<p>My friend was writing his essay on the difficulties of being gay and closeted from his loved ones and friends and some experiences he has had. Do you think this topic is overplayed in college essays and would be cliche to addmission people, or do u think that it could be a strong topic for a school such as Brown?</p>
<p>Don't do it. Unfortunately, the society we live in today for the most part is anti-gay. You never know whether or not the admissions officer is a homophobe, a devout "Christian",or doesnt relate to gays,etc. He's taking an unnecessary risk by doing this, especially if he is a very strong student. Just have him stick to his "love of learning " in his essay or something.</p>
<p>i disagree. any difficult experience that someone has to overcome can make for a strong essay if it is insightful, shows maturity, and is well-written. my only caution would be to also include other aspects of who he is and what he loves in the essay because it is really the only opportunity you have to tell the adcom who you are</p>
<p>If there is no other part that is more unique than being homosexual, I think story of being a gay person is more interesting than "I learn from my mistakes" or "I am well-round person" essay. However, gay coming out essays are overdone.</p>
<p>Yes it is unique, but you have to consider the audience of the essays. Admissions officers are not ivy league graduates or very well educated people who consequently realize that gay people are not any different from straight people (read Michelle Hernandez's "A for Admission"). Rather, such officers are normal people with normal biases. Thus, many officers might hold a bias or prejudice against you when they read your app. Its too risky, overdone, and overly personal (I would imagine that reading about somebody struggling to realize their sexual orientation might be a little bit uncomfortable). I would still strongly advise against it.</p>
<p>I think if you were applying to Notre Dame it'd be one thing, but at Brown, something like that should be fine. Just don't make it to political. Make it about you.</p>
<p>LGBT is a diversity area now. So Many of the admissions people are Gay activists. Make it about you as ClaySoul said. Princeton is the most welcoming of all Ivy League in this area in my opinion Brown is also open minded.</p>
<p>Brown is VERY liberal.... I have to agree with ClaySoul, I wouldn't do it for Notre Dame or Boston College but I think if it is a good essay -go for it on your Brown app.</p>
<p>I think Brown man1987 is right. Regardless of how liberal a school is, you need to AVOID at all costs certain topics. You really do not know who is going to be reading your essay and regardless how objective a person might be, there is that subjectivity that is humanly impossible to overcome sometimes. I think it is very "idealistic" to think that the adcoms personal biases do not play a role.</p>
<p>I was advised my GC to avoid mentioning role models etc, exactly because of the same reason. Some people may think that Mother Theresa was great, some others that she was not that special. Some people may think that Martin Luther King was awesome, others that he was the cause of all future problems. Being gay?...Gay marriage? Abortion? Stay away from those topics !</p>
<p>I guess there're always pros and cons to everything. But I think that if one were to stick to 'safe' topics, one's essay would run the risk of being too vanilla. Simply indistinguishable from the other 17999 applicants. In my opinion, you'd have to take the risk. That being said, I don't think that being gay is a 'special' thing at place like Brown. It's just my 2 cents though...</p>
<p>Being gay?...Gay marriage? Abortion? Stay away from those topics !</p>
<p>If an applicant writes about gay issues in general, yes it should be avoided. HOWEVER, a gay coming out essay is not about politics, it is about the applicant's specific and personal issues. Same thing applies to abortion. If you learned some unique experience and positively changed yourself through an incident related to abortion, it might be a good topic. But talking about "Why I think abortion is bad" should be avoided.</p>
<p>I completely disagree with MovieBuff. Your essay is supposed to be about YOU! I think that your essay reflects who you are in a very personal way, which is great in my opinion. The likelyhood of you getting several homophobic admissions officers (more than one person reviews every application) is unlikely, especially at Brown.</p>
<p>cowtipper1....The essay reflects who you are in a very personal way if you talk about your qualities, struggles, passions, etc. Talking about one's sexual orientation may be off mark for a lot of people (let's be real here). The topic of coming out as a teenager and having clubs supporting it while in HS is most controversial all over the country ( it is all over the news every month )</p>
<p>spark15.....I seriously doubt that anyone would find an essay about......"how my life changed after the abortion"........to be a safe bet for a college application. There are a million things that one can write about.........so why risk it? And if that is all you can come up to get the adcoms to know you up close and personal..... i think you are in big trouble.</p>
<p>Be AUTHENTIC.
Write from the heart.
Be yourself.</p>
<p>If they reject you for that, you wouldn't have been happy there.</p>
<p>OldProf... A black senator has said that Obama , if chosen by his party,would bring down the whole democratic ticket in the 2008 elections because he is black and therefore unelectable. The poor senator was being AUTHENTIC, talking from the heart and being himself. Everyone has rejected his comments(very hyppocritically so in my opinion ) and that has not helped the poor senator any. He retracted, had to say that he was sorry,etc, etc ,etc. </p>
<p>The principle is great...but BE REAL. We do not live in THE VILLAGE.</p>
<p>It is difficult to write an essay after narrowing down your choices too much. True, it is difficult to write about how one's life changed after taking an abortion. However, there can be several interesting stories about an incident related to abortion.</p>
<p>I used and got into very conservative schools, but it was also very well written. I think it helps with the conservative schools because they want diversity.</p>
<p>Again, poor speculation. It may have just been due to the fact that the one reading the essay was a very liberal person. No reflection whatsoever about the committee. We are talking about the "individual" bias of certain people.</p>
<p>Hmm..someone said that the "coming out" essay is overdone, but in many cases, it can still be unique.</p>
<p>For example, one of my friends wrote about how his family only percieved gays as "Flamboyant, high fashion sense, high voice, stereotypical media sort of views....etc." and how the only way he could let them see it in a different way was to come out. (he's extremely athletic, and explained to many of my friends that being gay isnt an "identity, but merely a trait/ characteristic that makes up a person".)</p>
<p>...just an example how not all "coming out" essays are sob stories...</p>