be very well represented on my application? </p>
<p>Then, for the supplement essay on something that they may not see from my application (if it doesn't change) I am planning on using an essay on how I grew up with a single mother practically impoverished on food stamps in a rundown house etc. And how this has effected my views and outlook on life. Part of this would include how it has made me an incredibly self-motivated person and led to a very early connection to nature/the environment (which is another of my major ec's) bc I was outside so much and which has developed and grown as I have. Is this too controversial-ish of a subject or do you think it would add a low-income hook that they may not otherwise see except in my actual financial aid app? Is low income something to highlight or hide?The other option would be to focus the essay more on the early environmental connection while downplaying the low-income part.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your input and sorry for the length!</p>
<p>Low-income is never something to hide/feel ashamed of. I think it’s hard to be controversial, and I think it’s a good idea because you know it so well.</p>
<p>Write what you know!</p>
<p>The topic doesn’t matter so much as how it’s written, which is why your thread (and any responses you may get) are unfortunately useless. I wrote my essays on a conversation I had with my mother when I was six, and on my strong dislike of The Scarlet Letter. The subject is seriously irrelevant.</p>
<p>Being low-income isn’t something to hide. Admissions officers like seeing that you’ve overcome adversity, and they’re also trying to make the student body more economically diverse.</p>
<p>^ They also don’t like sob stories. Once again, the topic doesn’t matter as much as the way the essay is written.</p>
<p>^Nice 2nd essay topic rocker… Totally agree</p>
<p>if you are being recruited for a sport it is unlikely that your essays will be your tipping point either way if your test scores and GPA show you can handle the work load. you need to make sure that the coach is going to use one of his or her recruiting “spots” on you rather than recruiting you to apply and walk on (the latter used for academically gifted athletes where a coaches limited number of extra tips could be used on a worse performing recruit). If the first is the case, I would go vanilla rather than rock the boat. if you are being seriously recruited, then you are halfway in, though there is a real chance that it might not pan out if your stats don’t match with yale’s profile. If you are being recruited as a walk-on, then the coach will mention something to the admissions office, but you need to do your part on the application. </p>
<p>that said, I would not go with the second essay in either case. You could make that essay “your own” but they will likely be able to tell from your zip code your family wealth. Being low-income isn’t something to hide by any means, but when I have seen essays about kids overcoming “life events” such as a living situation, divorce, illness, or death of a loved one, you walk a fine line of asking for pity rather than showing what you actually overcame or showing the strength of your character. If you want to write about overcoming a low-income obstacle, write about something really specific like a particular instance where you remember really wanting something that you couldn’t afford or something of that nature.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much more you can flesh out gymnastics and would honestly suggest that you pick some other aspect of yourself to highlight, not b/c it’s not important to you but because it so obviously already is.</p>
<p>that said, I agree that it depends on how you present yourself in the second essay but I think it’s an interesting angle. From what I understand, gymnastics is incredibly expensive to train for, how did you manage that along with the low income? (rhetorical question that you don’t have to answer for me but might want to consider for the essya)</p>
<p>As long as you write about yourself, who you are, what makes you special, in a way… its ok. So your two topics look fine!</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. You could share your own insights about gymnastics- do you have a strong opinion about some aspect of the sport that you can write a thoughtful essay about? Just as an example, what is your take on the Chinese olympic gymnast age controversey? Or something more personal- what sacrifices have you made to be a successful gymnast and what have you gained in return? What were the challenges of being an aspiring gymnast who grew up in an impoverished family?</p>