Hey guys, I just started writing off the top of my head yesterday (I picked Prompt #2). I soon realized that I may have picked a bad topic since it strongly involves another person. It pretty much involves my brother’s struggles with being bullied, having depression, and developing anger management. I try to relate each part back to how I helped helped him and what I learned in turn. Since it is somewhat of a sad essay, I don’t want to come off as whiny. I was thinking about relating it all back to how, by overcoming an obstacle, I learned that helping others has mutual benefits… or maybe not? Or maybe how you can learn so much from people with different experiences. I also want to know if it is okay that the emphasis of the story is on my brother… or is that a no-no? Any replies help (even if they’re harsh!). Thanks in advance.
Honestly, I think you should find another topic.
It doesn’t sound as though this essay achieves the purpose of the essay: to give them a reason to say yes to YOUR application.
Here’s what worked with my son:
- He set a timer for 4 minutes for each Common App prompt. During that 4 minutes, he brainstormed any possible answer to the prompt, no matter how far fetched.
- A few days later, he went through that list, eliminated some and bulleted an essay for each of the others.The process of trying to outline an essay further eliminated some of the off the wall ideas.
- He wrote a rough draft of the ones that remained, and chose the draft he liked best to continue with.
I agree, bad topic. The essay should be about YOU. It’s great that you helped your brother, and maybe you can work that into your story, but don’t try to make it fit if it won’t. The fact that you realized it was a bad choice is a red flag.